Functional analysis and application of phospholipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acids in bacterial cell membrane

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24380047
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied microbiology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: KURIHARA Tatsuo 京都大学, 化学研究所, 教授 (70243087)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KAWAMOTO Jun 京都大学, 化学研究所, 助教 (90511238)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞膜 / 脂質 / タンパク質 / 高度不飽和脂肪酸 / エイコサペンタエン酸 / リン脂質

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We analyzed the function of 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate O-acyltransferase isozymes, PlsC1 and PlsC4, from Shewanella livingstonensis Ac10 and found that these enzymes are responsible for the synthesis of phospholipids containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and branched-chain fatty acids, respectively. PlsC1 was mainly localized at the cell division site, whereas PlsC4 was mainly localized at the polar regions of the cell. Thus these enzymes probably contribute to the biogenesis of heterogeneous cell membrane of this bacterium. We found that EPA-containing phospholipids facilitate folding of a membrane protein and synthesized a probe molecule useful for the analysis of the physiological functions of EPA.

Free Research Field

分子微生物科学