Abstract
Lipid A, the hydrophobic anchor of lipopolysaccharide, is an essential component in the outer membrane of most gram-negative bacteria. It is recognized by the TLR4/MD2 receptor of the innate immune system, which triggers an inflammatory response accompanied by massive overproduction of cytokines and leads to gram-negative septic shock. Human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae, which may synthesize two lipid A species, differs by the length of the secondary acyl chain. In this study, we identified two genes encoding the putative late acyltransferases of lipid A biosynthesis pathway in K. pneumoniae. Based on the sequence alignment, proteins YP_002239312.1 encoded by KPK3489 and YP_002239899.1 encoded by KPK4096 are homologous to E. coli LpxL, which were designated as LpxL1 and LpxL2, respectively. Functions of the two acyltransferases were confirmed by overexpressing the genes in E. coli, isolating lipid A and analyzing their structures using an ESI/MS. Like E. coli LpxL, K. pneumoniae LpxL1 transfers a C12:0 secondary acyl chain to the 2′-position of lipid A, while K. pneumoniae LpxL2 transfers a C14:0 secondary acyl chain to the 2′-position primary acyl chain of lipid A. These two acyltransferases might play important roles in the biosynthesis of lipid A and the innate immune system recognition in K. pneumoniae.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bligh EG, Dyer WJ (1959) A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. Can J Biochem Physiol 37:911–917
Brozek KA, Raetz CR (1990) Biosynthesis of lipid A in Escherichia coli. Acyl carrier protein-dependent incorporation of laurate and myristate. J Biol Chem 265:15410–15417
Cai L, Li Y, Tao G, Guo W, Zhang C, Wang X (2013) Identification of three genes encoding for the late acyltransferases of lipid A in Cronobacter sakazakii. Mar drugs 11:377–386
Clements A, Tull D, Jenney AW, Farn JL, Kim SH, Bishop RE, McPhee JB, Hancock RE, Hartland EL, Pearse MJ, Wijburg OL, Jackson DC, McConville MJ, Strugnell RA (2007) Secondary acylation of Klebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide contributes to sensitivity to antibacterial peptides. J Biol Chem 282:15569–15577
Clementz T, Bednarski JJ, Raetz CR (1996) Function of the htrB high temperature requirement gene of Escherchia coli in the acylation of lipid A: htrB catalyzed incorporation of laurate. J Biol Chem 271:12095–12102
Lawlor MS, Hsu J, Rick PD, Miller VL (2005) Identification of Klebsiella pneumoniae virulence determinants using an intranasal infection model. Mol Microbiol 58:1054–1073
Li Y, Powell DA, Shaffer SA, Rasko DA, Pelletier MR, Leszyk JD, Scott AJ, Masoudi A, Goodlett DR, Wang X, Raetz CR, Ernst RK (2012) LPS remodeling is an evolved survival strategy for bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 109:8716–8721
Mey A, Ponard D, Colomb M, Normier G, Binz H, Revillard JP (1994) Acylation of the lipid A region of a Klebsiella pneumoniae LPS controls the alternative pathway activation of human complement. Mol Immunol 31:1239–1246
Miller SI, Ernst RK, Bader MW (2005) LPS, TLR4 and infectious disease diversity. Nat Rev Microbiol 3:36–46
Raetz CR, Garrett TA, Reynolds CM, Shaw WA, Moore JD, Smith DC Jr, Ribeiro AA, Murphy RC, Ulevitch RJ, Fearns C, Reichart D, Glass CK, Benner C, Subramaniam S, Harkewicz R, Bowers-Gentry RC, Buczynski MW, Cooper JA, Deems RA, Dennis EA (2006) Kdo2-lipid A of Escherichia coli, a defined endotoxin that activates macrophages via TLR-4. J Lipid Res 47:1097–1111
Raetz CR, Guan Z, Ingram BO, Six DA, Song F, Wang X, Zhao J (2009) Discovery of new biosynthetic pathways: the lipid A story. J Lipid Res 50(Suppl):S103–S108
Raetz CR, Reynolds CM, Trent MS, Bishop RE (2007) Lipid A modification systems in gram-negative bacteria. Annu Rev Biochem 76:295–329
Raetz CR, Whitfield C (2002) Lipopolysaccharide endotoxins. Annu Rev Biochem 71:635–700
Sforza S, Silipo A, Molinaro A, Marchelli R, Parrilli M, Lanzetta R (2004) Determination of fatty acid positions in native lipid A by positive and negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. J Mass Spectrom 39:378–383
Six DA, Carty SM, Guan Z, Raetz CR (2008) Purification and mutagenesis of LpxL, the lauroyltransferase of Escherichia coli lipid A biosynthesis. Biochemistry 47:8623–8637
Velkov T, Soon RL, Chong PL, Huang JX, Cooper MA, Azad MA, Baker MA, Thompson PE, Roberts K, Nation RL, Clements A, Strugnell RA, Li J (2013) Molecular basis for the increased polymyxin susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains with under-acylated lipid A. Innate Immun 19:265–277
Vorachek-Warren MK, Ramirez S, Cotter RJ, Raetz CR (2002) A triple mutant of Escherichia coli lacking secondary acyl chains on lipid A. J Biol Chem 277:14194–14205
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31300320), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20130135), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP51411B).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, Y., Yun, J., Liu, L. et al. Identification of Two Genes Encoding for the Late Acyltransferases of Lipid A in Klebsiella pneumoniae . Curr Microbiol 73, 732–738 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-016-1117-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-016-1117-6