Liu Huaying, Yao Maosheng
State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2025 Sep 17;91(9):e0078525. doi: 10.1128/aem.00785-25. Epub 2025 Aug 6.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) profiles function as dynamic fingerprints of physiological states and disease progression. Here, the eukaryotic organism was used to investigate the emission characteristics of VOCs induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Using multi-omics techniques and physiology methods, yeast cells were observed to undergo both stress and adaptation phases upon exposure, as characterized by changes in acetic acid-D and higher alcohols/aldehydes. The oxidative phosphorylation process in yeast was inhibited during the stress response, leading to an oxidative stress accompanied by growth inhibition and cell wall remodeling. The adaptive stage of cells reprogrammed metabolism to consume excess metabolic substrates generated during the stress stage, thus resulting in the production of secondary metabolites such as higher alcohols/aldehydes as biomarkers. Acetic acid detected could, in contrast, serve as an early biomarker for the oxidative stress of yeast. Using flow cytometry together with FITC labeling, LPS was further shown to bind to cells, leading to internalization and membrane damage compared to controls. This study provides time-resolved mechanistic insights into VOCs as non-invasive biomarkers. These findings suggest that dynamic VOC profiles from cells hold promise as a "surveillance camera" for monitoring cellular health.IMPORTANCEThe analysis of metabolically derived volatile organic compounds (VOCs) provides an approach for tracking cellular stress dynamics. We demonstrate that the VOC profile released by cells dynamically evolved with time during lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced stress, coordinated with transcriptomic and proteomic reprogramming. Through multiple omics techniques and physiology, yeast cells were observed to undergo both stress and adaptation phases, as characterized by changes in acetic acid-D and higher alcohols/aldehydes. These findings establish VOCs as real-time, non-invasive indicators of time-resolved stress responses, highlighting their potential as surveillance tools to detect early cellular perturbations caused by external threats.
挥发性有机化合物（VOC）谱可作为生理状态和疾病进展的动态指纹图谱。在此，使用真核生物来研究脂多糖（LPS）诱导的VOC排放特征。通过多组学技术和生理学方法观察到，酵母细胞在暴露后会经历应激和适应阶段，其特征为乙酸-D以及高级醇/醛的变化。酵母中的氧化磷酸化过程在应激反应期间受到抑制，导致氧化应激，并伴有生长抑制和细胞壁重塑。细胞的适应阶段会对新陈代谢进行重新编程，以消耗应激阶段产生的过量代谢底物，从而产生高级醇/醛等次生代谢物作为生物标志物。相比之下，检测到的乙酸可作为酵母氧化应激的早期生物标志物。通过流式细胞术结合异硫氰酸荧光素（FITC）标记进一步表明，与对照相比，LPS会与细胞结合，导致内化和膜损伤。本研究为VOC作为非侵入性生物标志物提供了时间分辨的机制见解。这些发现表明，细胞的动态VOC谱有望成为监测细胞健康的“监控摄像头”。
对代谢衍生的挥发性有机化合物（VOC）的分析提供了一种追踪细胞应激动态的方法。我们证明，在脂多糖（LPS）诱导的应激过程中，细胞释放的VOC谱随时间动态演变，并与转录组和蛋白质组的重新编程相协调。通过多种组学技术和生理学方法观察到，酵母细胞会经历应激和适应阶段，其特征为乙酸-D以及高级醇/醛的变化。这些发现确立了VOC作为时间分辨应激反应的实时、非侵入性指标，突出了它们作为监测工具检测由外部威胁引起的早期细胞扰动的潜力。
