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Ladderane lipid distribution in four genera of anammox bacteria

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Abstract

Intact ladderane phospholipids and core lipids were studied in four species of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, each representing one of the four known genera. Each species of anammox bacteria contained C18 and C20 ladderane fatty acids with either 3 or 5 linearly condensed cyclobutane rings and a ladderane monoether containing a C20 alkyl moiety with 3 cyclobutane rings. The presence of ladderane lipids in all four anammox species is consistent with their putative physiological role to provide a dense membrane around the anammoxosome, the postulated site of anammox catabolism. In contrast to the core lipids, large variations were observed in the distribution of ladderane phospholipids, i.e. different combinations of hydrophobic tail (ladderane, straight chain and methyl branched fatty acid) types attached to the glycerol backbone sn-1 position, in combination with different types of polar headgroup (phosphocholine, phosphoethanolamine or phosphoglycerol) attached to the sn-3 position. Intact ladderane lipids made up a high percentage of the lipid content in the cells of “Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis”, suggesting that ladderane lipids are also present in membranes other than the anammoxosome. Finally, all four investigated species contained a C27 hopanoid ketone and bacteriohopanetetrol, which, indicates that hopanoids are anaerobically synthesised by anammox bacteria.

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Abbreviations

PC:

Phosphocholine

PE:

Phosphoethanolamine

PG:

Phosphoglycerol

GC/MS:

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

HPLC/APCI-MS/MS:

High-performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization tandem mass spectrometry

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Sharyn Crayford for technical assistance and Katinka T. van de Pas-Schoonen for the anammox enrichment cultures. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), grant number 813.03.002, funded this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Organic Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Jayne E. Rattray

  2. Department of Marine Organic Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Jayne E. Rattray, Ellen C. Hopmans, W. Irene C. Rijpstra, Stefan Schouten & Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

  3. Department of Microbiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Jack van de Vossenberg, Boran Kartal, Laura van Niftrik, Marc Strous & Mike S. M. Jetten

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  1. Jayne E. Rattray
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  2. Jack van de Vossenberg
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  3. Ellen C. Hopmans
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  6. W. Irene C. Rijpstra
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  7. Marc Strous
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  9. Stefan Schouten
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  10. Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
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Correspondence to Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté.

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Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Rattray, J.E., van de Vossenberg, J., Hopmans, E.C. et al. Ladderane lipid distribution in four genera of anammox bacteria. Arch Microbiol 190, 51–66 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-008-0364-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-008-0364-8

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