Global Metabolic Responses to Salt Stress in Fifteen Species

Cells constantly adapt to unpredictably changing extracellular solute concentrations. A cornerstone of the cellular osmotic stress response is the metabolic supply of energy and building blocks to mount appropriate defenses. Yet, the extent to which osmotic stress impinges on the metabolic network remains largely unknown. Moreover, it is mostly unclear which, if any, of the metabolic responses to osmotic stress are conserved among diverse organisms or confined to particular groups of species. Here we investigate the global metabolic responses of twelve bacteria, two yeasts and two human cell lines exposed to sustained hyperosmotic salt stress by measuring semiquantitative levels of hundreds of cellular metabolites using nontargeted metabolomics. Beyond the accumulation of osmoprotectants, we observed significant changes of numerous metabolites in all species. Global metabolic responses were predominantly species-specific, yet individual metabolites were characteristically affected depending on species’ taxonomy, natural habitat, envelope structure or salt tolerance. Exploiting the breadth of our dataset, the correlation of individual metabolite response magnitudes across all species implicated lower glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, branched-chain amino acid metabolism and heme biosynthesis to be generally important for salt tolerance. Thus, our findings place the global metabolic salt stress response into a phylogenetic context and provide insights into the cellular phenotype associated with salt tolerance.