Chemotaxonomic characterisation of the thaumarchaeal lipidome
Elling, F.J.; Könneke, M.; Nicol, G.W.; Stieglmeier, M.; Bayer, B.; Spieck, E.; de la Torre, J.R.; Becker, K.W.; Thomm, M.; Prosser, J.I.; Herndl, G.J.; Schleper, C.; Hinrichs, K.-U. (2017). Chemotaxonomic characterisation of the thaumarchaeal lipidome. Environ. Microbiol. 19(7): 2681-2700. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.13759 In: Environmental Microbiology. Blackwell Scientific Publishers: Oxford. ISSN 1462-2912; e-ISSN 1462-2920, more |  |
| Authors | | Top | - Elling, F.J.
- Könneke, M.
- Nicol, G.W.
- Stieglmeier, M.
- Bayer, B.
| - Spieck, E.
- de la Torre, J.R.
- Becker, K.W.
- Thomm, M.
| - Prosser, J.I.
- Herndl, G.J., more
- Schleper, C.
- Hinrichs, K.-U.
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| Abstract | SummaryThaumarchaeota are globally distributed and abundantmicroorganisms occurring in diverse habitats and thusrepresent a major source of archaeal lipids. The scopeof lipids as taxonomic markers in microbial ecologicalstudies is limited by the scarcity of comparative dataon the membrane lipid composition of cultivated representatives,including the phylum Thaumarchaeota.Here, we comprehensively describe the core and intactpolar lipid (IPL) inventory of ten ammonia-oxidisingthaumarchaeal cultures representing all four characterizedphylogenetic clades. IPLs of these thaumarchaealstrains are generally similar and consist of membranespanning,glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraetherswith monoglycosyl, diglycosyl, phosphohexose andhexose-phosphohexose headgroups. However, the relativeabundances of these IPLs and their core lipidcompositions differ systematically between the phylogeneticsubgroups, indicating high potential forchemotaxonomic distinction of thaumarchaeal clades.Comparative lipidomic analyses of 19 euryarchaeal andcrenarchaeal strains suggested that the lipid methoxyarchaeol is synthesized exclusively by Thaumarchaeotaand may thus represent a diagnostic lipidbiomarker for this phylum. The unprecedented diversityof the thaumarchaeal lipidome with 118 differentlipids suggests that membrane lipid composition andadaptation mechanisms in Thaumarchaeota are morecomplex than previously thought and include uniquelipids with as yet unresolved properties. |
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