Microbial metabolomics is a discipline that combines bioinformatics and systems microbiology. It not only helps to explore the relationship between species, but is also a reliable analysis tool for the study of microbial evolution and development dynamics. Microbial metabolomics was born in 1992, and its research generally includes sample collection, sample testing and data analysis. In the early days, microbial metabolomics was mainly used for the biological identification of the characteristics of different strains; currently, metabonomics technology has been applied to microbial phenotype classification, mutant screening, metabolic pathways and microbial metabolism engineering, fermentation engineering monitoring and optimization, and microbial environment Pollutants and other aspects. As a rapidly developing new research field, microbial metabolomics is an important part and technical platform of systems biology, which promotes the development of systems microbiology
In 1992, Elmroth et al. conducted the first microbial metabolomics research, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technology to detect fatty acids, amino acids, and carbohydrates to evaluate Leuconostoc mesenteroides) bacterial contamination during the cultivation process. At present, microbial metabonomics has been widely used in different research fields, such as the identification and mutation breeding of microorganisms, functional gene research, metabolic engineering and fermentation engineering.
The application areas of microbial metabolomics mainly include:
- Application in the field of lactic acid bacteria research
Microbial metabolomics has made great progress and breakthroughs in the field of lactic acid bacteria research, such as strain screening and identification, metabolic pathway analysis, fermentation engineering, and probiotic effects. The traditional classification of lactic acid bacteria is mainly based on morphological observation and biochemical experiments for phenotypic classification. With the development of molecular biology technology, genotyping methods such as microbial whole genome sequencing, 16S rDNA sequence analysis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) fingerprinting, and DNA hybridization technology have been widely used. However, the genotype and phenotype of some strains are inconsistent, and different classification results will be obtained. Metabolic profile analysis can distinguish and identify different bacterial species or strains by comparing the characteristic peaks of extracellular metabolites, and has gradually become an effective, rapid and high-throughput method. In addition, microbial metabolomics has also been widely used to monitor changes in components and bacterial phases during fermentation and to evaluate the sensory and nutritional quality of fermented foods.
- Application in the research of intestinal flora
Microorganisms participate in the whole process of the human body’s growth, development, digestion, absorption, nutrition, immunity, biological antagonism and other aspects of the function and structure of the occurrence, development and decline. As the effects of intestinal microbes on human health and disease have received increasing attention, the metabolism of intestinal microbes has become one of the hot research fields in recent years. Existing studies have shown that the application of intestinal microbiome and metabolomics to the study of host physiology, disease pathology, drug pharmacology, etc. has important value. Under normal circumstances, the structure of intestinal flora plays an important role in the prevention and control of diseases, but the imbalance of intestinal flora and changes in microbial biodiversity will have a series of adverse effects on the host, leading to various gastrointestinal diseases. Many researchers have used metabolomics techniques to study the intestinal flora and host metabolites to explore the effects of intestinal flora on host health and disease, and have achieved many important results. Therefore, the use of microbial metabolomics technology to analyze the co-metabolism of gut microbes and the host is essential to reveal the metabolic functions of gut microbes and their effects on host health and disease.
- Application in pathogenic bacteria research
Infectious diseases are common and frequently-occurring diseases that seriously endanger human health and even threaten lives. With the continuous discovery of new pathogens on a global scale, the problem of pathogen resistance has become more and more serious. The outbreak and spread of hospital infections continue to be reported in the reports. The clinical diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases are facing huge challenges. At present, metabolomics technology has been widely used in the field of pathogenic bacteria research, and it can conduct detailed analysis of many aspects of pathogenic bacteria, which will quickly promote its development. MS is the most commonly used metabonomic analysis technique in the study of fungal and plant pathogens, and it is widely used to analyze the mutation of pathogens and the detection and screening of secondary metabolites. In addition, microbial metabonomics has also been applied to the diagnosis of diseases caused by pathogen infection. At present, GC-MS analysis of volatile organic compounds in feces reveals that metabolomics technology can be used to distinguish diarrhea caused by different pathogens.
- Application in food and nutrition
Over the years, food safety has always been valued by governments and people of various countries. Pathogens, toxins and by-products produced by microbial degradation of food are closely related to food safety issues. Therefore, monitoring these related metabolites is very important for food safety. Microbial metabolomics provides a new strategy for food safety evaluation, and has been successfully applied to the detection of toxic substances in food. For example, the use of GC-MS technology to study the fingerprint of volatile metabolites related to specific microbial contamination and the use of LC- MS and NMR technology detect microbial toxins in food. In addition, microbial metabolomics has also been used to assess the effects of nutrient deficiency and excess on the body’s metabolic balance, to more accurately monitor the impact of diet on the body, and to reduce the interference of confounding factors such as age, gender, physiological status, and lifestyle.
- Application in pesticide research
Use microorganisms or their metabolites to prevent and control diseases that endanger the growth of crops, and carry out the development of new agricultural antibiotics and research on living microorganisms. Relying on the central metabolite resource bank, the research group separated the antibacterial active ingredients in microbial metabolites, determined their structure, and further studied the physical and chemical properties of the active ingredients to obtain new active compounds and provide a basis for the development of new agricultural antibiotics. Research on the mechanism of action of valuable new antibiotics, improve the effect of antibiotics, and provide a basis for scientific medication. Carry out research on inoculants of living microorganisms.