Metabolomic profiling elucidates community dynamics of the Ketogulonicigenium vulgare-Bacillus megaterium consortium

Many microbial consortia are established upon metabolic interactions. Elucidating such interactions is a priority in understanding the population dynamics of these microbial consortia. In this study, we investigated the interaction dynamics of the vitamin C biosynthesis consortium comprising of Ketogulonicigenium vulgare and Bacillus megaterium. We systematically quantified the dynamic evolution of the ecosystem's population and metabolism in response to a wide range of seeding concentrations and compositions of the two microorganisms. The consortium population dynamics was determined by quantitative PCR. The metabolomic profile of the community was systematically investigated by gas chromatography coupled with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Our results showed that B. megaterium was responsible for initiating the reproduction of K. vulgare, meanwhile, K. vulgare could promote the growth of B. megaterium. Principal component analysis of the metabolomic profiling elucidated variations of intermediates in central carbon metabolism, nucleotide and amino acids metabolism in this microbial consortium. These findings provided new insights into the characterization of the community dynamics and the optimization of co-culture fermentation for vitamin C biosynthesis.