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Kikukawa et al. Microbiome Res Rep 2023;2:4 Microbiome Research
DOI: 10.20517/mrr.2022.24
Reports

Original Article Open Access

Production of a selective antibacterial fatty acid
against Staphylococcus aureus by Bifidobacterium

strains

3
4
6
5
Hiroshi Kikukawa 1,2 , Toshihiro Nagao , Mitsuki Ota , Shigeo Takashima , Kohji Kitaguchi , Emiko
7
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Yanase , Sadatoshi Maeda , Kiyotaka Y. Hara 1,2
1
Graduate Division of Nutritional and Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan.
2
School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan.
3
Research Division of Biomaterials and Commodity Chemicals, Osaka Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology,
Osaka 536-8553, Japan.
4
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
5
Institute for Glyco-core Research (iGCORE), Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
6
Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
7
The United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
Correspondence to: Prof. Hiroshi Kikukawa, Division of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, N13W8,
Kitaku, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan. E-mail: kikukawa@eng.hokudai.ac.jp
How to cite this article: Kikukawa H, Nagao T, Ota M, Takashima S, Kitaguchi K, Yanase E, Maeda S, Hara KY. Production of a
selective antibacterial fatty acid against Staphylococcus aureus by Bifidobacterium strains. Microbiome Res Rep 2023;2:4.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/mrr.2022.24
Received: 31 Dec 2022 First Decision: 29 Jan 2023 Revised: 6 Feb 2023 Accepted: 10 Feb 2023 Published: 22 Feb 2023
Academic Editor: Francesca Turroni Copy Editor: Ke-Cui Yang Production Editor: Ke-Cui Yang
Abstract
Aims: C16 monounsaturated fatty acid (C16:1) show antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogen
associated with various diseases such as atopic dermatitis and bacteremia, while the compound does not exhibit
antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus epidermidis, an epidermal commensal that inhibits the growth of S.
aureus. In this study, we aimed to find bifidobacterial strains with the ability to produce C16:1 and to find a practical
manner to utilize C16:1-producing strains in industry.

Methods: Various Bifidobacterium strains were screened for their content of C16:1. The chemical identity of C16:1
produced by a selected strain was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid
chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Medium components that affect the C16:1 content of the selected
strain were investigated. Antibacterial activity against staphylococci was compared between the authentic C16:1
isomers and total fatty acids (TFA) extracted from the selected strain.

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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