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Bacterial Predators Possess Unique Membrane Lipid Structures

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Lipids

Abstract

Bdellovibrio-and-like organisms (BALO) are a phylogenetically diverse group of predatory prokaryotes that consists of the two families Bdellovibrionaceae and Bacteriovoracaceae. We investigated the phospholipid composition of the three important BALO strains Bacteriovorax stolpii (DSM 12778), Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100 (DSM 50701) and Peredibacter starrii (DSM 17039). We confirmed the presence of sphingophosphonolipids in B. stolpii, while we characterized sphingophosphonolipids with a 2-amino-3-phosphonopropanate head group for the first time. In B. bacteriovorus HD100 phosphatidylthreonines were found and, thus, B. bacteriovorus is the second prokaryote investigated so far possessing this rare lipid class. In the third analyzed organism, P. starrii, we observed phosphatidylethanolamine structures with an additional N-glutamyl residue, which form the first reported class of amino acid-containing phosphatidylethanolamines.

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Abbreviations

1D:

One dimensional

AEP:

2-Aminoethylphosphonate

APP:

2-Amino-3-phosphonopropanate

BALO:

Bdellovibrio-and-like organism

EI/MS:

Electron impact ionization mass spectrometry

FA:

Fatty acid

FT–MS:

Fourier transform mass spectrometry

GC:

Gas chromatography

GluPtdEth:

Glutamylphosphatidylethanolamine

GPL:

Glycerophospholipid

HAEP:

1-Hydroxy-2-aminoethylphosphonate

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

MS:

Mass spectrometry

MS/MS:

Tandem mass spectrometry

MTBE:

Methyl tert-butyl ether

NAPtdEth:

N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine

OMP:

Outer membrane protein

Ptd2Gro:

Cardiolipin

PtdCho:

Phosphatidylcholine

PtdEth:

Phosphatidylethanolamine

PtdGro:

Phosphatidylglycerol

PtdIns:

Phosphatidylinositol

PtdOH:

Phosphatidic acid

PtdSer:

Phosphatidylserine

PtdThr:

Phosphatidylthreonine

rRNA:

Ribosomal ribonucleic acid

SPNL:

Sphingophosphonolipid

TLC:

Thin layer chromatography

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Grant LI309/29-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Str. 2, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Frederic D. Müller, Sebastian Beck & Michael W. Linscheid

  2. Department of Biological Safety, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Diedersdorfer Weg 1, 12277, Berlin, Germany

    Frederic D. Müller & Eckhard Strauch

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  1. Frederic D. Müller
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  2. Sebastian Beck
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  4. Michael W. Linscheid
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Correspondence to Michael W. Linscheid.

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Müller, F.D., Beck, S., Strauch, E. et al. Bacterial Predators Possess Unique Membrane Lipid Structures. Lipids 46, 1129–1140 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-011-3614-5

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