Peters, L.* ; Drechsler, M.* ; Herrera, M.A.* ; Liu, J.* ; Pees, B.* ; Jarstorff, J.* ; Czerwinski, A.* ; Lubbock, F.* ; Angelidou, G.* ; Salzer, L. ; Moors, K.A.* ; Paczia, N.* ; Shi, Y.M.* ; Schulenburg, H.* ; Kaleta, C.* ; Witting, M. ; Liebeke, M.* ; Campopiano, D.J.* ; Bode, H.B.* ; Dierking, K.*
Polyketide synthase-derived sphingolipids mediate microbiota protection against a bacterial pathogen in C. elegans.
Nat. Commun. 16:5151 (2025)
Protection against pathogens is a major function of the gut microbiota. Although bacterial natural products have emerged as crucial components of host-microbiota interactions, their exact role in microbiota-mediated protection is largely unexplored. We addressed this knowledge gap with the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and its microbiota isolate Pseudomonas fluorescens MYb115 that is known to protect against Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) infection. We find that MYb115-mediated protection depends on sphingolipids (SLs) that are derived from an iterative type I polyketide synthase (PKS) cluster PfSgaAB, thereby revealing a non-canonical pathway for the production of bacterial SLs as secondary metabolites. SL production is common in eukaryotes but was thought to be limited to a few bacterial phyla that encode the serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) enzyme, which catalyses the initial step in SL synthesis. We demonstrate that PfSgaB encodes a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent alpha-oxoamine synthase with SPT activity, and find homologous putative PKS clusters present across host-associated bacteria that are so far unknown SL producers. Moreover, we provide evidence that MYb115-derived SLs affect C. elegans defence against Bt infection by altering SL metabolism in the nematode host. This work establishes SLs as structural outputs of bacterial PKS and highlights the role of microbiota-derived SLs in host protection against pathogens.
Impact Factor
Scopus SNIP
Web of Science
Times Cited
Scopus
Cited By
Altmetric
Publikationstyp
Artikel: Journalartikel
Dokumenttyp
Wissenschaftlicher Artikel
Typ der Hochschulschrift
Herausgeber
Schlagwörter
Serine Palmitoyltransferase; 3-ketosphinganine Reductase; Biosynthesis; Gene; Metabolism; Pathways; Activation; Expression; Proteins
Keywords plus
Sprache
englisch
Veröffentlichungsjahr
2025
Prepublished im Jahr
0
HGF-Berichtsjahr
2025
ISSN (print) / ISBN
2041-1723
e-ISSN
2041-1723
ISBN
Bandtitel
Konferenztitel
Konferzenzdatum
Konferenzort
Konferenzband
Quellenangaben
Band: 16,
Heft: 1,
Seiten: ,
Artikelnummer: 5151
Supplement: ,
Reihe
Verlag
Nature Publishing Group
Verlagsort
London
Tag d. mündl. Prüfung
0000-00-00
Betreuer
Gutachter
Prüfer
Topic
Hochschule
Hochschulort
Fakultät
Veröffentlichungsdatum
0000-00-00
Anmeldedatum
0000-00-00
Anmelder/Inhaber
weitere Inhaber
Anmeldeland
Priorität
Begutachtungsstatus
Peer reviewed
POF Topic(s)
30202 - Environmental Health
30505 - New Technologies for Biomedical Discoveries
Forschungsfeld(er)
Environmental Sciences
Enabling and Novel Technologies
PSP-Element(e)
G-504800-001
A-630710-001
Förderungen
Projekt DEAL
German Science Foundation DFG
Max-Planck Society
ERC
NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
German Science Foundation DFG (Collaborative Research Center CRC1182 Origin and Function of Metaorganisms)
Copyright
Erfassungsdatum
2025-06-05