Assessing metabolite biogeography of Micrococcus spp. and Pseudonocardia spp. isolated from marine environments

The study of biogeography enables an understanding of the distribution patterns of biodiversity across space and time [1]. Therefore, byusing a trait-based approach, such as antibiotic production, it is possible to assess the evolutionary, geographic and ecological variables that affect the Actinobacteria specialized metabolism [2, 3]. This is particularly important as Actinobacteria isolated from marine ecosystems have been shown to be a promising source of new drugs [4, 5]. In this study, a comparative metabolomics approach using molecular networking was applied to understand the role of biogeography on the specialized metabolism of Micrococcus spp. and Pseudonocardia spp. isolated from Arctic and Antarctic marine sediments. The LC-MS/MS analysis showed differences in the specialized metabolism of phylogenetically related strains isolated from different geographic regions. These preliminary results suggest an influence on the microbial chemical space through assessing biogeographic impact. Future work on further marine ecosystems will expand our knowledge on the relationship between the chemistry and ecology of rare Actinobacteria.