An Asymmetric Archaebacterial Diether Lipid from Alkaliphilic Halophiles

Rosa, Mario De; Gambacorta, Agata; Nicolaus, Barbara; Ross, H. N. M.; Grant, William D.; Bu’Lock, J. D.

doi:10.1099/00221287-128-2-343

Cited by 37 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 19 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…M. luminyensis further possesses a unique membrane lipid composition of mixed di-and tetraethers with glycosidic and phosphatidylglycerol head groups, which differs distinctly from all other methanogens and archaea. While Ext-AR as major core lipid in M. luminyensis is widespread in halophilic archaea (54)(55)(56), it is present in only trace amounts in other methanogens, including Methanosarcina barkeri (57) and Methanothermobacter thermautotrophicus (58). In environmental samples, the detection of Ext-AR has been frequently associated with methane-oxidizing archaea (59)(60)(61).…”

Section: Lipid Inventory Of M Luminyensis Compared To Other Archaeamentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual Butane- and Pentanetriol-Based Tetraether Lipids in Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis, a Representative of the Seventh Order of Methanogens

Becker

Elling

Yoshinaga

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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A new clade of archaea has recently been proposed to constitute the seventh methanogenic order, the Methanomassiliicoccales, which is related to the Thermoplasmatales and the uncultivated archaeal clades deep-sea hydrothermal vent Euryarchaeota group 2 and marine group II Euryarchaeota but only distantly related to other methanogens. In this study, we investigated the membrane lipid composition of Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis, the sole cultured representative of this seventh order. The lipid inventory of M. luminyensis comprises a unique assemblage of novel lipids as well as lipids otherwise typical for thermophilic, methanogenic, or halophilic archaea. For instance, glycerol sesterpanyl-phytanyl diether core lipids found mainly in halophilic archaea were detected, and so were compounds bearing either heptose or methoxylated glycosidic head groups, neither of which have been reported so far for other archaea. The absence of quinones or methanophenazines is consistent with a biochemistry of methanogenesis different from that of the methanophenazine-containing methylotrophic methanogens. The most distinctive characteristic of the membrane lipid composition of M. luminyensis, however, is the presence of tetraether lipids in which one glycerol backbone is replaced by either butane-or pentanetriol, i.e., lipids recently discovered in marine sediments. Butanetriol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraether (BDGT) constitutes the most abundant core lipid type (>50% relative abundance) in M. luminyensis. We have thus identified a source for these unusual orphan lipids. The complementary analysis of diverse marine sediment samples showed that BDGTs are widespread in anoxic layers, suggesting an environmental significance of Methanomassiliicoccales and/or related BDGT producers beyond gastrointestinal tracts. IMPORTANCECellular membranes of members of all three domains of life, Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya, are largely formed by lipids in which glycerol serves as backbone for the hydrophobic alkyl chains. Recently, however, archaeal tetraether lipids with either butanetriol or pentanetriol as a backbone were identified in marine sediments and attributed to uncultured sediment-dwelling archaea. Here we show that the butanetriol-based dibiphytanyl tetraethers constitute the major lipids in Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis, currently the only isolate of the novel seventh order of methanogens. Given the absence of these lipids in a large set of archaeal isolates, these compounds may be diagnostic for the Methanomassiliicoccales and/or closely related archaea. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and an important intermediate in the global carbon cycle (1-3). Biogenic methane is produced predominantly by archaea inhabiting diverse anoxic environments such as sediments, soils, wetlands, and the digestive tracts of termites and ruminants (2, 4). All cultured methanogens to date belong to the phylum Euryarchaeota, while metagenomic sequencing revealed a putative methanogenic metabolism for members of the uncultivated Bathyarc...

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Section: Lipid Inventory Of M Luminyensis Compared To Other Archaeamentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual Butane- and Pentanetriol-Based Tetraether Lipids in Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis, a Representative of the Seventh Order of Methanogens

Becker

Elling

Yoshinaga

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…The products are geranyl (C 10 ), farnesyl (C 15 ), geranylgeranyl (C 20 ), and farnesylgeranyl (C 25 ) diphosphate (Fig. 4) (20,71). The gene encoding GGPP synthase (idsA) was cloned, identified, and expressed from Methanothermobacter marburgensis (11), Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (85,87), and Pyrococcus horikoshii (64).…”

Section: Polyprenyl Diphosphate Synthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Biosynthesis of Ether-Type Polar Lipids in Archaea and Evolutionary Considerations

Koga

Morii

2007

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

305

263

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SUMMARY This review deals with the in vitro biosynthesis of the characteristics of polar lipids in archaea along with preceding in vivo studies. Isoprenoid chains are synthesized through the classical mevalonate pathway, as in eucarya, with minor modifications in some archaeal species. Most enzymes involved in the pathway have been identified enzymatically and/or genomically. Three of the relevant enzymes are found in enzyme families different from the known enzymes. The order of reactions in the phospholipid synthesis pathway (glycerophosphate backbone formation, linking of glycerophosphate with two radyl chains, activation by CDP, and attachment of common polar head groups) is analogous to that of bacteria. sn-Glycerol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase is responsible for the formation of the sn-glycerol-1-phosphate backbone of phospholipids in all archaea. After the formation of two ether bonds, CDP-archaeol acts as a common precursor of various archaeal phospholipid syntheses. Various phospholipid-synthesizing enzymes from archaea and bacteria belong to the same large CDP-alcohol phosphatidyltransferase family. In short, the first halves of the phospholipid synthesis pathways play a role in synthesis of the characteristic structures of archaeal and bacterial phospholipids, respectively. In the second halves of the pathways, the polar head group-attaching reactions and enzymes are homologous in both domains. These are regarded as revealing the hybrid nature of phospholipid biosynthesis. Precells proposed by Wächtershäuser are differentiated into archaea and bacteria by spontaneous segregation of enantiomeric phospholipid membranes (with sn-glycerol-1-phosphate and sn-glycerol-3-phosphate backbones) and the fusion and fission of precells. Considering the nature of the phospholipid synthesis pathways, we here propose that common phospholipid polar head groups were present in precells before the differentiation into archaea and bacteria.

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“…1 c). C40 C40 core components may be partly cyclized (Langworthy et al, 1982;De Rosa et al, 1982). In the present study, thinlayer chromatograms of polar lipids and their isopranoid ether lipid cores have been determined for a comprehensive range of methanogens.…”

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confidence: 99%