Journal
NATURE REVIEWS MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 16, Issue 5, Pages 304-315Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro.2017.173
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Funding
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) [NNX12AD93G]
- Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund
- US National Institutes of Health (NIH) [K99GM126141]
- H-MSCA-ITN-ETN TOLLerant
- Progetto Galileo [G14-23]
- Mizutani Foundation for Glycoscience
- French National Research Agency [ANR-BugsInaCell-13-BSV7-0013]
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES [K99GM126141] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Lipid research represents a frontier for microbiology, as showcased by hopanoid lipids. Hopanoids, which resemble sterols and are found in the membranes of diverse bacteria, have left an extensive molecular fossil record. They were first discovered by petroleum geologists. Today, hopanoid-producing bacteria remain abundant in various ecosystems, such as the rhizosphere. Recently, great progress has been made in our understanding of hopanoid biosynthesis, facilitated in part by technical advances in lipid identification and quantification. A variety of genetically tractable, hopanoid-producing bacteria have been cultured, and tools to manipulate hopanoid biosynthesis and detect hopanoids are improving. However, we still have much to learn regarding how hopanoid production is regulated, how hopanoids act biophysically and biochemically, and how their production affects bacterial interactions with other organisms, such as plants. The study of hopanoids thus offers rich opportunities for discovery.
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