Metabolic profiling of cold adaptation of a deep-sea psychrotolerant Microbacterium sediminis to prolonged low temperature under high hydrostatic pressure

The most wide-spread “hostile” environmental factor for marine microorganisms is low temperature, which is usually accompanied by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP). Metabolic mechanisms of marine microorganisms adapting to prolonged low temperature under HHP remain to be clarified. To reveal the underlying metabolic mechanisms, we performed NMR-based metabolomic analysis of aqueous extracts derived from a psychrotolerant Microbacterium sediminis YLB-01, which was isolated from deep-sea sediment and possess great biotechnology potentials. The YLB-01 cells were firstly cultivated at the optimal condition (28 °C, 0.1 MPa) for either 18 h (logarithmic phase) or 24 h (stationary phase), then continually cultivated at either 28 °C or 4 °C under HHP (30 MPa) for 7 days. The cells cultivated at low temperature, which experienced cold stress, were distinctly distinguished from those at normal temperature. Cold stress primarily induced metabolic changes in amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. Furthermore, the logarithmic and stationary phase cells cultivated at low temperature exhibited distinct metabolic discrimination, which was mostly reflected in the significantly disturbed carbohydrate metabolism. The logarithmic phase cells displayed suppressed TCA cycle, while the stationary phase cells showed decreased pyruvate and increased lactate. In addition, we performed transcriptome analysis for the stationary phase cells to support the metabolomic analysis. Our results suggest that the cold adaptation of the psychrotroph YLB-01 is closely associated with profoundly altered amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. Our work provides a mechanistic understanding of the metabolic adaptation of marine psychrotrophs to prolonged low temperature under HHP.