Abstract
Summary Methanosphaera stadtmanae is a mesophilic, coccoid-shaped methanogen which has been placed in the family Methanobacteriaceae based primarily on its cell wall composition and oligonucleotide catalogue of its 16S rRNA. However, the organism is unique to the Methanobacteriaceae in its coccoid morphology and ability to grow only via a H 2 -mediated reduction of methanol to methane. In this study, the polar and neutral lipids of M. stadtmanae were analyzed by supercritical fluid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in order to further characterize this isolate. The major component of the neutral lipids consisted of 2, 6, 11, 15-tetramethylhexadecane. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a tail-to-tail linked C 20 isoprenoid was identified in a biological system. The remaining predominant neutral lipids consisted of C 30 isoprenoids (squalene and dihydrosqualene) and small amounts of tricyclic terpenes. The polar lipids of M. stadtmanae were typical of those found in Methanobacteriaceae and consisted primarily of diphytanyl glycerol diether and traces of dibiphytanyl diglycerol tetraether. A most unusual characteristic of this methanogen was the fact that it contained a broad distribution of fatty acids, ranging from C 14 to C 30 structures. In addition, an unusual component, 11-hydroxy-nonadecanoic acid, was identified. These results have important implications regarding the regulation of lipid biosynthesis and the diversity of lipid components in closely related methanogens.
Published Version
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