AUTHOR=Song Ningning , Zhu Yongqiang , Cui Yingying , Lv Mingyue , Tang Yiyi , Cui Ziyin , Dang Guanghui , Zheng Huajun , Liu Siguo 

TITLE=Vitamin B and Vitamin C Affect DNA Methylation and Amino Acid Metabolism in Mycobacterium bovis BCG

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.00812

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.00812

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Vitamins are essential nutrients and key cofactors of enzymes that regulate cellular metabolism, and also activate the immune system. Recent studies have shown that vitamin B1 (V<sub>B</sub><sub>1</sub>) and vitamin C (Vc) can inhibit <italic>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</italic> growth, but the precise mechanism is still not well understood. In the present study, we have used RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq), liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing to analyze the transcriptional, metabolic and methylation profiles of <italic>Mycobacterium bovis</italic> BCG when treated with V<sub>B</sub><sub>1</sub> and Vc. Our results show that, after vitamin treatment, variant metabolites were mainly clustered in pathways related to amino acid metabolism. Treatment with both vitamins significantly up-regulated the gene encoding cysteine synthase A. Additionally, only BCG that was treated with V<sub>C</sub> showed m4c modifications. Genes harboring this methylation were up-regulated, suggesting that m4c methylation can promote gene transcription to some extent. Overall, this study contributes to the understanding of the effects of V<sub>B</sub><sub>1</sub> and V<sub>C</sub>, and suggests that these vitamins constitute potential anti-tuberculosis drugs.</p>