Lipidomic signature of Bacillus licheniformis I89 during the different growth phases unravelled by high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Bacillus licheniformis I89 is a non-pathogenic, Gram-positive bacterium, frequently found in soil. It has several biotechnological applications as producer of valuable compounds such as proteases, amylases, surfactants, and lantibiotics. Herein, it is reported the identification of the polar lipidome of B. licheniformis I89 during the different growth phases (lag, exponential and stationary) at 37 °C. The analytical approach relied on hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HILIC–ESI–MS), accurate mass measurements and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). In the lipidome of B. licheniformis I89 were identified four phospholipid classes: phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, lysyl-phosphatidylglycerol, and cardiolipin; two glycolipid classes: monoglycosyldiacylglycerol and diglycosyldiacylglycerol; and two phosphoglyceroglycolipid classes: mono-alanylated lipoteichoic acid primer and lipoteichoic acid primer. The same lipid species were identified at the different growth phases, but there were significant differences on the relative abundance of some molecular species. There was a significant increase in the 30:0 lipid species and a significant decrease in the 32:0 lipid species, between exponential and stationary phases, when compared to lag phase. No differences were observed between exponential and stationary phases. The lipidomic-based approach used herein is a very promising tool to be employed in the study of bacterial lipid composition, which is a requirement to understand its metabolism and response to growth conditions.