Genome Characterization and Probiotic Potential of Corynebacterium amycolatum Human Vaginal Isolates

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 2; p. 249
• Main Authors: Gladysheva, Irina V, Cherkasov, Sergey V, Khlopko, Yuriy A, Plotnikov, Andrey O
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 23.01.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Acid resistance; Amino acids; Annotations; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; bacteriocin; Bacteriocins; Corynebacterium amycolatum; CRISPR; Genes; genome; Genomes; Hydrogen peroxide; Lactic acid; Lactic acid bacteria; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microbiomes; Microorganisms; Opportunist infection; Oxidation resistance; Oxidative stress; Pathogens; Phylogenetics; Probiotics; Proteins; secondary metabolism; Secondary metabolites; Strains (organisms); Synthesis; Vagina; vaginal microbiome; Virulence; Vitamins; United States > US; Russia; genome; Corynebacterium amycolatum; bacteriocin; secondary metabolism; vaginal microbiome
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020249
• ISSN: 2076-2607

The vaginal microbiome of healthy women contains nondiphtheria corynebacteria. The role and functions of nondiphtheria corynebacteria in the vaginal biotope are still under study. We sequenced and analysed the genomes of three vaginal strains isolated from healthy women. Previous studies have shown that these strains produced metabolites that significantly increased the antagonistic activity of peroxide-producing lactic acid bacteria against pathogenic and opportunistic microorganisms and had strong antimicrobial activity against opportunistic pathogens. Analysis of the genomes revealed the genes responsible for adaptation and survival in the vaginal environment, including acid and oxidative stress resistance genes. The genes responsible for the production of H O and the synthesis of secondary metabolites, essential amino acids and vitamins were identified. A cluster of genes encoding the synthesis of bacteriocin was revealed in one of the annotated genomes. The obtained results allow us to consider the studied strains as potential probiotics that are capable of preventing the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and supporting colonisation resistance in the vaginal biotope.