Lipidomics in Microbial Research

Lipids are a class of metabolites with diverse chemical structures. More than just components of cell membranes and energy storage substances, lipids can perform a variety of important biological functions in life activities.

The structural diversity of lipids endows them with a variety of important biological functions: (1) they constitute an important component of the cell membrane. Many biologically relevant lipids form the bilayer of the cell membrane (composed mainly of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and sterols). Lipids are not uniformly distributed, e.g. mitochondria are mainly composed of cardiolipin, and endosome are mainly composed of phosphatidylinositol and mono/diacylglycerol phosphate. (2) It is an important source of energy for a variety of cells. Some lipids can both oxidize for energy supply and store energy when there is excess energy and thus, promoting metabolism. For example, triglycerides. (3) Regulates cellular function through oxidative metabolism, energy regulation, and mitochondrial electron transport chain. (4) Acts as a signaling molecule. For example, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate is associated with membrane transport and calcium regulation. Lipids interact with proteins to form lipid rafts, which are involved in a variety of signal transduction.

Lipidomics is a discipline that systematically studies lipids and the molecules that interact with them in organisms, tissues or cells. The following are examples that applied lipidomics to microbiological research.

Multiple stress responses in microorganisms are accompanied by disordered lipid metabolism. The search for lipid biomarkers is important for the study of microorganisms.

Drug targets and applications in new drug development

Many researchers are looking for new drug targets using lipid metabolites and related enzymes.

For example, the formation of the Candida albicans periplasm poses a significant therapeutic problem. Comparative lipidomics studies have shown that phospholipids and sphingolipids are significantly more abundant in periplasmic Candida albicans than in planktonic Candida albicans. This pathway was further confirmed to play a key role in perithecia formation by the addition of the sphingolipid metabolic pathway blocker polycystin.

Candida albicans developed resistance during long-term repeated administration of fluconazole. Lipidomics analysis of sensitive and resistant bacteria showed significant differences in their lipid profile maps. Phosphatidylglycerol was reduced, which is associated with mitochondrial function, and further studies showed impaired mitochondrial function and cell wall defects, suggesting that the mechanism of resistance is related to lipid metabolism, mitochondrial function and cell wall integrity.

Mechanistic study that optimizes fermentation conditions

Ethanol yield during fermentation is very important for the efficiency of fuel alcohol, wine, and other alcoholic beverages production. An increase in ethanol concentration slows down the conversion of sugars to ethanol. Lipidomics analysis on industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae of different ethanol tolerance found that lipid composition was correlated with ethanol concentration as an indicator of ethanol tolerance of the strain and that the maximum cell concentration affecting ethanol tolerance was also correlated with lipids.

Creative Proteomics has gradually grown into an integrated service provider with targeted lipidomics and untargeted lipidomics analysis services for researchers in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agriculture, and nutrition industries.