Incorporation of chlorinated alkanes into fatty acids of hydrocarbon-utilizing mycobacteria

The cellular fatty acid composition of Mycobacterium vaccae JOB5 and Mycobacterium convolutum R22 was examined after growth on n-alkanes and compared with the fatty acids of the organisms after growth on 1-chlorohexadecane and 1-chlorooctadecane. Growth on n-alkanes resulted in normal fatty acid profiles. Mass spectral analyses indicated that, after growth on the terminally chlorinated n-alkanes, 75 to 86% of the fatty acids in M. convolutum and ca. 55% of the fatty acids in M. vaccae contained chlorine. Neither organism could utilize chloroacetate or 3-chloropropionate as sole source of carbon and energy. When these compounds were added to a growth medium with n-hexadecane as substrate, there was no evidence that chlorinated fatty acids were produced. Terminally chlorinated n-alkanes can be added to the list of n-alkanes, alkenes, and cyclohexylalkane derivatives that can be directly incorporated into cellular fatty acids of hydrocarbon-utilizing organisms.