LC–MS method for screening unknown microbial carotenoids and isoprenoid quinones

The structure of secondary metabolites from microorganisms provides a useful tool for microbial characterization and chemotaxonomic classification. Microbial isoprenoid quinones, for example, are well described and used to distinguish among photosynthetic microorganism groups. In addition, isoprenoid quinones can also be found, together with carotenoids, in non-photosynthetic microorganisms. The aim of the present study was to develop a LC–MS/MS method which can analyze and identify these microbial isoprenoids.Positive atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) together with collisionally induced dissociation was applied for generation of informative fragment spectra by mass spectrometry. Enhanced product ion (EPI) scan in a linear ion trap with information dependent data acquisition (IDA) enabled generation of MS fragment data even from minor isoprenoids. The developed liquid chromatography method enabled separation of isoprenoid patterns from their ester derivatives. Discovery and structural characterization of isoprenoid quinones and carotenoids were carried out by comparing characteristics of fragment spectra from unknown compounds with fragment spectra of a range of isoprenoid standard compounds and using published data. Throughout the study 17 microorganisms (e.g., Acremonium butyri, Arthrobacter spp., Brevibacterium linens, Bullera variabilis, Exophiala dermatitidis, Lecythophora hoffmannii, Panthoea agglomerans, Rhodotorula spp., Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous) were screened and probable structures of isoprenoid quinones and carotenoids were suggested. The method lays some foundations on the analysis of yet unknown isoprenoids in microorganisms by using LCMS/MS techniques.

► We developed a LC–MS method to analyze microbial carotenoids and isoprenoid quinones.
► Positive atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) was applied.
► Enhanced product ion scan and information dependent data acquisition were used.
► Collisionally induced dissociation enabled generation of useful fragment spectra.
► Structures were suggested by comparing product ion spectra of analytes and standards.