Project description:Microbial lipids, used as taxonomic markers and physiological indicators, have mainly been studied through cultivation. However, this approach is limited due to the scarcity of cultures of environmental microbes, thereby restricting insights into the diversity of lipids and their ecological roles. Addressing this limitation, here we apply metalipidomics combined with metagenomics in the Black Sea, classifying and tentatively identifying 1623 lipid-like species across 18 lipid classes. We discovered over 200 novel, abundant, and structurally diverse sphingolipids in euxinic waters, including unique 1-deoxysphingolipids with long-chain fatty acids and sulfur-containing groups. Sphingolipids were thought to be rare in bacteria and their molecular and ecological functions in bacterial membranes remain elusive. However, genomic analysis focused on sphingolipid biosynthesis genes revealed that members of 38 bacterial phyla in the Black Sea can synthesize sphingolipids, representing a 4-fold increase from previously known capabilities and accounting for up to 25% of the microbial community. These sphingolipids appear to be involved in oxidative stress response, cell wall remodeling, and are associated with the metabolism of nitrogen-containing molecules. Our findings underscore the effectiveness of multi-omics approaches in exploring microbial chemical ecology.

| S-EPMC11334938 | biostudies-literature

Black Sea Magnetococcus

Project description:Magnetococcus sequences from the Black Sea

| PRJEB23128 | ENA

Anaerobic granular sludge in the percolation column

Project description:Anaerobic granular sludge in the percolation column Raw sequence reads

| PRJNA517299 | ENA

Microbial diversity in the Black Sea estuaries

Project description:Investigation of the bacterial communities that inhabit surface water of the Black Sea estuaries in Odessa region

| PRJEB9914 | ENA

Alteromonas macleodii str. 'Black Sea 11'

Project description:Alteromonas macleodii str. 'Black Sea' genome sequencing project