Phospholipid modifications in bacteria
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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Defining Substrate Specificities for Lipase and Phospholipase Candidates
Published on: November 23, 2016
1Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois, B103 Chemical and Life Sciences Laboratory, 601 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. j-cronan@life.uiuc.edu
Abstract:
Many bacteria alter the acyl chains of their membrane phospholipids in response to changing environmental conditions. Two of these modifications are reviewed: cis-->trans isomerization and cyclopropanation of double bonds. The isomerization reaction is now known to be catalyzed by a periplasmic protein that contains a covalently bound heme. Cyclopropanation has been shown to play a role in Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis and, in Escherichia coli, plays an important role in resistance to acidic conditions.
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