N-methyl-bacillithiol, a Novel Thiol from Anaerobic Bacteria

mBio. 2019 Jan 15;10(1):e02634-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02634-18.

Abstract

J. Hiras, S. V. Sharma, V. Raman, R. A. J. Tinson, et al. (mBio 9:e01603-18, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01603-18) report on the identification of a novel thiol, N-methyl-bacillithiol (N-Me-BSH), in the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum In N-methyl-bacillithiol, the amine of the cysteine is methylated by a novel S-adenosylmethioneine transferase designated N-methyl-bacillithiol synthase A (NmbA). The Hiras et al. study is significant because it is the first report of the presence of N-Me-BSH in anaerobic bacteria.

Keywords: Chlorobium; N-methyl-bacillithiol; anaerobes; bacillithiol; glutathione; thiols.

Publication types

  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria, Anaerobic
  • Chlorobi
  • Cysteine* / analogs & derivatives
  • Glucosamine / analogs & derivatives
  • Sulfhydryl Compounds*

Substances

  • Sulfhydryl Compounds
  • bacillithiol
  • Cysteine
  • Glucosamine