Microbial Tailoring of Acyl Peptidic Siderophores

Marine bacteria produce an abundance of suites of acylated siderophores characterized by a unique, species-dependent headgroup that binds iron(III) and one of a series of fatty acid appendages. Marinobacter sp. DS40M6 produces a suite of seven acylated marinobactins, with fatty acids ranging from saturated and unsaturated C12-C18 fatty acids. In the present study, we report that in the late log phase of growth, the fatty acids are hydrolyzed by an amide hydrolase producing the peptidic marinobactin headgroup. Halomonas aquamarina str. DS40M3, another marine bacterium isolated originally from the same sample of open ocean water as Marinobacter sp. DS40M6, produces the acyl aquachelins, also as a suite composed of a peptidic headgroup distinct from that of the marinobactins. In contrast to the acyl marinobactins, hydrolysis of the suite of acyl aquachelins is not detected, even when H. aquamarina str. DS40M3 is grown into the stationary phase. The Marinobacter cell-free extract containing the acyl amide hydrolase is active toward exogenous acyl-peptidic siderophores (e.g., aquachelin C, loihichelin C, as well as octanoyl homoserine lactone used in quorum sensing). Further, when H. aquamarina str. DS40M3 is cultured together with Marinobacter sp. DS40M6, the fatty acids of both suites of siderophores are hydrolyzed, and the aquachelin headgroup is also produced. The present study demonstrates that coculturing bacteria leads to metabolically tailored metabolites compared to growth in a single pure culture, which is interesting given the importance of siderophore-mediated iron acquisition for bacterial growth and that Marinobacter sp. DS40M6 and H. aquamarina str. DS40M3 were isolated from the same sample of seawater.