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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Extreme Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1477458

Secondary metabolites with antimicrobial activity produced by thermophilic bacteria from a high-altitude hydrothermal system

Provisionally accepted
Coral Pardo-Esté Coral Pardo-Esté 1,2*Johanna Cortés Johanna Cortés 3Juan Castro-Severyn Juan Castro-Severyn 4Vilma Perez Vilma Perez 5Karem Henriquez-Aedo Karem Henriquez-Aedo 6Fabian Cuadros Fabian Cuadros 3Sara C. Orellana Sara C. Orellana 7Cristina Dorador Cristina Dorador 8Veronica Molina Veronica Molina 9Yoanna Eissler Yoanna Eissler 10Pablo Paquis Pablo Paquis 2Wade H. Jeffrey Wade H. Jeffrey 11Patricia Pozo Patricia Pozo 12Pablo A. Pérez Pablo A. Pérez 12Martha B. Hengst Martha B. Hengst 2*
  • 1 Catholic University of the North, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 2 Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular y Microbiología Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1240000, Chile., Antofagasta, Chile
  • 3 Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Microbial Ecology of the Rhizosphere Group, Valparaiso, Chile, Valparaiso, Chile
  • 4 Laboratorio de Microbiología Aplicada y Extremófilos, Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile., Antofagasta, Chile
  • 5 Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, Adelaide, Australia
  • 6 Laboratorio de Biotecnología y Genética de los Alimentos, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad del Bío Bío, Chillán, Chile, Chillan, Chile
  • 7 Laboratorio de Genómica, Centro de Biotecnología de los Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, Universidad Católica del Maule, Avda. San Miguel 3605, Talca 3480112, Chile., Talca, Chile
  • 8 Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta, Av. Angamos 601, Antofagasta, Chile., Antofagasta, Chile
  • 9 Departamento de Ciencias y Geografía, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas y HUB Ambiental UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha;Centro COPAS Coastal, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile, Valparaiso, Chile
  • 10 Laboratorio de Virología, Centro de Neurobiología y Fisiopatología Integrativa, Instituto de Química y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360102, Chile., Valparaiso, Chile
  • 11 Center for Environmental Diagnostics and Bioremediation, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514, USA, Pensacola, Chile
  • 12 Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Catolica Del Norte, Antofagasta, 1240000, Chile, Antofagasta, Chile

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Thermophilic microorganisms possess several adaptations to thrive in high temperature, which is reflected as biosynthesis of proteins and thermostable molecules, isolation and culture represent a great methodological challenge, therefore High throughput sequencing enables screening of the whole bacterial genome for functional potential, providing rapid and cost-effective information to guide targeted cultures for the identification and characterization of novel natural products. In this study, we isolated two thermophilic bacterial strains corresponding to Bacillus LB7 and Streptomyces LB8, from the microbial mats in the Atacama Desert. By combining genome mining, targeted cultures and biochemical characterization, we aimed to identify their capacity to synthesize bioactive compounds with antimicrobial properties. Additionally, we determined the capability to produce bioactive compounds under controlled in vitro assays and detected by determining their masses by Thin-Layer Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (TLC/MS). Overall, both isolates can produce antimicrobial (e.g. Myxalamide C by-product) and antioxidants (e. g. Dihydroxymandelic Acid, Amide biotine and Flavone by-products) compounds. Bacillus LB7 strain possesses a more diverse repertoire with 51.95% of total metabolites unmatched, while Streptomyces LB8 favors mainly antioxidants, but has over 70% of unclassified compounds, highlighting the necessity to study and elucidate the structure of novel compounds. Based on these results, we postulate that the uncultured or rare cultured thermophiles inhabiting high-altitude hydrothermal ecosystems in the Atacama Desert offer a promising opportunity to the study of novel microbial bioactive compounds.

    Keywords: Bioprospection, secondary metabolites, Thermophilic bacteria, Antimicrobial activity, bioactive compounds

    Received: 07 Aug 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Pardo-Esté, Cortés, Castro-Severyn, Perez, Henriquez-Aedo, Cuadros, Orellana, Dorador, Molina, Eissler, Paquis, Jeffrey, Pozo, Pérez and Hengst. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Coral Pardo-Esté, Catholic University of the North, Antofagasta, Chile
    Martha B. Hengst, Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular y Microbiología Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencias Farmacéuticas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1240000, Chile., Antofagasta, Chile

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.