Application of electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to characterize glycerophospholipids in Francisella tularensis subsp. novicida

Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious human pathogen that can cause tularemia, but little is known about the lipid composition in membranes of this bacterium. Our recent study has shown that lipid A in membranes of F. tularensis subsp. novicida is related to its infection ability [X. Wang, A.A. Ribeiro, Z. Guan, S.N. Abraham, C.R. Raetz, Attenuated virulence of a Francisella mutant lacking the lipid A 4'-phosphatase, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104 (2007) 4136-4141.]. Here we purified the glycerophospholipids of F. novicida, and analyzed by using thin-layer chromatography, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, cardiolipin, phosphatidylcholine and lyso-phosphatidylethanolamine were found in F. novicida. These glycerophospholipids contain fatty acids with broad range of chain lengths, and acyl chains have unusually different length in a single glycerophospholipid molecule. The special fatty acyl composition of glycerophospholipids in F. tularensis could potentially be used to detect the bacteria. © 2010 Elsevier B.V.

Duke Scholars

Author Ziqiang Guan Biochemistry