Lipodisqs for eukaryote lipidomics with retention of viability: Sensitivity and resistance to Leucobacter infection linked to C.elegans cuticle composition

• Published in: Chemistry and physics of lipids Vol. 222; pp. 51 - 58
• Main Authors: Bada Juarez, Juan F., O’Rourke, Delia, Judge, Peter J., Liu, Li C., Hodgkin, Jonathan, Watts, Anthony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.08.2019
• Subjects: AGMO; agmo-1; Alkylglycerol monooxygenase; Animals; Bacterial infection; Bacterial Infections - metabolism; C. elegans; Caenorhabditis elegans - metabolism; Cuticle; Detergent-free; Ether lipid; Eukaryota - metabolism; Leucobacter; Lipid; Lipid nanoparticle; Lipidomics; Lipids - chemistry; Lipodisq; MALDI-MS; SMA; SMALP; Styrene-maleic acid polymer; Verde1; Verde2; Ether lipid; C. elegans; SMA; Detergent-free; agmo-1; Verde1; Lipidomics; MALDI-MS; Cuticle; Leucobacter; Verde2; Alkylglycerol monooxygenase; Lipodisq; Lipid nanoparticle; Lipid; Styrene-maleic acid polymer; Bacterial infection; AGMO; SMALP
• ISSN: 0009-3084; 1873-2941
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemphyslip.2019.02.005

•SMA polymer is used extract surface lipids from C. elegans strains without loss of viability.•Infection-resistant C. elegans display differences in the lipid composition of the cuticle.•Accumulation of ether lipids in the cuticle alters the pattern of bacterial infection in the agmo-1mutant C. elegans strain.•Lipodisq nanoparticles (or SMALPs) are a powerful tool for lipodomics studies of pathogen membranes and cuticles. Lipodisq™ nanoparticles have been used to extract surface lipids from the cuticle of two strains (wild type, N2 and the bacteria-resistant strain, agmo-1) of the C. elegans nematode without loss of viability. The extracted lipids were characterized by thin layer chromatography and MALDI-TOF-MS. The lipid profiles differed between the two strains. The extracted lipids from the bacteria-resistant strain, agmo-1, contained ether-linked (O-alkyl chain) lipids, in contrast to the wild-type strain which contained exclusively ester- linked (O-acyl) lipids. This observation is consistent with the loss of a functional alkylglycerol monooxygenase (AGMO) in the bacterial resistant strain agmo-1. The presence and abundance of other lipid species also differs between the wild-type N2 and agmo-1 nematodes, suggesting that the agmo-1 mutant strain attempts to compensate for the increase in ether-linked lipids by modulating other lipid-synthesis pathways. Together these differences not only affect the fragility of the cuticle and the buoyancy of the worm in aqueous buffer, but also interactions with surface-adhering bacteria. The much greater chemical stability of O-alkyl, non-hydrolysable linked lipids compared with hydrolysable O-acyl linked lipids, may be the origin of the resistance of the agmo-1 strain to bacterial infection, providing a more resilient cuticle for the nematode. Additionally, we show that lipid extraction with a polymer of styrene and maleic acid (SMA) provides a viable route to lipidomics studies with minimal perturbation of the organism.