Chlorinated fatty acid distribution in Mycobacterium convolutum phospholipids after growth on 1-chlorohexadecane

Abstract

The composition of phospholipids from Mycobacterium convolutum R22 was determined after growth at two temperatures (20 and 30°C) with 1-chlorohexadecane as the substrate. Comparisons were made with the phospholipids of cells grown on n-hexadecane. Phosphatidylinositolmannosides and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were the major phospholipids in n-hexadecane-grown cells. In 1-chlorohexadecane-grown cells, phosphatidylinositolmannosides were approximately half of the total phospholipids, with lesser amounts of PE and cardiolipin (CL). The relative level of PE was greater at 20°C (versus that at 30°C) after growth on either substrate. A determination was made of structure and positional distribution of constituent fatty acid in both CL and PE. The relative amount of unsaturated fatty acid was higher at 20°C. There were two C(16:1) fatty acids (C(16:1Δ9) and C(16:1Δ11)), an these had positional preferences in both CL and PE. The positional sites of chlorinated fatty acids differed in both CL and PE at the two temperatures. The results confirm that microorganisms can specifically distribute chlorinated fatty acids into cellular phospholipids.