The interpretation of the mass spectrum of an ornithine-containing lipid from Thiobacillus thiooxidans

Trimethylornithine Membrane Lipids: Discovered in Planctomycetes and Identified in Diverse Environments

Intact polar membrane lipids (IPLs) are the building blocks of all cell membranes. There is a wide range of phosphorus-free IPL structures, including amino acid containing IPLs, that can be taxonomically specific. Trimethylornithine membrane lipids (TMOs) were discovered in northern wetland Planctomycete species that were isolated and described in the last decade. The trimethylated terminal nitrogen moiety of the ornithine amino acid in the TMO structure gives the lipid a charged polar head group, similar to certain phospholipids. Since their discovery, TMOs have been identified in various other recently described northern latitude Planctomycete species, and in diverse environments including tundra soil, a boreal eutrophic lake, meso-oligotrophic lakes, and hot springs. The majority of environments or enrichment cultures in which TMOs have been observed include predominately heterotrophic microbial communities involved in the degradation of recalcitrant material and/or low oxygen methanogenic conditions at primarily northern latitudes. Other ecosystems occupied with microbial communities that possess similar metabolic pathways, such as tropical peatlands or coastal salt marshes, may include TMO producing Planctomycetes as well, further allowing these lipids to potentially be used to understand microbial community responses to environmental change in a wide range of systems. The occurrence of TMOs in hot springs indicates that these unique lipids could have broad environmental distribution with different specialized functions. Opportunities also exist to investigate the application of TMOs in microbiome studies, including forensic necrobiomes. Further environmental and microbiome lipidomics research involving TMOs will help reveal the evolution, functions, and applications of these unique membrane lipids.

Elucidation and identification of amino acid containing membrane lipids using liquid chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry

RATIONALE

Intact polar lipids (IPLs) are the building blocks of cell membranes, and amino acid containing IPLs have been observed to be involved in response to changing environmental conditions in various species of bacteria. High-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) has become the primary method for analysis of IPLs. Many glycerol-free amino acid containing membrane lipids (AA-IPLs), which are structurally different than abundant aminophospholipids, have not been characterized using HPLC/MS. This results in many lipids remaining unrecognized in IPL analysis of microbial cultures and environmental samples, hampering the study of their occurrence and functionality.

METHODS

We analyzed the amino acid containing IPLs of a number of bacteria (i.e. Gluconobacter cerinus, Cyclobacterium marinus, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, and Pedobacter heparinus) in order to decipher fragmentation pathways, and explore potential novel lipid structures using HPLC/electrospray ionization ion trap MS (HPLC/ESI-IT-MS) and HPLC/high-resolution MS (HPLC/HRMS).

RESULTS

We report differentiation between glutamine and lysine lipids with the same nominal masses, novel MS fragmentation pathways of cytolipin, the lipopeptides cerilipin and flavolipin, head group hydroxylated ornithine lipids, and the novel identification of cerilipin with a hydroxylated fatty acid.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-glycerol AA lipids can be readily recognized as their fragmentation follows a clear pattern with initial dehydration or other loss from the head group, followed by fatty acid losses resulting in a diagnostic fragment ion. Higher level MSn and HRMS are valuable tools in characterizing AA lipid head group structural components.

Lysine and novel hydroxylysine lipids in soil bacteria: amino acid membrane lipid response to temperature and pH in Pseudopedobacter saltans

Microbial decomposition of organic matter is an essential process in the global carbon cycle. The soil bacteria Pseudopedobacter saltans and Flavobacterium johnsoniae are both able to degrade complex organic molecules, but it is not fully known how their membrane structures are adapted to their environmental niche. The membrane lipids of these species were extracted and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/ion trap/mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI/IT/MS) and high resolution accurate mass/mass spectrometry (HRAM/MS). Abundant unknown intact polar lipids (IPLs) from P. saltans were isolated and further characterized using amino acid analysis and two dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Ornithine IPLs (OLs) with variable (hydroxy) fatty acid composition were observed in both bacterial species. Lysine-containing IPLs (LLs) were also detected in both species and were characterized here for the first time using HPLC-MS. Novel LLs containing hydroxy fatty acids and novel hydroxylysine lipids with variable (hydroxy) fatty acid composition were identified in P. saltans. The confirmation of OL and LL formation in F. johnsoniae and P. saltans and the presence of OlsF putative homologs in P. saltans suggest the OlsF gene coding protein is possibly involved in OL and LL biosynthesis in both species, however, potential pathways of OL and LL hydroxylation in P. saltans are still undetermined. Triplicate cultures of P. saltans were grown at three temperature/pH combinations: 30°C/pH 7, 15°C/pH 7, and 15°C/pH 9. The fractional abundance of total amino acid containing IPLs containing hydroxylated fatty acids was significantly higher at higher temperature, and the fractional abundance of lysine-containing IPLs was significantly higher at lower temperature and higher pH. These results suggest that these amino acid-containing IPLs, including the novel hydroxylysine lipids, could be involved in temperature and pH stress response of soil bacteria.

Characterization of ornithine and glutamine lipids extracted from cell membranes of Rhodobacter sphaeroides

The identification and structural characterization of a series of ornithine lipids extracted from the cell membranes of wild-type Rhodobacter sphaeroides, as well as from a glycerophosphocholine-deficient strain, have been achieved by multistage tandem mass spectrometry of their protonated and deprotonated precursor ions in a linear quadrupole ion trap. Systematic examination of the multistage gas-phase fragmentation reactions of these ions, combined with the use of hydrogen/deuterium exchange, has enabled the pathways responsible for sequential losses of the 3-hydroxy linked fatty acyl chain and the amide linked 3-OH fatty acyl chain from these lipids, as well as for formation of the previously reported ornithine specific positively charged "fingerprint" ion at m/z 115, to be determined. Additionally, the fragmentation pathways responsible for formation of a previously unreported ornithine lipid head group-specific product ion at m/z 131 in negative ion mode have been examined. Based on these results, and by comparison with the fragmentation behavior of model lipoamino acid standard compounds, a series of novel glutamine containing lipids have also been identified, with analogous structures but with masses 14 Da higher than those of several of the ornithine lipids observed in this study. Characteristic "fingerprint" ions indicative of these glutamine lipids were found at m/z 147, 130, and 129 in positive ion mode and at m/z 145 and 127 in negative ion mode. The results from this study establish an experimental basis for future efforts aimed at the sensitive identification, characterization, and quantitative analysis of ornithine and glutamine lipids in complex unfractionated cellular extracts.

Molecular species analysis of lipids by metastable ion mass spectrometry

A convenient universal and fast mass spectrometrical method designed for the molecular species analysis of natural lipids is described. In contrast to the commonly employed procedures the method does not require chemical or enzymatic treatment and does not include chromatographic steps. The method relies on the recognition of ions characteristic of individual molecular species in the mass spectrum of a particular lipid fraction, that is accomplished on the basis of metastable ion spectra. The efficiency of this approach is demonstrated with a variety of natural lipids: triglycerides, glycerophospholipids, sphingomyelin and ornithinolipids. The advantages and limitations of the method as well as possible further developments are discussed.

Thermolysis chemical ionization of a complex polar lipid

Vaporization of a ornithine-containing polar lipid from Thiobacillus thiooxidans has been accomplished by thermolysis in a chemical ionization source. The thermolysis has been shown to be more extensive than previously thought. It occurs in at least two steps, the first being dehydration of the ornithine to produce a substituted piperidone. This fragment undergoes a facile elimination to produce two neutral lipid components: a long chain fatty acid and piperidone-containing fatty amide. The results demonstrate the utility of chemical ionization for developing an understanding of a thermolysis process.