An iso-15 : 0 O-alkylglycerol moiety is the key structure of the E-signal in Myxococcus xanthus.
The E-signal is one of five intercellular signals (named A- to E-signal) guiding fruiting body development in Myxococcus xanthus, and it has been shown to be a combination of the branched-chain fatty acid (FA) iso-15 : 0 and the diacylmonoalkyl ether lipid TG1. Developmental mutants HB015 (Δbkd MXAN_4265::kan) and elbD (MXAN_1528::kan) are blocked at different stages of fruiting body and spore formation as they cannot form the required iso-FA or the actual ether lipid, respectively. In order to define the structural basis of the E-signal, different mono- and triglycerides containing ether or ester bonds were synthesized and used for complementation of these mutants. Here, the monoalkylglyceride dl-1-O-(13-methyltetradecyl)glycerol exhibited comparably high levels of complementation in both mutants, restoring fruiting body and spore formation, identifying iso-15 : 0 O-alkylglycerol, part of the natural lipid TG1, as the 'signalophore' of E-signalling.
Merck Stiftungsprofessur für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Tilman
T
Ahrendt
Merck Stiftungsprofessur für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Christina
C
Dauth
Merck Stiftungsprofessur für Molekulare Biotechnologie, Fachbereich Biowissenschaften, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 9, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.|Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS), Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Strasse 15, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Helge B
HB
Bode
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016941:Myxococcus xanthus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids