Extraction of Cofactor F420 for Analysis of Polyglutamate Tail Length from Methanogenic Pure Cultures and Environmental Samples

The cofactor F420 plays a central role as a hydride carrier in the primary and secondary metabolism of many bacterial and archaeal taxa. The cofactor is best known for its role in methanogenesis, where it facilitates thermodynamically difficult reactions. As the polyglutamate tail varies in length between different organisms, length profile analyses might be a powerful tool for distinguishing and characterizing different groups and pathways in various habitats. Here, the protocol describes the extraction and optimization of cofactor F420 detection by applying solid-phase extraction combined with high-performance liquid chromatography analysis independent of cultural or molecular biological approaches. The method was applied to gain additional information on the expression of cofactor F420 from microbial communities in soils, anaerobic sludge, and pure cultures and was evaluated by spiking experiments. Thereby, the study succeeded in generating different F420 tail-length profiles for hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic methanogens in controlled methanogenic pure cultures as well as from environmental samples such as anaerobic digester sludge and soils.

Automated summary

The cofactor F420 plays a central role in the metabolism of many bacterial and archaeal taxa, particularly in methanogenesis. Variability in polyglutamate tail length can be used as a tool to distinguish different groups and pathways. The method described in the protocol successfully extracted and detected F420 from various microbial communities, providing information on expression levels and tail-length profiles.