RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Chemical Structure of Widespread Microbial Aryl Polyene Lipids
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.12.19.423268
DO 10.1101/2020.12.19.423268
A1 Gina L. C. Grammbitter
A1 Yi-Ming Shi
A1 Yan-Ni Shi
A1 Sahithya P. B. Vemulapalli
A1 Christian Richter
A1 Harald Schwalbe
A1 Mohammad Alanjary
A1 Anja Schüffler
A1 Matthias Witt
A1 Christian Griesinger
A1 Helge B. Bode
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/12/20/2020.12.19.423268.abstract
AB Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGC) involved in aryl polyene (APE) biosynthesis are supposed to represent the most widespread BGC in the bacterial world.[1–3] Still, only hydrolysis products[4–8] and not the full-length product(s) have been identified, hindering studies on their biosynthesis and natural function. Here, we apply subsequent chromatographic separations to purify the aryl polyene-containing lipids (APELs) from the entomopathogenic bacterium Xenorhabdus doucetiae. Structure elucidation using a combination of isotope labeling, nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, and tandem mass spectrometry reveals an array of APELs featuring an all-trans C26:5 conjugated fatty acyl and a galactosamine-phosphate-glycerol moiety. In combination with extensive genetic studies, this research broadens the bacterial natural product repertoire and paves the way for future functional characterization of this almost universal microbial compound class. Due to their protective function against reactive oxygen species,[5,9] APELs might be important for virulence or symbiosis, mediating organismic interactions in several ecological niches.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.