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Structural Characterization of a Novel Antioxidant Pigment Produced by a Photochromogenic Microbacterium oxydans Strain

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Abstract

The Microbacteriaceae family, such as Microbacterium, is well known for its ability to produce carotenoid-type pigments, but little has been published on the structure of such pigments. Here, we isolated the yellow pigment that is responsible for the yellowish color of a Microbacterium oxydans strain isolated from a decomposing stump of a resinous tree. The pigment, which is synthesized when the bacterium is grown under light, was purified and characterized using several spectroscopic analyses, such as ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR, 13C NMR), and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). From these analysis, a molecular formula (C27H42O2) and a chemical structure (8-hydroxymethyl-2,4,12-trimethyl-14-(2,6,6-trimethyl-cyclohex-2-enyl)-teradeca-3,7,9,11,13-pentan-2-ol) were deduced. The chemical properties of the pigment, such as aqueous stability at different pH, stability in different organic solvents, and antioxidant capacity, are also reported. Together, these data and previous studies have resulted in the identification of a new antioxidant pigment produced by M. oxydans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first thorough investigation of this carotenoid-like pigment in the Microbacterium genera.

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Acknowledgments

MB gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grant no.138654. The editorial help of Dr. Martin Kalmokoff in preparing this manuscript is acknowledged.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Centre de Recherche sur les Matériaux Lignocellulosiques, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, C.P. 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

      Fatma Meddeb-Mouelhi, Jessica Kelly Moisan & Marc Beauregard

    2. PROTEO, Université Laval , Québec, G1V 4G2, Canada

      Fatma Meddeb-Mouelhi, Jessica Kelly Moisan & Marc Beauregard

    3. Département de Chimie, Biochimie et Physique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada

      Jodrey Bergeron & Benoit Daoust

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    1. Fatma Meddeb-Mouelhi
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    3. Jodrey Bergeron
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    Correspondence to Fatma Meddeb-Mouelhi.

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    Fatma Meddeb-Mouelhi and Jessica Kelly Moisan contributed equally to this work.

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    Meddeb-Mouelhi, F., Moisan, J.K., Bergeron, J. et al. Structural Characterization of a Novel Antioxidant Pigment Produced by a Photochromogenic Microbacterium oxydans Strain. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 180, 1286–1300 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-016-2167-8

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