Synthesis reveals ladderane secrets
Tien Nguyen · C&EN Global Enterprise · 2018
Since their unlikely discovery in wastewater sludge at the tail end of the past century, anaerobic ammonium (anammox) bacteria have been spotted in all manner of aquatic settings. These bacteria consume ammonium and nitrite, churning out gaseous nitrogen and water. Researchers have sought to harness the microbes to remove ammonium, which is released into the environment by agricultural fertilizers, from wastewater. But studying these microbes, much less manipulating them, hasn’t been easy. The bacteria grow slowly, doubling every one to two weeks, and are sensitive to oxygen, which means that scientists must use glove boxes to extract certain enzymes. Now, in a step toward understanding these enigmatic bacteria, researchers at Stanford University have investigated two key molecules found in the membrane of the bacteria’s anammoxosome, the organelle where the ammonia-oxidizing process is thought to occur (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2018, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810706115). Known as ladderane phospholipids, these compounds possess