Credit: S. Yasuda et al., Elucidation of Gut Microbiota-Associated Lipids Using LC-MS/MS and 16S rRNA Sequence Analyses, iScience, 23, 101841, (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101841
Advanced non-targeted lipidomics to elucidate the complex lipid diversity of intestinal flora
Makoto Arita, a professor at Keio University and the Team Leader of the Laboratory for Metabolomics at RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, and colleagues report on the comprehensive analysis of complex lipid metabolites produced by gut microorganisms. They developed new lipidomics technology by combining non-targeted mass spectrometry, which enables comprehensive analysis in an unbiased fashion, and feature-based molecular spectrum networking, which supports structural estimation of unknown molecules.
Employing a protocol consisting of mice treated with antibiotics, Professor Arita and his team successfully identified 985 lipid structures in feces of which approx. 24.8% appeared to be dependent on gut microbiota as judged by > 10-fold decrease in antibiotic-treated mice. Furthermore, they identified unique lipid structures directly related to gut microbiota including acyl alpha-hydroxyl fatty acid (AAHFA). Importantly, this research successfully predicted the bacterial species responsible for producing AAHFA and other unique lipids.
The results of this research are expected to contribute to the elucidation of complex lipid metabolism networks formed by the interaction between the gut microorganisms and hosts, and the discovery of new functional metabolites involved in host homeostasis and the onset of diseases.
Details of publications describing this research.
S. Yasuda et al., Elucidation of Gut Microbiota-Associated Lipids Using LC-MS/MS and 16S rRNA Sequence Analyses, iScience, 23, 101841, (2020).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101841
N. Okahashi et al., Global profiling of gut microbiota-associated lipid metabolites in antibiotic-treated mice by LC-MS/MS-based analyses, STAR Protocols, 2, 100492, (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100492
Further information
RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences
Laboratory for Metabolomics
Team Leader: Makoto Arita
https://www.riken.jp/en/research/labs/ims/metabolom/index.html