The transcriptome response of the ruminal methanogen Methanobrevibacter ruminantium strain M1 to the inhibitor lauric acid (original) (raw)

Lauric acid (C) is a medium-chain fatty acid that inhibits growth and production of the greenhouse gas methane by rumen methanogens such as Methanobrevibacter ruminantium. To understand the inhibitory mechanism of C, a transcriptome analysis was performed in M. ruminantium strain M1 (DSM 1093) using RNA-Seq. Pure cell cultures in the exponential growth phase were treated with 0.4 mg/ml C, dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), for 1 h and transcriptomic changes were compared to DMSO-only treated cells (final DMSO concentration 0.2%). Exposure to Cresulted in differential expression of 163 of the 2280 genes in the M1 genome (maximum log-fold change 6.6). Remarkably, Chardly affected the expression of genes involved in methanogenesis. Instead, most affected genes encode cell-surface associated proteins (adhesion-like proteins, membrane-associated transporters and hydrogenases), and proteins involved in detoxification or DNA-repair processes. Enrichment analysis on the genes regulated...