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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 213-218 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | FEMS Microbiology Letters |
Volume | 176 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 1999 |