title: SAR11 lipid renovation in response to phosphate starvation.
abstract: Phytoplankton inhabiting oligotrophic ocean gyres actively reduce their phosphorus demand by replacing polar membrane phospholipids with those lacking phosphorus. Although the synthesis of nonphosphorus lipids is well documented in some heterotrophic bacterial lineages, phosphorus-free lipid synthesis in oligotrophic marine chemoheterotrophs has not been directly demonstrated, implying they are disadvantaged in phosphate-deplete ecosystems, relative to phytoplankton. Here, we show the SAR11 clade chemoheterotroph Pelagibacter sp. str. HTCC7211 renovates membrane lipids when phosphate starved by replacing a portion of its phospholipids with monoglucosyl- and glucuronosyl-diacylglycerols and by synthesizing new ornithine lipids. Lipid profiles of cells grown with excess phosphate consisted entirely of phospholipids. Conversely, up to 40% of the total lipids were converted to nonphosphorus lipids when cells were starved for phosphate, or when growing on methylphosphonate. Cells sequentially limited by phosphate and methylphosphonate transformed >75% of their lipids to phosphorus-free analogs. During phosphate starvation, a four-gene cluster was significantly up-regulated that likely encodes the enzymes responsible for lipid renovation. These genes were found in Pelagibacterales strains isolated from a phosphate-deficient ocean gyre, but not in other strains from coastal environments, suggesting alternate lipid synthesis is a specific adaptation to phosphate scarcity. Similar gene clusters are found in the genomes of other marine α-proteobacteria, implying lipid renovation is a common strategy used by heterotrophic cells to reduce their requirement for phosphorus in oligotrophic habitats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331;
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carini
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543;
authors.forename: Benjamin A S
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Van Mooy
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803;
authors.forename: J Cameron
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Thrash
authors.affiliation: College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
authors.forename: Angelicque
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331;
authors.forename: Yanlin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331;
authors.forename: Emily O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543;
authors.forename: Helen F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Fredricks
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; steve.giovannoni@oregonstate.edu.
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Giovannoni
mesh_terms: D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates
keywords: cyanobacteria; glucuronic acid; lipids; marine phosphorus cycle; methylphosphonate