Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress

IntroductionpH is an important environmental factor affecting the survival of fungi, and Aspergillus cristatus, which can grow and reproduce over a wide range of pH, is suitable for studying their adaptation mechanism to pH stress.MethodsIn this study, A. cristatus was cultured on plates of differen...

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Main Authors: Rongrong Zhang, Lihong Zhou, Luyi Xie, Lingqing Lu, Hang Zhou, Yi Yang, Jiuping Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1576132/full
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author Rongrong Zhang
Lihong Zhou
Luyi Xie
Lingqing Lu
Hang Zhou
Yi Yang
Jiuping Hu
author_facet Rongrong Zhang
Lihong Zhou
Luyi Xie
Lingqing Lu
Hang Zhou
Yi Yang
Jiuping Hu
author_sort Rongrong Zhang
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionpH is an important environmental factor affecting the survival of fungi, and Aspergillus cristatus, which can grow and reproduce over a wide range of pH, is suitable for studying their adaptation mechanism to pH stress.MethodsIn this study, A. cristatus was cultured on plates of different initial pH (pH 3.8-8.0), with the results revealing distinct morphologies at pH 3.0–5.0, pH 6.0–7.0 and pH 8.0. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and multivariate analysis subsequently were used to analyze the changes of substance metabolism of A. cristatus at different pH.Results and discussionLC-MS and multivariate analyses showed that A. cristatus’s growth at different pH involved significantly different metabolites. In particular, comparing pH 4.0 vs pH 6.0, pH 6.0 vs pH 8.0 and pH 4.0 vs pH 8.0 revealed a total of 317, 171 and 404 significantly different substances, respectively. Finally, as the pH changed from 4.0 to 6.0 to 8.0, eight changes in the patterns of differential substances were identified. At low pH, A. cristatus accumulated large amounts of energy substances (e.g., adenosine), active antioxidants (e.g., glutathione) and osmo-protective substances (e.g., raffinose). In contrast, at high pH, large amounts of phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidyl ethanolamine (LPE), lysophosphatidyl choline (LPC), lysophosphatidyl serine (LPS) related to biofilms were synthesized, alongside antioxidants (e.g., formononetin) and acidic substances. The aforementioned results indicate that A. cristatus adapts to changes in pH by adjusting their metabolite synthesis. Therefore, under unsuitable pH environments, A. cristatus synthesizes specific sets of metabolites that play key roles to cope with the stress.
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spelling doaj-art-e5caaf8afd4947489517ca3a24e422572025-08-20T03:44:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-04-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.15761321576132Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stressRongrong Zhang0Lihong Zhou1Luyi Xie2Lingqing Lu3Hang Zhou4Yi Yang5Jiuping Hu6Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, ChinaPingBa No.1 Senior High School in Anshun City, Anshun, ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, ChinaKey Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences, Institute of Agro-Bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, ChinaYa’an Xunkang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ya’an, ChinaIntroductionpH is an important environmental factor affecting the survival of fungi, and Aspergillus cristatus, which can grow and reproduce over a wide range of pH, is suitable for studying their adaptation mechanism to pH stress.MethodsIn this study, A. cristatus was cultured on plates of different initial pH (pH 3.8-8.0), with the results revealing distinct morphologies at pH 3.0–5.0, pH 6.0–7.0 and pH 8.0. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and multivariate analysis subsequently were used to analyze the changes of substance metabolism of A. cristatus at different pH.Results and discussionLC-MS and multivariate analyses showed that A. cristatus’s growth at different pH involved significantly different metabolites. In particular, comparing pH 4.0 vs pH 6.0, pH 6.0 vs pH 8.0 and pH 4.0 vs pH 8.0 revealed a total of 317, 171 and 404 significantly different substances, respectively. Finally, as the pH changed from 4.0 to 6.0 to 8.0, eight changes in the patterns of differential substances were identified. At low pH, A. cristatus accumulated large amounts of energy substances (e.g., adenosine), active antioxidants (e.g., glutathione) and osmo-protective substances (e.g., raffinose). In contrast, at high pH, large amounts of phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidyl ethanolamine (LPE), lysophosphatidyl choline (LPC), lysophosphatidyl serine (LPS) related to biofilms were synthesized, alongside antioxidants (e.g., formononetin) and acidic substances. The aforementioned results indicate that A. cristatus adapts to changes in pH by adjusting their metabolite synthesis. Therefore, under unsuitable pH environments, A. cristatus synthesizes specific sets of metabolites that play key roles to cope with the stress.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1576132/fullAspergillus cristatuspH stressdifferent substancespH homeostasisadaptation mechanism
spellingShingle Rongrong Zhang
Lihong Zhou
Luyi Xie
Lingqing Lu
Hang Zhou
Yi Yang
Jiuping Hu
Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress
Frontiers in Microbiology
Aspergillus cristatus
pH stress
different substances
pH homeostasis
adaptation mechanism
title Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress
title_full Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress
title_fullStr Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress
title_full_unstemmed Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress
title_short Metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of Aspergillus cristatus under pH stress
title_sort metabolite profiling and adaptation mechanisms of aspergillus cristatus under ph stress
topic Aspergillus cristatus
pH stress
different substances
pH homeostasis
adaptation mechanism
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1576132/full
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