Demonstration of Carbon Catabolite Repression in Naphthalene Degrading Soil Bacteria via Raman Spectroscopy Based Stable Isotope Probing.

Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) is a regulatory phenomenon occurring in both lower organisms like bacteria and higher organisms like yeast, which allows them to preferentially utilize a specific carbon source to achieve highest metabolic activity and cell growth. CCR has been intensely studied in the model organisms Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis by following diauxic growth curves, assays to estimate the utilization or depletion of carbon sources, enzyme assays, Western blotting and mass spectrometric analysis to monitor and quantify the involvement of specific enzymes and proteins involved in CCR. In this study, we have visualized this process in three species of naphthalene degrading soil bacteria at a single cell level via Raman spectroscopy based stable isotope probing (Raman-SIP) using a single and double labeling approach. This is achieved using a combination of (2)H and (13)C isotope labeled carbon sources like glucose, galactose, fructose, and naphthalene. Time dependent metabolic flux of (13)C and (2)H isotopes has been followed via semi quantification and 2D Raman correlation analysis. For this, the relative intensities of Raman marker bands corresponding to (2)H and (13)C incorporation in newly synthesized macromolecules like proteins and lipids have been utilized. The 2D correlation analysis of time dependent Raman spectra readily identified small sequential changes resulting from isotope incorporation. Overall, we show that Raman-SIP has the potential to be used to obtain information about regulatory processes like CCR in bacteria at a single cell level within a time span of 3 h in fast growing bacteria. We also demonstrate the potential of this approach in identifying the most efficient naphthalene degraders asserting its importance for use in bioremediation.

Characterization of carotenoids in soil bacteria and investigation of their photodegradation by UVA radiation via resonance Raman spectroscopy.

A soil habitat consists of an enormous number of pigmented bacteria with the pigments mainly composed of diverse carotenoids. Most of the pigmented bacteria in the top layer of the soil are photoprotected from exposure to huge amounts of UVA radiation on a daily basis by these carotenoids. The photostability of these carotenoids depends heavily on the presence of specific features like a carbonyl group or an ionone ring system on its overall structure. Resonance Raman spectroscopy is one of the most sensitive and powerful techniques to detect and characterize these carotenoids and also monitor processes associated with them in their native system at a single cell resolution. However, most of the resonance Raman profiles of carotenoids have very minute differences, thereby making it extremely difficult to confirm if these differences are attributed to the presence of different carotenoids or if it is a consequence of their interaction with other cellular components. In this study, we devised a method to overcome this problem by monitoring also the photodegradation of the carotenoids in question by UVA radiation wherein a differential photodegradation response will confirm the presence of different carotenoids irrespective of the proximities in their resonance Raman profiles. Using this method, the detection and characterization of carotenoids in pure cultures of five species of pigmented coccoid soil bacteria is achieved. We also shed light on the influence of the structure of the carotenoid on its photodegradation which can be exploited for use in the characterization of carotenoids via resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Identification of early biomarkers during acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity by fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy.

Acetaminophen is a widely prescribed drug used to relieve pain and fever; however, it is a leading cause of drug-induced liver injury and a burden on public healthcare. In this study, hepatotoxicity in mice post oral dosing of acetaminophen was investigated using liver and sera samples with Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy. The infrared spectra of acetaminophen treated livers in BALB/c mice show decrease in glycogen, increase in amounts of cholesteryl esters and DNA respectively. Rescue experiments using L-methionine demonstrate that depletion in glycogen and increase in DNA are abrogated with pre-treatment, but not post-treatment, with L-methionine. This indicates that changes in glycogen and DNA are more sensitive to the rapid depletion of glutathione. Importantly, analysis of sera identified lowering of glycogen and increase in DNA and chlolesteryl esters earlier than increase in alanine aminotransferase, which is routinely used to diagnose liver damage. In addition, these changes are also observed in C57BL/6 and Nos2(-/-) mice. There is no difference in the kinetics of expression of these three molecules in both strains of mice, the extent of damage is similar and corroborated with ALT and histological analysis. Quantification of cytokines in sera showed increase upon APAP treatment. Although the levels of Tnfα and Ifnγ in sera are not significantly affected, Nos2(-/-) mice display lower Il6 but higher Il10 levels during this acute model of hepatotoxicity. Overall, this study reinforces the growing potential of Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy as a fast, highly sensitive and label-free technique for non-invasive diagnosis of liver damage. The combination of Fourier Transform Infrared microspectroscopy and cytokine analysis is a powerful tool to identify multiple biomarkers, understand differential host responses and evaluate therapeutic regimens during liver damage and, possibly, other diseases.