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Updated: May 17, 2026

Capturing Actively Produced Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds from Human-Associated Samples with Vacuum-Assisted Sorbent Extraction
Published on: June 1, 2022
Volatile organic compounds derived from 2-keto-acid decarboxylase in Microcystis aeruginosa
Masateru Hasegawa1, Akito Nishizawa, Kiyomi Tsuji
1Graduate School of Environmental and Human Science and Faculty of Pharmacy, Meijo University, Tempaku, Nagoya, Aichi, 468–8503 Japan. q0891502@ccalumni.meijo-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 2-methyl-1-butanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2-phenylethanol, were detected together with β-cyclocitral from the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843. These alcohols were optimally produced after 35 d of culture, during which nitrate nitrogen in the cultured broth became exhausted. Additionally, these alcohols were definitely produced using the 2-keto-acid decarboxylase (MaKDC) in Microcystis strains. These results suggested that these VOCs from Microcystis are significant for their lifecycle, because these compounds are not produced by any other genus of cyanobacteria. This is the first report of 2-keto-acid decarboxylase producing 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2-phenylethanol by an oxygenic photosynthetic microorganism.
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