RUI: Methanogenesis from quaternary amines

RUI：季胺产甲烷

• 批准号: 1818178
• 负责人: Donald Ferguson
• 金额: $ 34.3万
• 依托单位: Miami University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1818178&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RUI; Methanogenesis; quaternary; amines

This project will investigate mechanisms by which methane-producing microorganisms can utilize an important and understudied class of compounds to produce methane. Methane, the key component of natural gas, plays an important role in global carbon cycling and atmospheric processes. Some methane-producing microbes (methanogens) have recently been shown to convert a group of compounds called quaternary amines (QAs) to methane. QAs are abundant compounds in many different environments, and methanogenesis in the human gut has been linked to the development of heart disease. Current knowledge of how methanogens can convert QAs to methane and how prevalent this process is in the environment is distinctly lacking. This gap in knowledge leads to potential inaccuracies in computer-generated models predicting the role of methanogenesis on Earth's atmosphere. This research project will address this gap in knowledge by 1) investigating the physiological mechanisms of methanogenesis via QAs and 2) identifying and quantifying the microorganisms responsible for this process in different environments. This research will also benefit students at the Miami University Hamilton, part of a community-based division of Miami University that serves students from first-generation, lower socioeconomic status, and under-represented minority groups. These students will contribute to the research project through classroom activities and undergraduate research.Quaternary amines (QAs) are abundant natural compounds that have recently emerged as important substrates for microbes in anoxic environments, including methanogens. The breakdown of QAs has direct implications for diverse processes from global biogeochemical cycling to atherosclerosis in humans. Understanding of the mechanisms of anaerobic catabolism of QAs by methanogenic archaea, namely QA demethylation, is lacking. Early data suggest that pyrrolysine-lacking (non-pyl) methyltransferases from the COG5598 protein family are involved in QA-dependent methanogenesis along with cognate corrinoid binding proteins, but these pathways have not been elucidated. Determining the function of multiple enzymes from this family will facilitate better identification of the role of members of COG5598 in methane production. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that non-pyl COG5598 enzymes are responsible for QA demethylation and initiation of QA-dependent methanogenesis as part of a three-component corrinoid-dependent methyl transfer pathway, and that organisms encoding these pathways can be identified within the environment. In this work the investigators will: 1) identify pathways for QA-dependent methanogenesis from glycine betaine and tetramethylammonium using comparative proteomics and biochemistry techniques, and 2) determine the identities and relative abundance of predicted QA-utilizing methanogens in different environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该项目将研究产生甲烷的微生物可以利用重要且研究的化合物产生甲烷的机制。甲烷是天然气的关键组成部分，在全球碳循环和大气过程中起着重要作用。 最近已显示一些产生甲烷的微生物（甲烷植物）将一组称为第四纪胺（QAS）的化合物转换为甲烷。 QA是许多不同环境中丰富的化合物，人类肠道中的甲烷发生与心脏病的发展有关。当前对甲烷元如何将QAS转化为甲烷以及该过程在环境中的普遍性的知识显然缺乏。知识差距导致计算机生成模型的潜在不准确性，从而预测了甲烷发生在地球大气中的作用。该研究项目将通过1）通过QAS研究甲烷发生的生理机制来解决这一差距，2）在不同环境中识别和量化负责此过程的微生物。这项研究还将受益于迈阿密大学汉密尔顿的学生，汉密尔顿是迈阿密大学社区系的一部分，该大学为第一代社会经济地位和代表性不足的少数群体提供服务。这些学生将通过课堂活动和本科研究为研究项目做出贡献。Quaternary Amines（QAS）是丰富的天然化合物，最近在包括甲基元素在内的缺氧环境中成为微生物的重要底物。 QA的崩溃对从全球生物地球化学循环到人类动脉粥样硬化的各种过程具有直接影响。缺乏了解甲烷古细菌对QA的厌氧分解代谢的机制，即QA脱甲基化。早期数据表明，来自COG5598蛋白质家族的吡咯氨氨酸甲基转移酶（非pyl）甲基转移酶与Qa依赖性甲烷发生以及同源性类cor依蛋白类似结合蛋白有关，但尚未阐明这些途径。从该家族确定多种酶的功能将有助于更好地识别COG5598在甲烷生产中的作用。该提案的中心假设是非pyl COG5598酶是QA脱甲基化和QA依赖性甲烷发生的启动，这是三组分依赖性甲基转移途径的一部分，并且可以在环境中鉴定编码这些途径的生物体。在这项工作中，研究人员将：1）确定使用比较蛋白质组学和生物化学技术从甘氨酸甲虫和四甲基铵中从甘氨酸甲虫和四甲基铵中识别的途径，2）2）确定通过不同环境中的QA-利用甲基元的质量宣布的质量和相对丰富的认同，并通过不同的基础进行了nsf的QA-量化。智力优点和更广泛的影响审查标准。

项目成果

Examination of the Glycine Betaine-Dependent Methylotrophic Methanogenesis Pathway: Insights Into Anaerobic Quaternary Amine Methylotrophy

• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02572
• 发表时间: 2019-11-07
• 期刊: FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
• 影响因子: 5.2
• 作者: Creighbaum, Adam J.;Ticak, Tomislav;Ferguson, Donald J., Jr.
• 通讯作者: Ferguson, Donald J., Jr.