Difference in Binding of Long- and Medium-Chain Fatty Acids with Serum Albumin: The Role of Macromolecular Crowding Effect

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 1242-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tian-Tian Zhu ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Xing-An Luo ◽  
Shen-Zhi Wang ◽  
Ming-Qiang Jia ◽  
...  
2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Scarborough ◽  
Joshua J. Hamilton ◽  
Elizabeth A. Erb ◽  
Timothy J. Donohue ◽  
Daniel R. Noguera

ABSTRACTMulti-species microbial communities determine the fate of materials in the environment and can be harnessed to produce beneficial products from renewable resources. In a recent example, fermentations by microbial communities have produced medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). Tools to predict, assess, and improve the performance of these communities, however, are limited. To provide such tools, we constructed two metabolic models of MCFA-producing microbial communities based on available genomic, transcriptomic and metabolomic data. The first model is a unicellular model (iFermCell215), while the second model (iFermGuilds789) separates fermentation activities into functional guilds. Ethanol and lactate are fermentation products known to serve as substrates for MCFA production, while acetate is another common co-metabolite during MCFA production. Simulations with iFermCell215 predict that low molar ratios of acetate-to-ethanol favor MCFA production, whereas the products of lactate and acetate co-utilization are less dependent on the acetate-to-lactate ratio. In simulations of an MCFA-producing community fed a complex organic mixture derived from lignocellulose, iFermGuilds789 predicted that lactate was an extracellular co-metabolite that served as a substrate for butyrate (C4) production. Extracellular hexanoic (C6) and octanoic acids (C8) were predicted by iFermGuilds789 to be from community members that directly metabolize sugars. Modeling results provide several hypotheses that can improve our understanding of microbial roles in a MCFA-producing microbiome and inform strategies to increase MCFA production. Further, these models represent novel tools for exploring the role of mixed microbial communities in carbon recycling in the environment, as well as on beneficial reuse of organic residues.IMPORTANCEMicrobiomes are vital to human health, agriculture, and protecting the environment. Predicting behavior of self-assembled or synthetic microbiomes, however, remains a challenge. In this work, we used unicellular and guild-based metabolic models to investigate production of medium-chain fatty acids by a mixed microbial community that is fed multiple organic substrates. Modeling results provided insights into metabolic pathways of three medium-chain fatty acid-producing guilds and identified potential strategies to increase production of medium-chain fatty acids. This work demonstrates the role of metabolic models in augmenting multi-omic studies to gain greater insights into microbiome behavior.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Scarborough ◽  
Christopher E. Lawson ◽  
Joshua J. Hamilton ◽  
Timothy J. Donohue ◽  
Daniel R. Noguera

AbstractBiomanufacturing from renewable feedstocks represents a sustainable strategy to offset fossil fuel-based chemical production. One potential biomanufacturing strategy is production of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) from organic feedstocks using either pure cultures or microbiomes. While the set of microbes in a microbiome can often metabolize more diverse organic materials than a single species, and the role of specific species may be known, knowledge of the carbon and energy flow within and between organisms in MCFA producing microbiomes is only starting to emerge. Here, we integrate metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and thermodynamic analyses to predict and characterize the metabolic network of an anaerobic microbiome producing MCFA from organic matter derived from lignocellulosic ethanol fermentation conversion residue. A total of 37 high quality (>80% complete, < 10% contamination) metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were recovered from the microbiome and metabolic reconstruction of the 10 most abundant MAGs was performed. Metabolic reconstruction combined with metatranscriptomic analysis predicted that organisms affiliated with Lactobacillus and Coriobacteriaceae degraded carbohydrates and fermented sugars to lactate and acetate. Lachnospiraceae and Eubacteriaceae affiliated organisms were predicted to transform these fermentation products to MCFA. Thermodynamic analyses identified conditions in which H2 is expected to be either produced or consumed, suggesting a potential role of H2 partial pressure on MCFA production. From an integrated systems analysis perspective, we propose that MCFA production could be improved if microbiomes are engineered to use homofermentative instead of heterofermentative Lactobacillus, and if MCFA-producing organisms are engineered to preferentially use a thioesterase instead of a CoA transferase as the terminal enzyme in reverse β-oxidation.ImportanceMixed communities of microbes play important roles in health, the environment, agriculture, and biotechnology. While tapping the combined activity of organisms within microbiomes may allow the utilization of a wider range of substrate over the use of pure cultures for biomanufacturing, harnessing the metabolism of these mixed cultures remains a major challenge. Here, we predict metabolic functions of bacteria in a microbiome that produces medium-chain fatty acids from a renewable feedstock. Our findings lay the foundation to begin addressing how to engineer and control microbiomes for improved biomanufacturing; to build synthetic mixtures of microbes that produce valuable chemicals from renewable resources; and to better understand microbial communities that contribute to health, agriculture, and the environment.


mSystems ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Scarborough ◽  
Christopher E. Lawson ◽  
Joshua J. Hamilton ◽  
Timothy J. Donohue ◽  
Daniel R. Noguera

ABSTRACTBiomanufacturing from renewable feedstocks can offset fossil fuel-based chemical production. One potential biomanufacturing strategy is production of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA) from organic feedstocks using either pure cultures or microbiomes. While the set of microbes in a microbiome can often metabolize organic materials of greater diversity than a single species can and while the role of specific species may be known, knowledge of the carbon and energy flow within and between organisms in MCFA-producing microbiomes is only now starting to emerge. Here, we integrated metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, and thermodynamic analyses to predict and characterize the metabolic network of an anaerobic microbiome producing MCFA from organic matter derived from lignocellulosic ethanol fermentation conversion residue. A total of 37 high-quality (>80% complete, <10% contamination) metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were recovered from the microbiome, and metabolic reconstruction of the 10 most abundant MAGs was performed. Metabolic reconstruction combined with metatranscriptomic analysis predicted that organisms affiliated withLactobacillusandCoriobacteriaceaewould degrade carbohydrates and ferment sugars to lactate and acetate.Lachnospiraceae- andEubacteriaceae-affiliated organisms were predicted to transform these fermentation products to MCFA. Thermodynamic analyses identified conditions under which H2is expected to be either produced or consumed, suggesting a potential role of H2partial pressure in MCFA production. From an integrated systems analysis perspective, we propose that MCFA production could be improved if microbiomes were engineered to use homofermentative instead of heterofermentativeLactobacillusand if MCFA-producing organisms were engineered to preferentially use a thioesterase instead of a coenzyme A (CoA) transferase as the terminal enzyme in reverse β-oxidation.IMPORTANCEMixed communities of microbes play important roles in health, the environment, agriculture, and biotechnology. While tapping the combined activities of organisms within microbiomes may allow the utilization of a wider range of substrates in preference to the use of pure cultures for biomanufacturing, harnessing the metabolism of these mixed cultures remains a major challenge. Here, we predicted metabolic functions of bacteria in a microbiome that produces medium-chain fatty acids from a renewable feedstock. Our findings lay the foundation for efforts to begin addressing how to engineer and control microbiomes for improved biomanufacturing, how to build synthetic mixtures of microbes that produce valuable chemicals from renewable resources, and how to better understand the microbial communities that contribute to health, agriculture, and the environment.


mSystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Scarborough ◽  
Joshua J. Hamilton ◽  
Elizabeth A. Erb ◽  
Timothy J. Donohue ◽  
Daniel R. Noguera

Microbiomes are vital to human health, agriculture, and protecting the environment. Predicting behavior of self-assembled or synthetic microbiomes, however, remains a challenge. In this work, we used unicellular and guild-based metabolic models to investigate production of medium-chain fatty acids by a mixed microbial community that is fed multiple organic substrates. Modeling results provided insights into metabolic pathways of three medium-chain fatty acid-producing guilds and identified potential strategies to increase production of medium-chain fatty acids. This work demonstrates the role of metabolic models in augmenting multi-omic studies to gain greater insights into microbiome behavior.


2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Huth ◽  
Victor Fulgoni ◽  
Ronald J. Jandacek ◽  
Peter J. Jones ◽  
Marie-Pierre St-Onge ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-51
Author(s):  
O.A. Gizinger

The article analyzes the role of fatty acids in the life support processes of the organism. For some short- and medium-chain fatty acids, the ability to inactivate a number of microorganisms, in particular Helicobacter pylory, has been shown. Information on the role of ω-6 polyunsaturated acids of the arachidonic and docosahexaenoic family in the structural and functional development of the nervous system has been presented. The materials presented in the article expand the understanding of the role of lipids in metabolic processes and dictate the need to continue the study of lipids as the main energy substrates, sources of plastic material, structural components of erythrocyte membranes, nervous tissue, and skeletal muscles.


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