Challenging the Hypothesis of de novo Biosynthesis of Bile Acids by Marine Bacteria

Bile acids are essential molecules produced by vertebrates that are involved in several physiological roles, including the uptake of nutrients. Bacterial isolates capable of producing bile acids de novo have been identified and characterized. Such isolates may provide access to novel biochemical pathways suitable for the design of microbial cell factories. Here, we further characterized the ability of Maribacter dokdonensis, Dokdonia donghaensis, and Myroides pelagicus to produce bile acids. Contrary to previous reports, we did not observe de novo production of bile acids by these isolates. Instead, we found that these isolates deconjugated the amino acid moiety of bile acids present in the growth medium used in previous reports. Through genomic analysis, we identified putative bile salt hydrolases, which could be responsible for the different bile acid modifications observed. Our results challenge the hypothesis of de novo microbial bile acid production, while further demonstrating the diverse capacity of bacteria to modify bile acids.