scholarly journals Functional diversity of isoprenoidal lipids in Methylobacterium extorquens PA1

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Rizk ◽  
Petra Henke ◽  
Carlos Santana-Molina ◽  
Gesa Martens ◽  
Marén Gnädig ◽  
...  

AbstractHopanoids and carotenoids are two of the major isoprenoid-derived lipid classes in prokaryotes that have been proposed to have similar membrane ordering properties as sterols. Methylobacterium extorquens contains hopanoids and carotenoids in their outer membrane, making them an ideal system to investigate whether isoprenoid lipids play a complementary role in outer membrane ordering and cellular fitness. By genetically knocking out hpnE, and crtB we disrupted the production of squalene, and phytoene in Methylobacterium extorquens PA1, which are the presumed precursors for hopanoids and carotenoids, respectively. Deletion of hpnE unexpectedly revealed that carotenoid biosynthesis utilizes squalene as a precursor resulting in a pigmentation with a C30 backbone, rather than the previously predicted C40 phytoene-derived pathway. We demonstrate that hopanoids but not carotenoids are essential for growth at high temperature. However, disruption of either carotenoid or hopanoid synthesis leads to opposing effects on outer membrane lipid packing. These observations show that hopanoids and carotenoids may serve complementary biophysical roles in the outer membrane. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that M. extorquens may have acquired the C30 pathway through lateral gene transfer with Planctomycetes. This suggests that the C30 carotenoid pathway may have provided an evolutionary advantage to M. extorquens.ImportanceAll cells have a membrane that delineates the boundary between life and its environment. To function properly, membranes must maintain a delicate balance of physical and chemical properties. Lipids play a crucial role in tuning membrane properties. In eukaryotic organisms from yeast to mammals, sterols are essential for assembling a cell surface membrane that can support life. However, bacteria generally do not make sterols, so how do they solve this problem? Hopanoids and carotenoids are two major bacterial lipids, that are proposed as sterol surrogates. In this study we explore the bacterium M. extorquens for studying the role of hopanoids and carotenoids in surface membrane properties and cellular growth. Our findings suggest that hopanoids and carotenoids may serve complementary roles balancing outer membrane properties, and provide a foundation for elucidating the principles of surface membrane adaptation.

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 7563-7566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Van Dien ◽  
Christopher J. Marx ◽  
Brooke N. O'Brien ◽  
Mary E. Lidstrom

ABSTRACT Genomic searches were used to reconstruct the putative carotenoid biosynthesis pathway in the pink-pigmented facultative methylotroph Methylobacterium extorquens AM1. Four genes for putative phytoene desaturases were identified. A colorless mutant was obtained by transposon mutagenesis, and the insertion was shown to be in one of the putative phytoene desaturase genes. Mutations in the other three did not affect color. The tetracycline marker was removed from the original transposon mutant, resulting in a pigment-free strain with wild-type growth properties useful as a tool for future experiments.


2010 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 997-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natacha Morin ◽  
Isabelle Lanneluc ◽  
Nathalie Connil ◽  
Marie Cottenceau ◽  
Anne Marie Pons ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTFor the first time, the mechanism of action of microcin L (MccL) was investigated in live bacteria. MccL is a gene-encoded peptide produced byEscherichia coliLR05 that exhibits a strong antibacterial activity against relatedEnterobacteriaceae, includingSalmonella entericaserovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis. We first subcloned the MccL genetic system to remove the sequences not involved in MccL production. We then optimized the MccL purification procedure to obtain large amounts of purified microcin to investigate its antimicrobial and membrane properties. We showed that MccL did not induce outer membrane permeabilization, which indicated that MccL did not use this way to kill the sensitive cell or to enter into it. Using a set ofE. coliandSalmonella entericamutants lacking iron-siderophore receptors, we demonstrated that the MccL uptake required the outer membrane receptor Cir. Moreover, the MccL bactericidal activity was shown to depend on the TonB protein that transduces the proton-motive force of the cytoplasmic membrane to transport iron-siderophore complexes across the outer membrane. Using carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone, which is known to fully dissipate the proton-motive force, we proved that the proton-motive force was required for the bactericidal activity of MccL onE. coli. In addition, we showed that a primary target of MccL could be the cytoplasmic membrane: a high level of MccL disrupted the inner membrane potential ofE. colicells. However, no permeabilization of the membrane was detected.


2020 ◽  
Vol 88 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole P. Giordano ◽  
Melina B. Cian ◽  
Zachary D. Dalebroux

ABSTRACT The outer membrane (OM) of Gram-negative bacteria is an asymmetric lipid bilayer that consists of inner leaflet phospholipids and outer leaflet lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The asymmetric character and unique biochemistry of LPS molecules contribute to the OM’s ability to function as a molecular permeability barrier that protects the bacterium against hazards in the environment. Assembly and regulation of the OM have been extensively studied for understanding mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and bacterial defense against host immunity; however, there is little knowledge on how Gram-negative bacteria release their OMs into their environment to manipulate their hosts. Discoveries in bacterial lipid trafficking, OM lipid homeostasis, and host recognition of microbial patterns have shed new light on how microbes secrete OM vesicles (OMVs) to influence inflammation, cell death, and disease pathogenesis. Pathogens release OMVs that contain phospholipids, like cardiolipins, and components of LPS molecules, like lipid A endotoxins. These multiacylated lipid amphiphiles are molecular patterns that are differentially detected by host receptors like the Toll-like receptor 4/myeloid differentiation factor 2 complex (TLR4/MD-2), mouse caspase-11, and human caspases 4 and 5. We discuss how lipid ligands on OMVs engage these pattern recognition receptors on the membranes and in the cytosol of mammalian cells. We then detail how bacteria regulate OM lipid asymmetry, negative membrane curvature, and the phospholipid-to-LPS ratio to control OMV formation. The goal is to highlight intersections between OM lipid regulation and host immunity and to provide working models for how bacterial lipids influence vesicle formation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 293 (29) ◽  
pp. 11325-11340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiang Yeow ◽  
Kang Wei Tan ◽  
Daniel A. Holdbrook ◽  
Zhi-Soon Chong ◽  
Jan K. Marzinek ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy C. Henderson ◽  
Shawn M. Zimmerman ◽  
Alexander A. Crofts ◽  
Joseph M. Boll ◽  
Lisa G. Kuhns ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 286 (15) ◽  
pp. 12850-12859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Keck ◽  
Nicolas Gisch ◽  
Hermann Moll ◽  
Frank-Jörg Vorhölter ◽  
Klaus Gerth ◽  
...  

1980 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
J P Caulfield ◽  
G Korman ◽  
A E Butterworth ◽  
M Hogan ◽  
J R David

Human neutrophils and eosinophils adhere to the surface of schistosomula of Schistosoma mansoni that have been preincubated with antischistosomular sera with or without complement. Neutrophils are seen to form small (< 0.5 micrometer), heptalaminar and large (5-8 micrometer), pentalaminar fusions with the normal pentalaminar parasite surface membrane. By freeze-fracture techniques, attachment areas 5-8 micrometer in diameter are seen to form between neutrophils and schistosomula. These areas have three zones--an edge and two centrally located areas, one of which is rich and one of which is poor in intramembrane particles (IMPs). The edge zone is continuous around the attachment areas and is usually composed of a skip-fracture that passes out of the schistosomular outer membrane into the inner membrane. In some cases, the edge zone is made up of a string of IMPs. The IMP-rich central areas have an IMP concentration similar to that of unattached neutrophil membranes, are raised off of the surface of the schistosomulum, and have two normal schistosomular membranes underneath indicating that they are indeed unattached. the IMP-poor central areas are composed of a fused or hybrid membrane that is continuous with the neutrophil plasma membrane but that bears the same spatial relationship to the schistosomular inner membrane that the normal outer membrane does. Similar changes are seen in samples prepared with glycerination. Eosinophils generally do not fuse with the schistosomular outer membrane but, instead, discharge their granular contents onto the surface of the schistosomula and appear to adhere to the parasite through this discharged material. It is suggested that schistosomula have a capability to fuse with mammalian cells and that this fusion proceeds from a fusion of the outer leaflets to a fusion of the bilayers, as appears also to be the case in other systems.


Parasitology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Redman ◽  
J. R. Kusel

SUMMARYThe properties of 4 fluorescent lipid compounds in the surface membrane of adult male Schistosoma mansoni worms were examined by fluorescent microscopy and fluorescent recovery after photobleaching (FRAP). The data suggest that the probes N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoyl) sphingosine (BODIPY FL ceramide) and PKH2 pass through the outer membrane and enter structures in or below the membrane. In contrast 5-(N-octadecanoyl)aminofluorescein (AF18) and N-(4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-pentanoyl) sphingosylphosphocholine (BODIPY FL sphingomyelin) insert into the outer monolayer. The DL values of these latter 2 compounds, 8·83 ± 2·35 × 10−9 cm2 s−1 and 2·76 ± 0·53 × 10−9cm2 s−1, respectively, suggest that they enter different domains. Furthermore, it was observed that both BODIPY FL ceramide and BODIPY FL sphingomyelin entered particular structures in or under the surface membrane. The possible nature of these particles is discussed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document