Open AccessThe effects of growth temperature on the methyl sterol and phospholipid fatty acid composition of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath)
Author(s) -
Jahnke Linda L.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05099.x
Subject(s) - sterol , phospholipid , chemistry , fatty acid , biochemistry , cholesterol , composition (language) , biology , membrane , linguistics , philosophy
Growth of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath) at temperatures ranging from 30 to 50°C resulted in changes to the whole cell lipid constitutents. As temperature was lowered, the overall proportion of hexadecenoic acid (C16:1) increased, and the relative proportions of the Δ9, Δ10 and Δ11 C16:1 double bond positional isomers changed. Methyl sterol content also increased as the growth temperature was lowered. The highest amounts of methyl sterol were found in 30°C cells and the lowest in 50°C cells (sterol‐phospholipid ratios of 0.077 and 0.013, respectively). The data are consistent with a membrane modulating role for the sterol produced by this prokaryotic organism.