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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

In Situ Measurement and Correlation of Cell Density and Light Emission of Bioluminescent Bacteria
Published on: June 28, 2018
A bacterial light response reveals an orphan desaturase for human plasmalogen synthesis
Aránzazu Gallego-García1, Antonio J Monera-Girona1, Elena Pajares-Martínez1
1Departamento de Genética y Microbiología, Área de Genética (Unidad Asociada al Instituto de Química Física "Rocasolano," Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia 30100, Spain.
Abstract:
Plasmalogens are glycerophospholipids with a hallmark sn-1 vinyl ether bond. These lipids are found in animals and some bacteria and have proposed membrane organization, signaling, and antioxidant roles. We discovered the plasmanylethanolamine desaturase activity that is essential for vinyl ether bond formation in a bacterial enzyme, CarF, which is a homolog of the human enzyme TMEM189. CarF mediates light-induced carotenogenesis in Myxococcus xanthus, and plasmalogens participate in sensing photooxidative stress through singlet oxygen. TMEM189 and other animal homologs could functionally replace CarF in M. xanthus, and knockout of TMEM189 in a human cell line eliminated plasmalogens. Discovery of the human plasmanylethanolamine desaturase will spur further study of plasmalogen biogenesis, functions, and roles in disease.
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