The Intracellular Bacteria Chlamydia Hijack Peroxisomes and Utilize Their Enzymatic Capacity to Produce Bacteria-Specific Phospholipids

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen responsible for loss of eyesight through trachoma and for millions of cases annually of sexually transmitted diseases. The bacteria develop within a membrane-bounded inclusion. They lack enzymes for several biosynthetic pathways, including those to make some phospholipids, and exploit their host to compensate. Three-dimensional fluorescence microscopy demonstrates that small organelles of the host, peroxisomes, are translocated into the Chlamydia inclusion and are found adjacent to the bacteria. In cells deficient for peroxisome biogenesis the bacteria are able to multiply and give rise to infectious progeny, demonstrating that peroxisomes are not essential for bacterial development in vitro. Mass spectrometry-based lipidomics reveal the presence in C. trachomatis of plasmalogens, ether phospholipids whose synthesis begins in peroxisomes and have never been described in aerobic bacteria before. Some of the bacterial plasmalogens are novel structures containing bacteria-specific odd-chain fatty acids; they are not made in uninfected cells nor in peroxisome-deficient cells. Their biosynthesis is thus accomplished by the metabolic collaboration of peroxisomes and bacteria.

The late endocytic Rab39a GTPase regulates multivesicular bodies-chlamydial inclusion interaction and bacterial growth

“…Previous reports have shown that there are lipid droplets and peroxisomes within the inclusion lumen, suggesting the ability of inclusions to 'ingest' host organelles (Bastidas et al, 2013;Boncompain et al, 2014). Ultra-structurally, we recognized intrainclusion membranes and small vesicles dually labelled with Rab39a and CD63, probably delivered by fusion with MVBs ( Fig.…”

Anaplasma phagocytophilumRab10-dependent parasitism of thetrans-Golgi network is critical for completion of the infection cycle

“…A lesser-understood phenomenon that also occurs and for which evidence has only recently begun to accumulate is the transport of entire vesicles into pathogen-occupied vacuoles (POVs) in the absence of membrane fusion. Indeed, intact lipid droplets, peroxisomes, multivesicular bodies and endoplasmic reticulum-derived vesicles are delivered into the C. trachomatis inclusion (Beatty, 2006; Cocchiaro et al ., 2008; Dumoux et al ., 2012; Boncompain et al ., 2014). Also, Rab14, which like Rab10 directs TGN exocytic traffic (Junutula et al ., 2004), was detected within the C. trachomatis inclusion (Capmany and Damiani, 2010).…”

The Caenorhabditis elegans lipidome

“…However it requires dedicated equipment free of water due to immiscibility of different organic solvents with water, which would lead bad chromatographic performance, unstable baselines and other problems. Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography (HILIC) is an interesting alternative approach using water miscible organic solvents for lipid class separation [6,7].…”

“…The use of chromatographic separation enables resolving of isomers including cis/trans isomers [3]. In most cases, reversed phase (RP) separations using C8 or C18 columns with an Acetonitrile-iso-Propanol (ACN-iPrOH) gradient are employed [3][4][5], but also application of HILIC and normal phase separation is common [6,7]. Lipidomics is applied in any field of biological research ranging from cell cultures [8], microorganisms [9][10][11], plants [12,13] and mammals [14].…”