Integrated Physical and Proteomic Approaches Dissect the Effect of Leather Degradation by Bacteria

ABSTRACT: The leather industry has a long history and plays important roles in the global economy. Microbial contamination induced degradation is a common phenomenon in leather. However, the degradation mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, bacteria were isolated from leather artifacts, and how Bacillus licheniformis (Gram-positive bacterium) and Pseudomonas putida (Gram-negative bacterium) corrode cow and sheep leather was explored, respectively. P. putida and B. licheniformis destroyed the morphology of leather and caused obvious color aberration by darkening, greening, and bluing the leather. The tensile strength of sheep leather was significantly damaged by B. licheniformis. Bacteria altered the elemental contents and disrupted the collagen structure of leather to varying degrees. Proteomic analysis found that many proteins were reduced by B. licheniformis in cow and sheep leather, including collagen alpha-1(II) chain, collagen type VI and fibrillar collagen. In contrast, many proteases and peptidases of B. licheniformis were upregulated, such as ATP-dependent Clp protease proteolytic subunit 1, acylaminoacyl-peptidase YuxL, aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase, suggesting that these enzymes contribute to the degradation of leather proteins. These results highlighted that bacteria cells can effectively degrade leather by secreting proteases and peptidases. This study provided new insights into the conservation and biodegradation of leather and contributed to the green and long-term development of the leather industry.

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Bombyx Mori (silk Moth)

TISSUE(S): Gut

SUBMITTER: Qingyu Lu  

LAB HEAD: Huabing Wang

PROVIDER: PXD056088 | Pride | 2025-08-29

REPOSITORIES: Pride