Hooi-Leng Ser

Presence of antioxidative agent, Pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexahydro- in newly isolated Streptomyces mangrovisoli sp. nov.

A novel Streptomyces, strain MUSC 149T was isolated from mangrove soil. A polyphasic approach was used to study the taxonomy of MUSC 149T, which shows a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the members of the genus Streptomyces. The diamino acid of the cell wall peptidoglycan was LL-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinones were identified as MK9(H8) and MK9(H6). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that closely related strains include Streptomyces rhizophilus NBRC 108885T (99.2% sequence similarity), S. gramineus NBRC 107863T (98.7%) and S. graminisoli NBRC 108883T (98.5%). The DNA–DNA relatedness values between MUSC 149T and closely related type strains ranged from 12.4 ± 3.3% to 27.3 ± 1.9%. The DNA G + C content was determined to be 72.7 mol%. The extract of MUSC 149T exhibited strong antioxidant activity and chemical analysis reported identification of an antioxidant agent, Pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexahydro-. These data showed that metabolites of MUSC 149T shall be useful as preventive agent against free-radical associated diseases. Based on the polyphasic study of MUSC 149T, the strain merits assignment to a novel species, for which the name S. mangrovisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MUSC 149T (=MCCC 1K00699T=DSM 100438T).

Investigation of Antioxidative and Anticancer Potentials of Streptomyces sp. MUM256 Isolated from Malaysia Mangrove Soil.

A Streptomyces strain, MUM256 was isolated from Tanjung Lumpur mangrove soil in Malaysia. Characterization of the strain showed that it has properties consistent with those of the members of the genus Streptomyces. In order to explore the potential bioactivities, extract of the fermented broth culture of MUM256 was prepared with organic solvent extraction method. DPPH and SOD activity were utilized to examine the antioxidant capacity and the results have revealed the potency of MUM256 in superoxide anion scavenging activity in dose-dependent manner. The cytotoxicity of MUM256 extract was determined using cell viability assay against 8 different panels of human cancer cell lines. Among all the tested cancer cells, HCT116 was the most sensitive toward the extract treatment. At the highest concentration of tested extract, the result showed 2.3-, 2.0-, and 1.8-folds higher inhibitory effect against HCT116, HT29, and Caco-2 respectively when compared to normal cell line. This result has demonstrated that MUM256 extract was selectively cytotoxic toward colon cancer cell lines. In order to determine the constituents responsible for its bioactivities, the extract was then subjected to chemical analysis using GC-MS. The analysis resulted in the identification of chemical constituents including phenolic and pyrrolopyrazine compounds which may responsible for antioxidant and anticancer activities observed. Based on the findings of this study, the presence of bioactive constituents in MUM256 extract could be a potential source for the development of antioxidative and chemopreventive agents.

Streptomyces antioxidans sp. nov., a Novel Mangrove Soil Actinobacterium with Antioxidative and Neuroprotective Potentials.

A novel strain, Streptomyces antioxidans MUSC 164T was recovered from mangrove forest soil located at Tanjung Lumpur, Malaysia. The Gram-positive bacterium forms yellowish-white aerial and brilliant greenish yellow substrate mycelium on ISP 2 agar. A polyphasic approach was used to determine the taxonomy status of strain MUSC 164T. The strain showed a spectrum of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the members of the genus Streptomyces. The cell wall peptidoglycan was determined to contain LL-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinones were identified as MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8), while the identified polar lipids consisted of aminolipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, glycolipid, hydroxyphosphatidylethanolamine, phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and lipid. The cell wall sugars consist of galactose, glucose and ribose. The predominant cellular fatty acids (>10.0%) were identified as iso-C15:0 (34.8%) and anteiso-C15:0(14.0%). Phylogenetic analysis identified that closely related strains for MUSC 164T as Streptomyces javensis NBRC 100777T (99.6% sequence similarity), Streptomyces yogyakartensis NBRC 100779T (99.6%) and Streptomyces violaceusniger NBRC 13459T (99.6%). The DNA–DNA relatedness values between MUSC 164T and closely related type strains ranged from 23.8 ± 0.3% to 53.1 ± 4.3%. BOX-PCR fingerprints comparison showed that MUSC 164T exhibits a unique DNA profile, with DNA G + C content determined to be 71.6 mol%. Based on the polyphasic study of MUSC 164T, it is concluded that this strain represents a novel species, for which the name Streptomyces antioxidans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MUSC 164T (=DSM 101523T = MCCC 1K01590T). The extract of MUSC 164T showed potent antioxidative and neuroprotective activities against hydrogen peroxide. The chemical analysis of the extract revealed that the strain produces pyrazines and phenolic-related compounds that could explain for the observed bioactivities.

Streptomyces malaysiense sp. nov.: A novel Malaysian mangrove soil actinobacterium with antioxidative activity and cytotoxic potential against human cancer cell lines.

Actinobacteria from the unique intertidal ecosystem of the mangroves are known to produce novel, bioactive secondary metabolites. A novel strain known as MUSC 136T (=DSM 100712T = MCCC 1K01246T) which was isolated from Malaysian mangrove forest soil has proven to be no exception. Assessed by a polyphasic approach, its taxonomy showed a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with the genus of Streptomyces. Phylogenetically, highest similarity was to Streptomyces misionensis NBRC 13063T (99.6%) along with two other strains (>98.9% sequence similarities). The DNA–DNA relatedness between MUSC 136T and these type strains ranged from 22.7 ± 0.5% to 46.5 ± 0.2%. Overall, polyphasic approach studies indicated this strain represents a novel species, for which the name Streptomyces malaysiense sp. nov. is proposed. The potential bioactivities of this strain were explored by means of antioxidant and cytotoxic assays. Intriguingly, MUSC 136T exhibited strong antioxidative activities as evaluated by a panel of antioxidant assays. It was also found to possess high cytotoxic effect against HCT-116 cells, which probably mediated through altering p53 protein and intracellular glutathione levels. Chemical analysis of the extract using GC-MS further affirms that the strain produces chemopreventive related metabolites.

The Potential of Streptomyces as Biocontrol Agents against the Rice Blast Fungus, Magnaporthe oryzae (Pyricularia oryzae)

Rice is a staple food source for more than three billion people worldwide. However, rice is vulnerable to diseases, the most destructive among them being rice blast, which is caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae (anamorph Pyricularia oryzae). This fungus attacks rice plants at all stages of development, causing annual losses of approximately 10–30% in various rice producing regions. Synthetic fungicides are often able to effectively control plant diseases, but some fungicides result in serious environmental and health problems. Therefore, there is growing interest in discovering and developing new, improved fungicides based on natural products as well as introducing alternative measures such as biocontrol agents to manage plant diseases. Streptomyces bacteria appear to be promising biocontrol agents against a wide range of phytopathogenic fungi, which is not surprising given their ability to produce various bioactive compounds. This review provides insight into the biocontrol potential of Streptomyces against the rice blast fungus, M. oryzae. The ability of various Streptomyces spp. to act as biocontrol agents of rice blast disease has been studied by researchers under both laboratory and greenhouse/growth chamber conditions. Laboratory studies have shown that Streptomyces exhibit inhibitory activity against M. oryzae. In greenhouse studies, infected rice seedlings treated with Streptomyces resulted in up to 88.3% disease reduction of rice blast. Studies clearly show that Streptomyces spp. have the potential to be used as highly effective biocontrol agents against rice blast disease; however, the efficacy of any biocontrol agent may be affected by several factors including environmental conditions and methods of application. In order to fully exploit their potential, further studies on the isolation, formulation and application methods of Streptomyces along with field experiments are required to establish them as effective biocontrol agents.

Fermentation conditions that affect clavulanic acid production in Streptomyces clavuligerus: a systematic review

The β-lactamase inhibitor, clavulanic acid is frequently used in combination with β-lactam antibiotics to treat a wide spectrum of infectious diseases. Clavulanic acid prevents drug resistance by pathogens against these β-lactam antibiotics by preventing the degradation of the β-lactam ring, thus ensuring eradication of these harmful microorganisms from the host. This systematic review provides an overview on the fermentation conditions that affect the production of clavulanic acid in the firstly described producer, Streptomyces clavuligerus. A thorough search was conducted using predefined terms in several electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, EBSCO), from database inception to June 30th 2015. Studies must involve wild-type Streptomyces clavuligerus, and full texts needed to be available. A total of 29 eligible articles were identified. Based on the literature, several factors were identified that could affect the production of clavulanic acid in S. clavuligerus. The addition of glycerol or other vegetable oils (e.g., olive oil, corn oil) could potentially affect clavulanic acid production. Furthermore, some amino acids such as arginine and ornithine, could serve as potential precursors to increase clavulanic acid yield. The comparison of different fermentation systems revealed that fed-batch fermentation yields higher amounts of clavulanic acid as compared to batch fermentation, probably due to the maintenance of substrates and constant monitoring of certain entities (such as pH, oxygen availability, etc.). Overall, these findings provide vital knowledge and insight that could assist media optimization and fermentation design for clavulanic acid production in S. clavuligerus.

Draft genome of amylolytic actinobacterium, Sinomonas humi MUSC 117T isolated from intertidal soil

The amylolytic actinobacterium, Sinomonas humi MUSC 117(T) was isolated from intertidal soil from Kuantan, Malaysia. MUSC 117(T) exhibited significant starch hydrolysis activity and was chosen for further analysis. Here we report approximately 4.4 Mbp high quality genome sequence of MUSC 117(T). Availability of the genome sequence will contribute to better understanding for the strain and allow further exploitation of its biotechnological potential.

IDDF2018-ABS-0239 Dissecting the gut and brain: potential links between gut microbiota in development of alzheimer’s disease?

Background Recently researchers speculated that the gut microbiota might contribute to the development of chronic diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), given that some bacteria are capable of synthesising amyloids and inducing inflammation via production of endotoxins. Thus, this study aims to understand the role of gut microbiota in AD development, obtaining clues on the regulation of gut microbes to prevent and tackle AD. Methods Following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, searches were performed in 4 databases (PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, EBSCO; database inception to February 2018) using ‘gut’, ‘microbiome’ combined with ‘Alzheimer’s’ or ‘amyloid’ as MeSH terms. All titles and abstracts retrieved were screened based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies reporting gut microbiome data in relation to the development of AD were included. Studies without gut microbiome data and/or AD biomarker(s) were excluded, along with reviews, conference abstracts, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, comments, and letters to the editor. Results After removing duplicate records, a total of 155 articles were accessed, which resulted in 70 articles excluded based on their titles and abstracts. Seven out of 85 studies were eligible for the qualitative analysis according to the inclusion criteria. Among these, six studies involve murine model, while one study was conducted in humans. Using transgenic murine model of AD, all studies reported a remarkable shift in the microbiota composition as compared to controls, with significant changes in phyla like Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. The high abundance of pro-inflammation bacteria like Proteobacteria may induce immunological reactions and neuroinflammation, which are known aetiology of AD. Complementing with in vivo studies, Cattaneo et al. (2017) recorded higher abundance of pro-inflammatory bacteria (e.g. Escherichia/Shigella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and lower distribution of anti-inflammatory bacteria (e.g. Bacillus fragilis, Eubacterium rectale, Eubacterium hallii, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Bacteroides fragilis) in amyloid-positive patients as compared to healthy subjects. Conclusions As depicted in figure 1: The dysbiosis of the gut microbiota plays a significant role in the development of AD. Evidence showed the high abundance of pro-inflammatory bacteria with a reduced population of anti-inflammatory bacteria could promote neuroinflammation, which can exacerbate amyloid beta plaques formation. Figure. No caption available.