{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Liman GLS"],"funding":["U.S. Department of Energy","Simons Foundation","NASA","National Aeronautics and Space Administration","National Institute of General Medical Sciences","NIGMS NIH HHS","National Science Foundation"],"pagination":["882-894"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11096074"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["121(5)"],"pubmed_abstract":["The sole unifying feature of the incredibly diverse Archaea is their isoprenoid-based ether-linked lipid membranes. Unique lipid membrane composition, including an abundance of membrane-spanning tetraether lipids, impart resistance to extreme conditions. Many questions remain, however, regarding the synthesis and modification of tetraether lipids and how dynamic changes to archaeal lipid membrane composition support hyperthermophily. Tetraether membranes, termed glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), are generated by tetraether synthase (Tes) by joining the tails of two bilayer lipids known as archaeol. GDGTs are often further specialized through the addition of cyclopentane rings by GDGT ring synthase (Grs). A positive correlation between relative GDGT abundance and entry into stationary phase growth has been observed, but the physiological impact of inhibiting GDGT synthesis has not previously been reported. Here, we demonstrate that the model hyperthermophile Thermococcus kodakarensis remains viable when Tes (TK2145) or Grs (TK0167) are deleted, permitting phenotypic and lipid analyses at different temperatures. The absence of cyclopentane rings in GDGTs does not impact growth in T. kodakarensis, but an overabundance of rings due to ectopic Grs expression is highly fitness negative at supra-optimal temperatures. In contrast, deletion of Tes resulted in the loss of all GDGTs, cyclization of archaeol, and loss of viability upon transition to the stationary phase in this model archaea. These results demonstrate the critical roles of highly specialized, dynamic, isoprenoid-based lipid membranes for archaeal survival at high temperatures."],"journal":["Molecular microbiology"],"pubmed_title":["Tetraether archaeal lipids promote long-term survival in extreme conditions."],"pmcid":["PMC11096074"],"funding_grant_id":["T32 GM132057","GM100329","80NSSC20K0613","R35 GM143963","GM143963","2022065","2016857","R01 GM100329","735931","DE‐SC0014597","DE-SC0014597"],"pubmed_authors":["Fluke KA","Santangelo TJ","Davidson SC","Anderson HR","Welander PV","Garcia AA","Liman GLS"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Tetraether archaeal lipids promote long-term survival in extreme conditions.","description":"The sole unifying feature of the incredibly diverse Archaea is their isoprenoid-based ether-linked lipid membranes. Unique lipid membrane composition, including an abundance of membrane-spanning tetraether lipids, impart resistance to extreme conditions. Many questions remain, however, regarding the synthesis and modification of tetraether lipids and how dynamic changes to archaeal lipid membrane composition support hyperthermophily. Tetraether membranes, termed glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), are generated by tetraether synthase (Tes) by joining the tails of two bilayer lipids known as archaeol. GDGTs are often further specialized through the addition of cyclopentane rings by GDGT ring synthase (Grs). A positive correlation between relative GDGT abundance and entry into stationary phase growth has been observed, but the physiological impact of inhibiting GDGT synthesis has not previously been reported. Here, we demonstrate that the model hyperthermophile Thermococcus kodakarensis remains viable when Tes (TK2145) or Grs (TK0167) are deleted, permitting phenotypic and lipid analyses at different temperatures. The absence of cyclopentane rings in GDGTs does not impact growth in T. kodakarensis, but an overabundance of rings due to ectopic Grs expression is highly fitness negative at supra-optimal temperatures. In contrast, deletion of Tes resulted in the loss of all GDGTs, cyclization of archaeol, and loss of viability upon transition to the stationary phase in this model archaea. These results demonstrate the critical roles of highly specialized, dynamic, isoprenoid-based lipid membranes for archaeal survival at high temperatures.","dates":{"release":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2024 May","modification":"2025-07-12T03:04:26.625Z","creation":"2025-07-12T03:04:26.625Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC11096074","cross_references":{"pubmed":["38372181"],"doi":["10.1111/mmi.15240"]}}