🌍 Climate change and LPS? Any link? 🧐

It seems that lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Gram-negative bacteria can help analyze climate shifts. The lipid part of LPS is particularly sensitive to temperature variations. 🦠

A recent study, “Global Calibration of Novel 3-Hydroxy Fatty Acid-Based Temperature and pH Proxies,” showcases the potential of 3-hydroxy fatty acids (3-OH-FAs) in paleoclimate research. ☁️
By analyzing 186 soil samples worldwide, researchers found that 3-OH-FAs, derived from lipopolysaccharides in Gram-negative bacterial membranes, show strong correlations with both temperature and soil pH, key factors for reconstructing past climates. 🔬

These findings suggest that 3-OH-FAs could reveal records of mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and soil pH across diverse environments. 🌡️

What’s the takeaway? 3-OH-FAs from LPS could unlock new insights into past environmental conditions and help predict future climate shifts.

These fatty acids can be detected with both GC-MS and LC-MS2. 👩‍🔬

🔬Curious about the top reasons to use LC-MS2 for the detection of lipopolysaccharides? Check out this link.

Thank you to the authors for this article. DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2021.03.010