Microbial Lipidomics

Intestinal microbiota regulate host health and disease. Their lipid structures have distinct characteristics from those of mammals in the lengths and branches of fatty acyl chains and modification of polar heads, resulting in a unique and massive lipidome. Because the structural difference of lipids has a great impact on recognition by host receptors, the separation and identification of the fine structural features is required when using mass spectrometry in gut microbial lipidomics. Herein, we review the current knowledge on microbiota-derived lipid structures, representative mass spectrometric methods, and the latest technologies that improve the resolution of microbial lipidomics.