Polar lipids and fatty acid composition ofThermus strains from New Zealand

Abstract

The polar lipids and fatty acid composition of Thermus aquaticus YT-1 and YS 041, T. filiformis Wai33 A1 and eighteen isolates from New Zealand, several of which are attributed to T. filiformis, were compared to complement the taxonomy of these organisms. The polar lipid patterns were essentially similar in all strains and consisted of one major phospholipid and one major glycolipid. The fatty acid analysis produced three basic groups corresponding to T. filiformis Wai33 A1, T. aquaticus and the third to the other New Zealand strains. The presence of hydroxy fatty acids is reported in Thermus spp. for the first time.

Thermus arciformis sp. nov., a thermophilic species from a geothermal area

“…For polar lipid analysis, lipids were extracted as described by Chung et al (2000). Individual polar lipids were separated by twodimensional TLC on silica gel 60 F 254 plates (Merck) as described by Ferraz et al (1994). For lipoquinone analysis, lipoquinones were extracted from freeze-dried cells and were purified as described by Tindall (1989).…”

Structural determination of the polar glycoglycerolipids from thermophilic bacteria Meiothermus taiwanensis

“…NMR spectra were recorded in D 2 O (0.6 mL) with a Varian INOVA-500 spectrometer at 298 K with standard pulse sequences provided by Varian. Chemical shifts 1 H and 13 C were given in p.p.m. relative to HDO (4.75 p.p.m.)…”

“…Those lipids are essential for the thermal stability and biological functions of the bacteria in extreme environments [9][10][11]. The polar lipids found in Thermus aquaticus, Thermus filiformis, Thermus scotoductus, and Thermus oshimai were mostly phospholipids and glycolipids [12], and the glycolipids from Thermus species examined thus far usually contain three hexoses, one N-hexosamine, and one glycerol [7,10,[12][13][14][15]. Although the sequences of those carbohydrate moieties have been studied by chemical and mass spectroscopic analysis, no complete structure is available as yet due to the lack of information on the linkages and configurations of the carbohydrate moiety.…”

Transfer of Thermus ruber (Loginova et al. 1984), Thermus silvanus (Tenreiro et al. 1995), and Thermus chliarophilus (Tenreiro et al. 1995) to Meiothermus gen. nov. as Meiothermus ruber comb. nov., Meiothermus silvanus comb. nov., and Meiothermus chliarophilus comb. nov., Respectively, and Emendation of the Genus Thermus

“…A minor glycolipid (glycolipid 2) and a minor aminophospholipid (phospholipid 1) are also produced by most strains. This polar lipid pattern can be considered a diagnostic chemotaxonomic characteristic of high-temperature Thermus strains since the only exception is found in T. scotuductus X-1 colony type 1; glycolipid 1 is not synthesized by this organisms, and glycolipid 2 is the predominant glycolipid (4,7,17,19,21,26). The polar lipid pattern of each low-temperature species consists of phospholipid 2 and two prominent glycolipids, designated glycolipids l a and lb, which are present in similar relative amounts, migrate close to each other, and are always detected (5,25).…”

“…The amounts of the even-numbered is0 branched-chain fatty acids are generally relatively low compared with the amounts of the odd-numbered fatty acids, and branched-chain monounsaturated fatty acids are detected only when the organisms are grown at low temperatures (4,5,7,17,21,25,26). Hydroxy fatty acids were not detected in the early studies of the fatty acid compositions of Thermus species because the transmethylation methods used led to degradation of these compounds (7). However, recent results have shown that is0 3-hydroxy fatty acids (10 to 17% of the total fatty acids) are present in all of the strains assigned to T. aquaticus, while anteiso 3-hydroxy fatty acids (about 10% of the total fatty acids) are present in the type strain of T. filiformis (7, 15a (25).…”