Open AccessCharacteristic presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in marine psychrophilic vibrios
Author(s) -
Hamamoto Tetsuo,
Takata Nobuhisa,
Kudo Toshiaki,
Horikoshi Koki
Publication year - 1995
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.1574-6968.1995.tb07556.x
Subject(s) - psychrophile , docosahexaenoic acid , polyunsaturated fatty acid , eicosapentaenoic acid , biology , food science , fatty acid , biochemistry , vibrio , bacteria , docosapentaenoic acid , enzyme , genetics
The cellular fatty acid compositions of 22 psychrophilic and psychrotrophic vibrios isolated from deep‐sea sediment samples were analyzed. Twelve isolates were shown to contain docosahexaenoic acid (22:6), and five isolates contained eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5). The presence of these polyunsaturated fatty acids and the maximum growth temperatures of the isolates were correlated. Those containing docosahexaenoic acid possessed the lowest maximum growth temperatures (lower than 20° C, Group I), while those containing eicosapentaenoic acid had maximum growth temperatures between 20 and 25° C (Group II). A group of five isolates which did not contain such polyunsaturated fatty acids had higher maximum growth temperatures (Group III). These results imply that those polyunsaturated fatty acids may play a role in low‐temperature adaptation of marine vibrios and suggest that the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids could be used to discriminate between psychrophilic and psychrotolerant marine bacteria.