Isolation and identification of a variant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PR3 with enhanced production of 7,10-dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid

Oxylipins are known to have several biological functions. The oxylipin 7,10-dihydroxy-8(E)-octadecenoic acid (DOD), produced from oleic acid by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was reported to have strong antibacterial activities against broad range of food-borne and plant pathogenic bacteria. Among DOD producers, P. aeruginosa PR3 shows efficient production of DOD from oleic acid, triolein, and olive oil. In this study, we report the serendipitous isolation and characterization of a variant strain of PR3, which upon examination showed higher efficiency for DOD production from olive oil than the original PR3 strain. Compared with the PR3 strain, the variant strain displayed enhanced DOD production by 47.6% and different carbon requirements for maximum DOD production. Considering the advantageous differences seen in this study, we propose the further characterization of this new strain and optimization of culture conditions for efficient DOD production.