Najla AlMasoud

Optimization of matrix assisted desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) for the characterization of Bacillus and Brevibacillus species

Graphical abstract

Fractional Factorial Design of MALDI-TOF-MS Sample Preparations for the Optimized Detection of Phospholipids and Acylglycerols

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) has successfully been used for the analysis of high molecular weight compounds, such as proteins and nucleic acids. By contrast, analysis of low molecular weight compounds with this technique has been less successful due to interference from matrix peaks which have a similar mass to the target analyte(s). Recently, a variety of modified matrices and matrix additives have been used to overcome these limitations. An increased interest in lipid analysis arose from the feasibility of correlating these components with many diseases, e.g. atherosclerosis and metabolic dysfunctions. Lipids have a wide range of chemical properties making their analysis difficult with traditional methods. MALDI-TOF-MS shows excellent potential for sensitive and rapid analysis of lipids, and therefore this study focuses on computational-analytical optimization of the analysis of five lipids (4 phospholipids and 1 acylglycerol) in complex mixtures using MALDI-TOF-MS with fractional factorial design (FFD) and Pareto optimality. Five different experimental factors were investigated using FFD which reduced the number of experiments performed by identifying 720 key experiments from a total of 8064 possible analyses. Factors investigated included the following: matrices, matrix preparations, matrix additives, additive concentrations, and deposition methods. This led to a significant reduction in time and cost of sample analysis with near optimal conditions. We discovered that the key factors used to produce high quality spectra were the matrix and use of appropriate matrix additives.

Metabolomics Analysis Reveals the Participation of Efflux Pumps and Ornithine in the Response of Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E Cells to Challenge with Propranolol

Efflux pumps are critically important membrane components that play a crucial role in strain tolerance in Pseudomonas putida to antibiotics and aromatic hydrocarbons that result in these toxicants being expelled from the bacteria. Here, the effect of propranolol on P. putida was examined by sudden addition of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6 mg mL-1 of this β-blocker to several strains of P. putida, including the wild type DOT-T1E and the efflux pump knockout mutants DOT-T1E-PS28 and DOT-T1E-18. Bacterial viability measurements reveal that the efflux pump TtgABC plays a more important role than the TtgGHI pump in strain tolerance to propranolol. Mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy was then used as a rapid, high-throughput screening tool to investigate any phenotypic changes resulting from exposure to varying levels of propranolol. Multivariate statistical analysis of these MIR data revealed gradient trends in resultant ordination scores plots, which were related to the concentration of propranolol. MIR illustrated phenotypic changes associated with the presence of this drug within the cell that could be assigned to significant changes that occurred within the bacterial protein components. To complement this phenotypic fingerprinting approach metabolic profiling was performed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify metabolites of interest during the growth of bacteria following toxic perturbation with the same concentration levels of propranolol. Metabolic profiling revealed that ornithine, which was only produced by P. putida cells in the presence of propranolol, presents itself as a major metabolic feature that has important functions in propranolol stress tolerance mechanisms within this highly significant and environmentally relevant species of bacteria.

Rapid discrimination of Enterococcus faecium strains using phenotypic analytical techniques

Clinical isolates of glycopeptide resistant enterococci (GRE) were used to compare three rapid phenotyping and analytical techniques. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) were used to classify 35 isolates of Enterococcus faecium representing 12 distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) types. The results show that the three analytical techniques provide clear discrimination among enterococci at both the strain and isolate levels. FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic data produced very similar bacterial discrimination, reflected in the Procrustes distance between the datasets (0.2125–0.2411, p < 0.001); however, FT-IR data provided superior prediction accuracy to Raman data with correct classification rates (CCR) of 89% and 69% at the strain level, respectively. MALDI-TOF-MS produced slightly different classification of these enterococci strains also with high CCR (78%). Classification data from the three analytical techniques were consistent with PFGE data especially in the case of isolates identified as unique by PFGE. This study presents phenotypic techniques as a complementary approach to current methods with a potential for high-throughput point-of-care screening enabling rapid and reproducible classification of clinically relevant enterococci.

Phenotypic Characterisation of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 Exposed to X-Radiation

Biogeochemical processes mediated by Fe(III)-reducing bacteria such as Shewanella oneidensis have the potential to influence the post-closure evolution of a geological disposal facility for radioactive wastes and to affect the solubility of some radionuclides. Furthermore, their potential to reduce both Fe(III) and radionuclides can be harnessed for the bioremediation of radionuclide-contaminated land. As some such sites are likely to have significant radiation fluxes, there is a need to characterise the impact of radiation stress on such microorganisms. There have, however, been few global cell analyses on the impact of ionizing radiation on subsurface bacteria, so here we address the metabolic response of S. oneidensis MR-1 to acute doses of X-radiation. UV/Vis spectroscopy and CFU counts showed that although X-radiation decreased initial viability and extended the lag phase of batch cultures, final biomass yields remained unchanged. FT-IR spectroscopy of whole cells indicated an increase in lipid associated vibrations and decreases in vibrations tentatively assigned to nucleic acids, phosphate, saccharides and amines. MALDI-TOF-MS detected an increase in total protein expression in cultures exposed to 12 Gy. At 95 Gy, a decrease in total protein levels was generally observed, although an increase in a putative cold shock protein was observed, which may be related to the radiation stress response of this organism. Multivariate statistical analyses applied to these FT-IR and MALDI-TOF-MS spectral data suggested that an irradiated phenotype developed throughout subsequent generations. This study suggests that significant alteration to the metabolism of S. oneidensis MR-1 is incurred as a result of X-irradiation and that dose dependent changes to specific biomolecules characterise this response. Irradiated S. oneidensis also displayed enhanced levels of poorly crystalline Fe(III) oxide reduction, though the mechanism underpinning this phenomenon is unclear.

Chicken, beams, and Campylobacter: rapid differentiation of foodborne bacteria via vibrational spectroscopy and MALDI-mass spectrometry.: rapid differentiation of foodborne bacteria via vibrational spectroscopy and MALDI-mass spectrometry

Campylobacter species are one of the main causes of food poisoning worldwide. Despite the availability of established culturing and molecular techniques, due to the fastidious nature of these microorganisms, simultaneous detection and species differentiation still remains challenging. This study focused on the differentiation of eleven Campylobacter strains from six species, using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopies, together with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), as physicochemical approaches for generating biochemical fingerprints. Cluster analysis of data from each of the three analytical approaches provided clear differentiation of each Campylobacter species, which was generally in agreement with a phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Notably, although C. fetus subspecies fetus and venerealis are phylogenetically very closely related, using FT-IR and MALDI-TOF-MS data these subspecies were readily differentiated based on differences in the lipid (2920 and 2851 cm(-1)) and fingerprint regions (1500-500 cm(-1)) of the FT-IR spectra, and the 500-2000 m/z region of the MALDI-TOF-MS data. A finding that was further investigated with targeted lipidomics using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Our results demonstrate that such metabolomics approaches combined with molecular biology techniques may provide critical information and knowledge related to the risk factors, virulence, and understanding of the distribution and transmission routes associated with different strains of foodborne Campylobacter spp.

Metabolic fingerprinting of Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E strains: understanding the influence of divalent cations in adaptation mechanisms following exposure to toluene

Pseudomonas putida strains can adapt and overcome the activity of toxic organic solvents by the employment of several resistant mechanisms including efflux pumps and modification to lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in their membranes. Divalent cations such as magnesium and calcium play a crucial role in the development of solvent tolerance in bacterial cells. Here, we have used Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy directly on cells (metabolic fingerprinting) to monitor bacterial response to the absence and presence of toluene, along with the influence of divalent cations present in the growth media. Multivariate analysis of the data using principal component-discriminant function analysis (PC-DFA) showed trends in scores plots, illustrating phenotypic alterations related to the effect of Mg2+, Ca2+ and toluene on cultures. Inspection of PC-DFA loadings plots revealed that several IR spectral regions including lipids, proteins and polysaccharides contribute to the separation in PC-DFA space, thereby indicating large phenotypic response to toluene and these cations. Finally, the saturated fatty acid ratio from the FT-IR spectra showed that upon toluene exposure, the saturated fatty acid ratio was reduced, while it increased in the presence of divalent cations. This study clearly demonstrates that the combination of metabolic fingerprinting with appropriate chemometric analysis can result in practicable knowledge on the responses of important environmental bacteria to external stress from pollutants such as highly toxic organic solvents, and indicates that these changes are manifest in the bacterial cell membrane. Finally, we demonstrate that divalent cations improve solvent tolerance in P. putida DOT‑T1E strains.