Department of Chemistry, University of Gothenburg, Kemivagen 10, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2010 Aug;397(8):3543-51. doi: 10.1007/s00216-010-3913-3. Epub 2010 Jun 17.
Since the discovery of the anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, many attempts have been made in order to identify these environmentally important bacteria in natural environments. Anammox bacteria contain a unique class of lipids, called ladderane lipids and here we present a novel method to detect viable anammox bacteria in sediments and waste water treatment plants based on the use of a ladderane lipid biomarker. Intact ladderane phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipids are analyzed using reversed-phase liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. Following extraction from the complex sediment matrix, reversed-phase LC is used to separate ladderane PC lipids based on their tail group hydrophobicity as well as their ether or ester link to the glycerol backbone in the sn-2 position. We investigate the presence of intact ladderane lipids in natural sediments displaying anammox activity and illustrate the use of a specific intact membrane forming PC lipid as a biomarker for viable anammox bacterial cells. The presented method can be used to elucidate the whereabouts of viable anammox bacteria, subsequently enabling an estimation of anammox activity. This will greatly increase the knowledge of anammox bacteria and their importance in the global nitrogen cycle.
自从发现厌氧氨氧化（Anammox）细菌以来，人们已经进行了许多尝试，以在自然环境中鉴定这些对环境很重要的细菌。Anammox 细菌含有一类独特的脂质，称为 ladderane 脂质，在这里我们提出了一种基于使用 ladderane 脂质生物标志物来检测沉积物和废水处理厂中存活的 Anammox 细菌的新方法。使用反相液相色谱-电喷雾电离-质谱分析完整的 ladderane 磷脂酰胆碱（PC）脂质。从复杂的沉积物基质中提取后，反相 LC 用于根据其尾部基团疏水性以及在 sn-2 位置与甘油主链的醚或酯键分离 ladderane PC 脂质。我们研究了在显示 Anammox 活性的天然沉积物中完整 ladderane 脂质的存在，并说明了使用特定的完整膜形成 PC 脂质作为存活的 Anammox 细菌细胞的生物标志物。所提出的方法可用于阐明存活的 Anammox 细菌的去向，从而能够估计 Anammox 活性。这将大大增加对 Anammox 细菌及其在全球氮循环中的重要性的了解。
