Changes in whole-cell derived fatty acids induced by benzene and occurrence of the unusual 16:1ω6c in Rhodococcus sp. 33

Jose Gutierrez, Peter D Nichols, Iain Couperwhite

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    35 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    We report for the first time the fatty acid composition, as measured by capillary gas chromatography, of a Rhonococus sp. when grown in the presence and absence of benzene. The organism increased its ratio of saturated/unsaturated fatty acids from 1.3 to 1.5 and 1.8 when grown on mannitol, benzene and mannitol+benzene, respectively. The observed increase in saturated fatty acids during growth in the presence of benzene is suggested as a possiblemechanism to decrease the fluidity of the cell membrane to tolerate benzene. The organism was found to synthesize hexadecenoic acid, 16:1 omega 6c (11-13% of total fatty acids). This is an uncommon fatty acid and previously unreported in Rhodococcus spp.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)213-218
    Number of pages6
    JournalFEMS Microbiology Letters
    Volume176
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Jul 1999

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