Metabolic profiling of Staphylococcus aureus cultivated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions with 1H NMR-based nontargeted analysis

Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen in the medical area and food-producing sector. Detailed analyses of its basic cell physiology will help comprehensively understand this pathogen, which will be useful for developing novel diagnostic and treatment tools. Oxygen is one of the most crucial growth-limiting factors for S. aureus. In this study, to characterize and distinguish metabolic profiles of S. aureus cultivated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, nontargeted analyses of both types of cultures were carried out using H-1 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Fifty compounds were identified by Chenomx software. Characteristics of metabolic profiles were achieved by using principal components analysis. During aerobic growth, S. aureus mainly consumed glucose, alanine, arginine, glycine, isoleucine, leucine, phenylalanine, and acetate. Meanwhile, it accumulated 17 metabolites, mainly 2-oxoglutarate, isobutyrate, isovalerate, succinate, and ethanol. Under anaerobic condition, S. aureus mainly consumed glucose, arginine, and threonine. Meanwhile, it accumulated 13 metabolites, mainly ethanol, lactate, and ornithine. The representative metabolites that could most significantly differentiate metabolic profiles of S. aureus were isobutyrate, isovalerate, and succinate in aerobic cultivation; and lactate, ethanol, and ornithine in anaerobic cultivation. Among these metabolites, isobutyrate and ornithine were present only in aerobic and anaerobic culture, respectively.