Intramolecular stable carbon isotopic analysis of archaeal glycosyl tetraether lipids.
Glycolipids are prominent constituents in the membranes of cells from all domains of life. For example, diglycosyl-glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (2Gly-GDGTs) are associated with methanotrophic ANME-1 archaea and heterotrophic benthic archaea, two archaeal groups of global biogeochemical importance. The hydrophobic biphytane moieties of 2Gly-GDGTs from these two uncultivated archaeal groups exhibit distinct carbon isotopic compositions. To explore whether the isotopic compositions of the sugar headgroups provide additional information on the metabolism of their producers, we developed a procedure to analyze the δ(13)C values of glycosidic headgroups. Successful determination was achieved by (1) monitoring the contamination from free sugars during lipid extraction and preparation, (2) optimizing the hydrolytic conditions for glycolipids, and (3) derivatizing the resulting sugars into aldononitrile acetate derivatives, which are stable enough to withstand a subsequent column purification step. First results of δ(13)C values of sugars cleaved from 2Gly-GDGTs in two marine sediment samples, one containing predominantly ANME-1 archaea and the other benthic archaea, were obtained and compared with the δ(13)C values of the corresponding biphytanes. In both samples the dominant sugar headgroups were enriched in (13)C relative to the corresponding major biphytane. This (13)C enrichment was significantly larger in the putative major glycolipids from ANME-1 archaea (∼15‰) than in those from benthic archaea (<7‰). This method opens a new analytical window for the examination of carbon isotopic relationships between sugars and lipids in uncultivated organisms.
Lin
Yu-Shih
YS
Organic Geochemistry Group, Department of Geosciences and MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, P.O. Box 330 440, D-28334 Bremen, Germany. yushih@uni-bremen.de
Lipp
Julius S
JS
Yoshinaga
Marcos Y
MY
Lin
Shao-Hsuan
SH
Elvert
Marcus
M
Hinrichs
Kai-Uwe
KU
D001105:Archaea / Q000737:chemistry*; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004075:Diglycerides / Q000737:chemistry*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007553:Isotope Labeling / Q000379:methods*; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004075:Diglycerides; D006017:Glycolipids; D008563:Membrane Lipids