Capturing Actively Produced Microbial Volatile Organic Compounds from Human-Associated Samples with Vacuum-Assisted...

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Metabolomics

Background:

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in biological samples have complex origins, potentially stemming from the host or its associated microbial communities.
• Disentangling the specific sources of these VOCs is crucial for accurate biological interpretation and diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a workflow for identifying the microbial origins of VOCs in complex biological samples.
• To differentiate VOCs produced by specific bacterial species and their metabolic activity within a community context.

Main Methods:

• Utilized volatile headspace analysis of bacterial mono- and co-cultures (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii).
• Employed stable isotope probing (SIP) in human-associated biological samples (feces, saliva, sewage, sputum).
• Applied Vacuum-Assisted Sorbent Extraction (VASE) for efficient, solvent-free VOC extraction.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct volatile signatures for individual bacterial species and their combinations.
• SIP analysis revealed commonly and uniquely produced VOCs in human samples, linked to active microbial metabolism.
• Demonstrated the efficacy of VASE for rapid, solvent-free VOC extraction.

Conclusions:

• The integrated VASE and SIP workflow effectively attributes VOCs to specific microbial sources.
• This methodology provides a robust approach for studying microbial metabolism and VOC production in diverse biological settings.
• The findings contribute to a better understanding of microbial ecology and the chemical communication within host-associated environments.