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Membrane lipid composition of the moderately thermophilic ammonia-oxidizing archaeon “Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis” at different growth temperatures
Bale, N.J.; Palatinszky, M.; Rijpstra, W.I.C.; Herbold, C.W.; Wagner, M.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S (2019). Membrane lipid composition of the moderately thermophilic ammonia-oxidizing archaeon “Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis” at different growth temperatures. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 85(20). https://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.01332-19
In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. American Society for Microbiology: Washington. ISSN 0099-2240; e-ISSN 1098-5336, more
Peer reviewed article  

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Keyword
Author keywords
    Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis”; lipid; GDGT; temperature; thermophile; Thaumarchaeota

Authors  Top 
  • Bale, N.J., more
  • Palatinszky, M.
  • Rijpstra, W.I.C., more
  • Herbold, C.W.
  • Wagner, M.
  • Sinninghe Damsté, J.S, more

Abstract
    Candidatus Nitrosotenuis uzonensis” is the only cultured moderately thermophilic member of the thaumarchaeotal order Nitrosopumilales (NP) that contains many mesophilic marine strains. We examined its membrane lipid composition at different growth temperatures (37°C, 46°C, and 50°C). Its lipids were all membrane-spanning glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), with 0 to 4 cyclopentane moieties. Crenarchaeol (cren), the characteristic thaumarchaeotal GDGT, and its isomer (crenʹ) were present in high abundance (30 to 70%). The GDGT polar headgroups were mono-, di-, and trihexoses and hexose/phosphohexose. The ratio of glycolipid to phospholipid GDGTs was highest in the cultures grown at 50°C. With increasing growth temperatures, the relative contributions of cren and crenʹ increased, while those of GDGT-0 to GDGT-4 (including isomers) decreased. TEX86 (tetraether index of tetraethers consisting of 86 carbons)-derived temperatures were much lower than the actual growth temperatures, further demonstrating that TEX86 does not accurately reflect the membrane lipid adaptation of thermophilic Thaumarchaeota. As the temperature increased, specific GDGTs changed relative to their isomers, possibly representing temperature adaption-induced changes in cyclopentane ring stereochemistry. Comparison of a wide range of thaumarchaeotal core lipid compositions revealed that the “Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis” cultures clustered separately from other members of the NP order and the Nitrososphaerales (NS) order. While phylogeny generally seems to have a strong influence on GDGT distribution, our analysis of “Ca. Nitrosotenuis uzonensis” demonstrates that its terrestrial, higher-temperature niche has led to a lipid composition that clearly differentiates it from other NP members and that this difference is mostly driven by its high crenʹ content.

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