Polar Lipid Composition in the Classification of Nocardia and Related Bacteria

Abstract

Strains representing the mycolic acid-containing taxa Nocard ia , Mycobacterium, Gordona, Corynebacterium, Bacterionema, and the "rhodochrous" complex were analysed for polar lipids by two-dimensional, thin-layer chromatography; diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol were found in all strains and phosphatidylethanolamine was absent only in extracts of Coryne bacterium and Bacterionema. Mono-and diacyl phosphatidylinositol dimannosides were present in all Nocardia, Mycobacterium, Corynebacterium, and rhodochrous strains and in the single strain of Gordona aurantiaca examined; Bacterionema and strains of the other Gordona species had only a monoacyl phosphatidylinosito1 dimannoside. Phosphatidylglycerol was present in substantial amounts in extracts of two strains of Bacterionema matruchotii and in reduced proportions in strains of several other species. Unidentified glycolipids were detected in the lipids of a majority of the organisms investigated.Lipids can provide good characters for the classification and identification of bacteria (10, 31, 42). In mycobacteria and coryneform and nocardioform bacteria the distribution of longchain components, in particular the mycolic acids, has diagnostic value (1, 2, 3, 12, 25, 26, 31). Less attention has been paid to the value of polar lipids as taxonomic markers. Inconsistencies between various reports (17, 19, 21, 22, 37, 48-50) on the distribution of polar lipids in nocardioform and related taxa require clarification. The most characteristic polar lipids of actinomycetes are the phosphatidylinositol mannosides (PIMs); a few mycobacteria contain major amounts of phosphatidylinositol dimannosides (PIDMs) with three or four fatty acid residues in each molecule co-occurring with lipids having up to five mannose units (6, 35). Phosphatidylinositol monomannosides have been reported from Nocardia leishmanii (501, Nocardia coeliaca (49), Nocardia polychromogenes (17, 481, Nocardia asteroides, Nocardia caviae, and strains labeled Nocardia erythropolis and Nocardia farcinica (37). However, another report (19) highlighted the presence of PIDMs in strains of N . coeliaca and N . potychromogenes. In a more extensive investigation (22) of the value of phospholipids in the taxonomy of coryneform and nocardioform bacteria, the number of mannose units in the PIMs was not determined. In the present study, the polar lipid patterns of strains of Corynebacterium, Mycobacterium, Nocardia, Gordona, and the "rhodochrous" complex (11) were compared and the PIMs of representative nocardiae were examined in more detail. Two strains of Bacterionema matruchotii, recently shown to contain fatty and mycolic acids (la) similar t o those of Corynebacterium, were also studied. MATERIALS AND METHODSStrains and growth conditions. Details of the strains and their sources are given in Table 1. All cultures were maintained routinely on yeast extract agar a t room temperature.The mycobacteria, nocardiae, and gordonae were grown in shake culture at 30°C for 2 to 5 days in modified Sauton medium (33) a...

Streptosporangium oxazolinicum sp. nov., a novel endophytic actinomycete producing new antitrypanosomal antibiotics, spoxazomicins

“…28 The N-acyl types of muramic acid were determined by the method of Uchida and Aida. 29 Phospholipids in cells were extracted and identified by the method of Minnikin et al 30 The presence of mycolic acids was examined by TLC following Tomiyasu (1982). 31 Whole-cell sugar composition was analyzed according to the methods of Becker et al 28 Methyl esters of cellular fatty acids were prepared by direct transmethylation with methanolic hydrochloride, and analyzed on a GLC system (HP 6890; Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto, CA, USA).…”

Isolation of actinomycetes from the root of the plant, Ophiopogon japonicus, and proposal of two new species, Actinoallomurus liliacearum sp. nov. and Actinoallomurus vinaceus sp. nov.

“…The N-acyl types of muramic acid were determined using the method of Uchida and Aida. 25 Phospholipids in cells were extracted and identified using the method of Minnikin et al 26 The presence of mycolic acids was examined by thin layer chromatography in accordance with Tomiyasu. 27 Whole-cell sugar composition was analyzed according to the methods of Becker et al 28 Methyl esters of cellular fatty acids were prepared by direct transmethylation with methanolic hydrochloride, and were analyzed on a GLC system (HP 6890, Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto, CA, USA).…”

Lariatins, Novel Anti-mycobacterial Peptides with a Lasso Structure, Produced by Rhodococcus jostii K01-B0171

“…Isomers of diaminopimelic acid (DAP) in whole-cell hydrolysates were determined by the standard methods using TLC [11,12], and the N-acyl types of muramic acid were determined by the method of Uchida and Aida [13]. Whole-cell sugars were analyzed [11], presence of mycolic acids was examined by the TLC method [14], and phospholipids were extracted and identified by the method of Minnikin et al [15]. Menaquinones were extracted and purified by the method of Collins et al [16], then analyzed by HPLC (model 802-SC, JASCO) on a chromatograph equipped with a CAPCELL PAK C18 column (Shiseido Co.) [17].…”