Overproduction of Pyocyanin in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Supplementation of Pathway Precursor Shikimic acid and Evaluation of its Activity

Pyocyanin is a fluorescent phenazine compound with enormous biotechnological applications. In this study, the production of pyocyanin by P. aeruginosa PAO1 was investigated under different growth conditions. Optimization of growth media was carried out using nutrient broth, tryptic soy broth, Pseudomonas broth and Luria bertani broth. The effect of incubation time, and temperature on production of pyocyanin was investigated. Subsequently, shikimic acid pathway mediated pyocyanin overproduction was targeted using Illicium verum hot water extract as a source of shikimic acid for phenazine biosynthesis. Pyocyanin was purified and tested for its activity against glioma cells. Optimum yield of pyocyanin was obtained in nutrient broth at 37 ºC and pH 7.2. We also found that supplementation of nutrient media with Illicium verum extract increased the pyocyanin production. Pyocyanin exhibited cytotoxicity of 66.34% at 200μg/ml concentration against glioma cells.