Polar Lipid and Isoprenoid Quinone Composition in the Classification of Staphylococcus

Abstract

Representatives of 13 species of Staphylococcus were examined using a small-scale procedure for the sequential extraction of isoprenoid quinones and polar lipids. Menaquinones were the only isoprenoid quinones found in the 77 test strains which were divided into three groups based upon the predominant isoprenologue detected: (i) S. hyicus subsp. hyicus, S. sciuri subsp. Ientus and S. sciuri subsp. sciuri contained unsaturated menaquinones with six isoprene units; (ii) S. capitis, S. cohnii, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S . hominis, S. hyicus subsp. chromogenes, S. intermedius, S. saprophyticus, S . simulans, S. warneri and S . xylosus contained unsaturated menaquinones with seven isoprene units and (iii) S. aureus contained unsaturated menaquinones with eight isoprene units and varying amounts of the corresponding lower isoprenologue. All of the organisms contained very similar polar lipid patterns consisting of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, /I-gentiobiosyl diacylglycerol and a number of glycolipids and phospholipids. One of the glycolipids was chromatographically indistinguishable from /?-gentiotriosyl diacylglycerol. Lysylphosphatidylglycerol was a major component in S. aureus and S.intermedius but was usually present in minor amounts in the coagulase-negative strains. The polar lipid data underline the homogeneity of the genus Staphylococcus and distinguish staphylococci from aerobic, Gram-positive cocci and from the phylogenetically related aerobic, endospore-forming bacteria. Menaquinone composition can also be used to separate staphylococci from other aerobic, Gram-positive cocci.

The Lipid Lysyl-Phosphatidylglycerol Is Present in Membranes of Rhizobium tropici CIAT899 and Confers Increased Resistance to Polymyxin B Under Acidic Growth Conditions

“…LPG and other amino acylesters of PG, such as alanyl-PG (APG) or ornithyl-PG (OPG), have long been known to be major membrane lipids in several firmicutes (O'Leary and Wilkinson 1988), such as S. aureus (LPG) (Nahaie et al 1984), B. subtilis (LPG) (Op den Kamp et al 1969), Listeria monocytogenes (LPG) (Fischer and Leopold 1999), Bacillus cereus (APG and OPG) (Houtsmuller and van Deenen 1963;Lang and Lundgren 1970), and Clostridium perfringens (APG) (MacFarlane 1961) but are not generally known as membrane lipids in other classes of bacteria (O'Leary and Wilkinson 1988). However, for one strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Kenward and associates (1979) reported the presence of LPG under certain growth conditions.…”

Survey of Extreme Solvent Tolerance in Gram-Positive Cocci: Membrane Fatty Acid Changes in Staphylococcus haemolyticus Grown in Toluene

“…The phospholipid compositions were analyzed and compared by using the methods of Nahaie et al (16). Briefly, lipid extracts from cells grown with and without toluene were spotted onto a Silica Gel 60 F254 aluminum-backed thin-layer chromatography (TLC) plate (6.6 by 6.6 cm; Alltech, Deerfield, IL) that was developed in chloroform:methanol:water (70:30:4).…”

Lantibiotic Resistance

“…The presence of L-PG and the process of lysinylation have been described for several bacterial pathogens, including S. aureus (78,87), L. monocytogenes (79,88), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (89), as well as some soil organisms, such as Bacillus species (90,91). This lysinylation process is performed by MprF (multiple peptide resistance factor), which catalyzes the transfer of lysine residues from lysyl-tRNAs to PG (92)(93)(94)) and which appears to have a major role in resistance to antimicrobial peptides (Fig.…”

“…The most common bacterial phospholipids are phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and diphosphatidylglycerol (cardiolipin), whose head groups are negatively charged (75). Others, such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) (a zwitterion), are found in Enterobacteriaceae (76) and bacilli (77) but not in Staphylococcus (78) or Listeria (79) species. In a nisinresistant variant of L. monocytogenes, Scott A, increased levels of PG over cardiolipin were identified as the mechanism of resistance (80).…”