Profiling of D-alanine production by the microbial isolates of rat gut microbiota

D-alanine (D-Ala) and several other D-amino acids (D-AAs), unusual amino acids present in mammals, act as hormones and neuromodulators in nervous and endocrine systems. Unlike the endogenously synthesized D-serine in animals, D-Ala may be from exogenous sources, e.g., diet and intestinal microorganisms. However, it is unclear if the capability to produce D-Ala and other D-AAs varies among different microbial strains in the gut. We isolated individual microorganisms of rat gut microbiota and profiled their D-AA secretion in vitro, focusing on D-Ala. Serial dilutions of intestinal content from adult male rats were plated on agar to obtain clonal cultures. Using MALDI-TOF MS for rapid strain typing, we identified 38 unique isolates, grouped into 11 species based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. We then used two-tier screening to profile bacterial D-AA secretion, combining a D-amino acid oxidase-based enzymatic assay for rapid assessment of overall D-AA amount, followed by chiral LC-MS/MS to quantify individual D-AAs, revealing 19 out of the 38 isolated strains as D-AA producers. LC-MS/MS analysis of the eight top D-AA producers showed high levels of D-Ala in all strains tested, with substantial inter- and intra-species variations. Though results from enzymatic assay and LC-MS/MS analysis aligned well, LC-MS/MS further revealed the existence of D-glutamate and D-aspartate, which are poor substrates for enzymatic assay. We observed large inter- and intra-species variation of D-AA secretion profiles from rat gut microbiome species, demonstrating the importance of chemical profiling of gut microbiota in addition to sequencing, furthering the idea that microbial metabolites modulate host physiology.