Effect of Cultural Conditions on the Fatty Acid Composition of Thiobacillus novellus

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RESUMO

The fatty acid content of Thiobacillus novellus was determined under various cultural conditions. Four fatty acids, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, and a C19 cyclopropane acid (C19:cyc), generally accounted for 90 to 99% of the total acids. Phosphate concentration, temperature, culture agitation, and the presence of branch-chain precursors had no significant effect on cellular fatty acids. Autotrophically grown cells contained more saturated C16 and C18 acids than did heterotrophic ones, and the sum of the percentages of the C18:1 and the C19:cyc acids was consistently higher in the heterotrophs. When the inorganic medium was supplemented with biotin, autotrophic cells produced more C19:cyc and much less C18:1 than did autotrophs in unsupplemented medium. Heterotrophic cells grown with biotin also showed a marked reduction of the unsaturated acid and an increase in the cyclopropane acid, except when glutamatecitrate medium was employed, in which case the opposite effect was noted. Two different biotin-supplemented media yielded cells with 75 to 77% of the total fatty acids being the C19 cyclopropane acid, one of the highest reported values for this class of acid.

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