Metabolite profiling of the cold adaptation of Pseudomonas putida KT2440 and cold-sensitive mutants

Free-living bacteria such as Pseudomonas putida are frequently exposed to temperature shifts and non-optimal growth conditions. We compared the transcriptome and metabolome of the cold adaptation of P. putida KT2440 and isogenic cold-sensitive transposon mutants carrying transposons in their cbrA, cbrB, pcnB, vacB, and bipA genes. Pseudomonas putida changes the mRNA expression of about 43% of all annotated open reading frames during this initial phase of cold adaptation, but only a small number of 6-93 genes were differentially expressed at 10°C between the wild-type strain and the individual mutants. The spectrum of metabolites underwent major changes during cold adaptation particularly in the mutants. Both the KT2440 strain and the mutants increased the levels of the most abundant sugars and amino acids which were more pronounced in the cold-sensitive mutants. All mutants depleted their pools for core metabolites of aromatic and sugar metabolism, but increased their pool of polar amino acids which should be advantageous to cope with the cold stress.