AUTHOR=Zhang Qian , Lyu Shuxia 

TITLE=iTRAQ-based proteomics analysis of Bacillus pumilus responses to acid stress and quorum sensing in a vitamin C fermentation system

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1131000

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1131000

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Microbial consortia play a key role in human health, bioenergy, and food manufacturing due to their strong stability, robustness and versatility. One of the microbial consortia consisting of <italic>Ketogulonicigenium vulgare</italic> and <italic>Bacillus megaterium</italic> for the production of the vitamin C precursor, 2-keto-L-gulonic acid (2-KLG), has been widely used for large-scale industrial production. To further investigate the cell–cell communication in microbial consortia, a microbial consortium consisting of <italic>Ketogulonicigenium vulgare</italic> and <italic>Bacillus pumilus</italic> was constructed and the differences in protein expression at different fermentation time points (18 h and 40 h) were analyzed by iTRAQ-based proteomics. The results indicated that <italic>B. pumilus</italic> was subjected to acid shocks in the coculture fermentation system and responded to it. In addition, the quorum sensing system existed in the coculture fermentation system, and <italic>B. pumilus</italic> could secrete quorum-quenching lactonase (YtnP) to inhibit the signaling pathway of <italic>K. vulgare</italic>. This study offers valuable guidance for further studies of synthetic microbial consortia.</p>