Nature Communications (Mar 2022)

Identification of a protein responsible for the synthesis of archaeal membrane-spanning GDGT lipids

  • Zhirui Zeng,
  • Huahui Chen,
  • Huan Yang,
  • Yufei Chen,
  • Wei Yang,
  • Xi Feng,
  • Hongye Pei,
  • Paula V. Welander

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29264-x
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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The cell membranes of many archaea contain characteristic membrane-spanning lipids known as glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers. Here, Zeng et al. identify a protein that participates in a key step of the synthesis of these lipids from diether precursors.