Hopanoids as functional analogues of cholesterol in bacterial membranes

Publikation: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftForschungsartikelBeigetragenBegutachtung

Beitragende

  • James P Sáenz - , Bottom-up Synthetic Biology (NFoG) (Autor:in)
  • Daniel Grosser - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Autor:in)
  • Alexander S Bradley - , University of Washington (Autor:in)
  • Thibaut J Lagny - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Autor:in)
  • Oksana Lavrynenko - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Autor:in)
  • Martyna Broda - , Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences (Autor:in)
  • Kai Simons - , Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (Autor:in)

Abstract

The functionality of cellular membranes relies on the molecular order imparted by lipids. In eukaryotes, sterols such as cholesterol modulate membrane order, yet they are not typically found in prokaryotes. The structurally similar bacterial hopanoids exhibit similar ordering properties as sterols in vitro, but their exact physiological role in living bacteria is relatively uncharted. We present evidence that hopanoids interact with glycolipids in bacterial outer membranes to form a highly ordered bilayer in a manner analogous to the interaction of sterols with sphingolipids in eukaryotic plasma membranes. Furthermore, multidrug transport is impaired in a hopanoid-deficient mutant of the gram-negative Methylobacterium extorquens, which introduces a link between membrane order and an energy-dependent, membrane-associated function in prokaryotes. Thus, we reveal a convergence in the architecture of bacterial and eukaryotic membranes and implicate the biosynthetic pathways of hopanoids and other order-modulating lipids as potential targets to fight pathogenic multidrug resistance.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Seiten (von - bis)11971-11976
Seitenumfang6
FachzeitschriftProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America : PNAS
Jahrgang112
Ausgabenummer38
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 22 Sept. 2015
Peer-Review-StatusJa

Externe IDs

PubMedCentral PMC4586864
Scopus 84942908911
ORCID /0000-0001-8901-4377/work/142232421

Schlagworte

Schlagwörter

  • Biological Transport, Cell Membrane/metabolism, Cholesterol/metabolism, Energy Metabolism, Lipid A/metabolism, Lipids/chemistry, Methylobacterium extorquens/metabolism, Phospholipids/chemistry, Triterpenes/chemistry