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A trans-unsaturated fatty acid in a psychrophilic bacterium, Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1
H Okuyama1, S Sasaki, S Higashi
1Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Abstract:
A high level of a trans-unsaturated fatty acid was found in the phospholipids of a psychrophilic bacterium, Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1. This fatty acid was identified as 9-trans-hexadecenoic acid (C16:19t) by gas-liquid chromatography and infrared absorption spectrometry. C16:1(9)t accounted for less than 1% of the total fatty acids in cells grown at 5 degrees C and reached 12% of the total at 20 degrees C. We suggest that the increase in the level of the trans-unsaturated fatty acid is related to the high growth rate of this bacterium at elevated temperatures. Possible biological roles of the trans-unsaturated fatty acid in the adaptation of the microorganism to the ambient temperature are discussed.