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Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) are key components of microbial cellular membranes from bacteria to plants and animals. PLFA analysis is a technique widely used for estimation of the total microbial biomass and community composition of the living microbiota in soils, drinking waters, groundwaters, sediments and biomats. Creative Biogene is a leading company offering the high-quality PLFA analysis services.
PLFA analysis provides direct information on the entire microbial community in three key areas:
• Population “Fingerprint” —PLFA biomarkers have been extensively used in a range of ecosystems to identify the presence or absence of important microbial functional groups such as different bacterial groups, actinomycetes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia, protozoa, etc.
| PLFA biomarkers | Designations | Sample origin |
| Straight‐chain saturated fatty acids | ||
| 14:0; 15:0; 16:0; 17:0; 18:0 | General bacterial marker | Pure cultures; soil |
| Methyl‐branched fatty acids | ||
| 10Me16:0; 10Me17:0; 10Me18:0 | Actinomycetes (Actinobacteria) | Pure cultures; soil |
| Monounsaturated fatty acids | ||
| 14:1ω5c; 15:1; 15:1ω6c; 16:1ω7t; 16:1ω9c; 16:1ω11c; 17:1; 18:1ω5c; 19:1ω9c; 19:1ω12c; 20:1ω9c; 20:1ω9t; 22:1ω9c; 22:1ω9t | Gram‐negative bacteria | Pit mud; pure cultures; soil |
| 16:1ω5c | Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi | Plant roots; soil |
| 16:1ω7c | Gram‐negative bacteria | Pure cultures; soil |
| Cyanobacteria; diatoms | Freshwater microalgae; microbial mats; pond water | |
| 16:1ω5t; 16:1ω8c | Type I methanotrophs (Gammaproteobacteria) | Pure cultures; soil |
| 17:1ω8; 17:1ω5 | Sulphate‐reducing bacteria | Microbial mats |
| 18:1ω7c | Cyanobacteria; diatoms | Freshwater microalgae; microbial mats; pond water |
| Gram‐negative bacteria | Pure cultures; soil | |
| 18:1ω7t | Gram‐negative bacteria | Pure cultures; soil |
| 18:1ω8c | Type II methanotrophs (Alphaproteobacteria) Methylocystaceae & Beijerinckiaceae | Pure cultures; soil |
| 18:1ω9c | Cyanobacteria; green algae | Freshwater microalgae; microbial mats; pond water |
| Fungi | Pure cultures; soil | |
| Hydroxy‐substituted fatty acids | ||
| 2OH 12:0; 3OH 12:0; 2OH 14:0; 3OH 14:0; 2OH 16:0; 2OH 18:0 | Gram‐negative bacteria | Soil |
| Cyclopropyl saturated fatty acids | ||
| cy17:0; cy19:0 | Gram‐negative bacteria | Pure cultures; soil |
| Anaerobic bacteria | Soil | |
| Terminally branched fatty acids | ||
| a13:0; i13:0; i14:0; i15:0; a15:0; i16:0; a17:0; i17:0; a18:0; i18:0 | Gram‐positive bacteria | Pit mud; pure cultures; soil |
| Polyunsaturated fatty acids | ||
| 18:2ω6c; 18:3ω6c | Saprotrophic fungi | Pure cultures; soil |
| Cyanobacteria; diatoms | Freshwater microalgae; microbial mats; pond water | |
| 18:3ω3 | Fungi | Biofilms; pure cultures; soil |
| Cyanobacteria | Freshwater microalgae; microbial mats | |
| 18:2ω9c | Saprotrophic fungi | Soil |
| 16:2ω4; 16:2ω6; 16:2ω7; 16:3ω3; 16:3ω4; 16:4ω3; 16:4ω1; 18:4ω3; 18:5ω3; 20:4ω6; 20:5ω3; 22:5ω3; 22:6ω3 | Cyanobacteria; diatoms; green algae | Freshwater microalgae; microbial mats |
• Microbial Biomass — PLFA decomposes relatively quickly upon cell death when individual organisms (especially bacteria and fungi) die, so the remaining phospholipid become a powerful tool for estimating living microbial biomass.
• Physiological status and metabolic activity—The composition of fatty acids can be used to indicate physiological status and metabolic activity in the microbial community. Microbes modify specific PLFA biomarkers during periods of slow growth or in response to environmental stress providing an index of their health and metabolic activity.
Creative Biogene is the premier institution to provide professional and comprehensive phospholipid fatty acid analysis services. We have years of experience to meet your specific project needs to add value to your research project.
References
1. Willers, C. , Rensburg, P. J. J. V. , & Claassens, S. . (2015). Phospholipid fatty acid profiling of microbial communities–a review of interpretations and recent applications. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 119(5), 12.
2. Quideau, S. A. , Mcintosh, A. C. S. , Norris, C. E. , Lloret, E. , Swallow, M. J. B. , & Hannam, K. . (2016). Extraction and analysis of microbial phospholipid fatty acids in soils. Journal of Visualized Experiments Jove, 2016(114).
3. Buyer, J. S. , & Sasser, M. . (2012). High throughput phospholipid fatty acid analysis of soils. Applied Soil Ecology, 61(Complete), 127-130.
4. Fan, F. , Zhang, B. , & Morrill, P. L. . (2017). Phospholipid fatty acid (plfa) analysis for profiling microbial communities in offshore produced water. Marine Pollution Bulletin, S0025326X17305258.
Creative Biogene is fully engaged in developing unique technologies that provide global scientists with high quality products and satisfactory services to facilitate the investigation of microbial researches.
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