Trimethylamine oxide accumulation in marine animals: relationship to acylglycerol storage - PubMed

Affiliations

• PMID: 11854367
• DOI: 10.1242/jeb.205.3.297

Review

Trimethylamine oxide accumulation in marine animals: relationship to acylglycerol storage

Brad A Seibel et al. J Exp Biol. 2002 Feb.

Abstract

Trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) is a common and compatible osmolyte in muscle tissues of marine organisms that is often credited with counteracting protein-destabilizing forces. However, the origin and synthetic pathways of TMAO are actively debated. Here, we examine the distribution of TMAO in marine animals and report a correlation between TMAO and acylglycerol storage. We put forward the hypothesis that TMAO is derived, at least in part, from the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine, endogenous or dietary, for storage as diacylglycerol ethers and triacylglycerols. TMAO is synthesized from the trimethylammonium moiety of choline, thus released, and is retained as a compatible solute in concentrations reflecting the amount of lipid stored in the body. A variation on this theme is proposed for sharks.

Similar articles

• The accumulation of methylamine counteracting solutes in elasmobranchs with differing levels of urea: a comparison of marine and freshwater species.

  Treberg JR, Speers-Roesch B, Piermarini PM, Ip YK, Ballantyne JS, Driedzic WR. Treberg JR, et al. J Exp Biol. 2006 Mar;209(Pt 5):860-70. doi: 10.1242/jeb.02055. J Exp Biol. 2006. PMID: 16481575

• Metabolism of trimethylamines in kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) and marine and freshwater pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha).

  Charest RP, Chenoweth M, Dunn A. Charest RP, et al. J Comp Physiol B. 1988;158(5):609-19. doi: 10.1007/BF00692570. J Comp Physiol B. 1988. PMID: 3249023

• Trimethylamine N-oxide metabolism by abundant marine heterotrophic bacteria.

  Lidbury I, Murrell JC, Chen Y. Lidbury I, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Feb 18;111(7):2710-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1317834111. Epub 2014 Feb 3. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014. PMID: 24550299 Free PMC article.

• Receptor regulation of choline phospholipid hydrolysis. A novel source of diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid.

  Löffelholz K. Löffelholz K. Biochem Pharmacol. 1989 May 15;38(10):1543-9. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(89)90299-2. Biochem Pharmacol. 1989. PMID: 2543416 Review. No abstract available.

• Bacterial reduction of trimethylamine oxide.

  Barrett EL, Kwan HS. Barrett EL, et al. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1985;39:131-49. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.39.100185.001023. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1985. PMID: 3904597 Review.

Cited by

• Phage integration alters the respiratory strategy of its host.

  Carey JN, Mettert EL, Fishman-Engel DR, Roggiani M, Kiley PJ, Goulian M. Carey JN, et al. Elife. 2019 Oct 25;8:e49081. doi: 10.7554/eLife.49081. Elife. 2019. PMID: 31650957 Free PMC article.

• Trimethylamine N-Oxide Reduces the Susceptibility of Escherichia coli to Multiple Antibiotics.

  Qiao J, Liang Y, Wang Y, Morigen. Qiao J, et al. Front Microbiol. 2022 Jul 7;13:956673. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.956673. eCollection 2022. Front Microbiol. 2022. PMID: 35875516 Free PMC article.

• Characterization of short-chain fatty acids in patients with ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis.

  Xu HM, Zhao HL, Guo GJ, Xu J, Zhou YL, Huang HL, Nie YQ. Xu HM, et al. BMC Gastroenterol. 2022 Mar 10;22(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s12876-022-02191-3. BMC Gastroenterol. 2022. PMID: 35272614 Free PMC article.

• Global metabolic responses of mice to Trypanosoma brucei brucei infection.

  Wang Y, Utzinger J, Saric J, Li JV, Burckhardt J, Dirnhofer S, Nicholson JK, Singer BH, Brun R, Holmes E. Wang Y, et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Apr 22;105(16):6127-32. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0801777105. Epub 2008 Apr 14. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008. PMID: 18413599 Free PMC article.

• Human risk of diseases associated with red meat intake: Analysis of current theories and proposed role for metabolic incorporation of a non-human sialic acid.

  Alisson-Silva F, Kawanishi K, Varki A. Alisson-Silva F, et al. Mol Aspects Med. 2016 Oct;51:16-30. doi: 10.1016/j.mam.2016.07.002. Epub 2016 Jul 12. Mol Aspects Med. 2016. PMID: 27421909 Free PMC article. Review.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

• Full Text Sources

  • Silverchair Information Systems

• Other Literature Sources

  • The Lens - Patent Citations Database