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A trans unsaturated fatty acid was found as a major constituent in the lipids of Pseudomonas putida P8. The fatty acid was identified as 9-trans-hexadecenoic acid by gas chromatography, argentation thin-layer chromatography, and infrared absorption spectrometry. Growing cells of P. putida P8 reacted to the presence of sublethal concentrations of phenol in the medium with changes in the fatty acid composition of the lipids, thereby increasing the degree of saturation. At phenol concentrations which completely inhibited the growth of P. putida, the cells were still able to increase the content of the trans unsaturated fatty acid and simultaneously to decrease the proportion of the corresponding 9-cis-hexadecenoic acid. This conversion of fatty acids was also induced by 4-chlorophenol in nongrowing cells in which the de novo synthesis of lipids had stopped, as shown by incorporation experiments with labeled acetate. The isomerization of the double bond in the presence of chloramphenicol indicates a constitutively operating enzyme system. The cis-to-trans modification of the fatty acids studied here apparently is a new way of adapting the membrane fluidity to the presence of phenols, thereby compensating for the elevation of membrane permeability induced by these toxic substances.

The occurrence of trans unsaturated fatty acids as by-products of fatty acid transformations carried out by the obligate anaerobic ruminal microflora has been well known for a long time. In recent years, fatty acids with trans configurations also have been detected in the membrane lipids of various aerobic bacteria. Besides several psychrophilic organisms, bacteria-degrading pollutants, such as Pseudomonas putida, are able to synthesize these compounds de novo. In contrast to the trans fatty acids formed by rumen bacteria, the membrane constituents of aerobic bacteria are synthesized by a direct isomerization of the complementary cis configuration of the double bond without a shift of the position. This system of isomerization is located in the cytoplasmic membrane. The conversion of cis unsaturated fatty acids to trans changes the membrane fluidity in response to environmental stimuli, particularly where growth is inhibited due to the presence of high concentrations of toxic substances. Under these conditions, lipid synthesis also stops so that the cells are not able to modify their membrane fluidity by any other mechanism.

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