Microbial oxidation of isoprenoid hydrocarbons. I. Microbial oxidation of the isoprenoid alkane pristane.

Abstract

Microorganisms capable of utilizing pristane (2, 6, 10, 14-tetramethylpentadecane) as a sole source of carbon and energy were isolated from soil specimens. A strain BPM 1613, tentatively classified in the genus Nocardia, accumulated several oxidation products of pristane in the culture fluid. Silica gel chromatography of the ethyl ether extract from the culture fluid yielded pristanol and pristanic acid as major products and pristyl pristanate and pristyl aldehyde as minor products. The confirmations on the estimated structures of these oxidation products are described in detail.

Anaerobic degradation of pristane in nitrate-reducing microcosms and enrichment cultures

“…Under aerobic conditions, mixed as well as pure microbial cultures can utilize pristane as the sole carbon and energy source (29,33,35). The soil bacterium Rhodococcus sp.…”

“…The soil bacterium Rhodococcus sp. strain BPM 1613 (33,34) was found to produce the monoterminal oxidation metabolites pristanol, pristanic acid, pristyl pristanate, pristyl aldehyde, and other pristane-derived products, which are further biodegraded through ␤or -oxidation (35). Other isoprenoid alkanes, like phytane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylhexadecane), norpristane (2,6,10-trimethylpentadecane), and farnesane (2,6,10-trimethyldodecane), were also reported to be degraded under aerobic conditions (9,20,34).…”

Phytol derived from chlorophyll hydrolysis in plants is metabolized via phytenal

“…The methyl esters were extracted after addition of 1 ml 0.9 % NaCl and 1 ml hexane. The hexane was evaporated and the methyl ester reduced to pristanol with LiAlH 4 (24). Pristanal (pristyl aldehyde) was obtained from pristanol by oxidation with pyridinium chlorochromate as described for phytenal.…”