A chemical screening method for menaquinone-producing strains based on HPLC-UV technology

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Menaquinones (MKs), particularly MK-4 and MK-7, are recognized for their biological activities.
• Other MK forms remain less explored due to limited availability and screening methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient chemical screening method for identifying menaquinone (MK)-producing microbial strains.
• To expand the range of available MKs for investigating their pharmacological activities and structure-activity relationships.

Main Methods:

• Established a high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) based chemical screening method.
• Validated the method using twenty-nine Bacillus isolates from fermented soybean samples.

Main Results:

• Successfully identified sixteen MK-producing Bacillus strains out of twenty-nine tested.
• Bacillus subtilis DC-1 demonstrated a high capacity for MK production.
• A commercial strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was also confirmed as an MK producer.

Conclusions:

• The developed HPLC-UV screening method is simple, efficient, and effective for discovering MK-producing strains.
• This method facilitates the identification of diverse MK-producing microorganisms, particularly Bacillus species.