Small‐scale studies of microbiological oxidation of hydrocarbons to long‐chain fatty acids

Abstract

S u m m r y . Several strains of Pseudomonas, Nocurdia and incompletely identified soil isolates have been grown in a mineral salts plus hydrocarbon medium, and the fatty acids produced by the organisms have been isolated, identified and estimated. The results of an estimation of the percentage conversion to these acids under varying experimental conditions is discussed in relation to the metabolic systems involved. Some indication has been obtained that the hydrocarbon breakdown pathway by these organisms is that of w oxidation followed by / 3 oxidation. Preliminary experiments carried out with one strain of organism, Pseudomonas aeruginosa 5940, indicate that there may be some difference in the utilization of odd-and evenchain hydrocarbons by this organism. An improvement of 3-8-fold was obtained by using nitrate instead of ammonium nitrogen ; 13-fold by using continuous instead of batch operation; and 8-fold by the use of liquid instead of solid paraffins, giving a total improvement of yield of 400-fold.

Fatty Acids Synthesized from Hexadecane by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…The fatty acids of the polar fraction F2 were quite different from all of the other fractions. They were especially rich in monounsaturated acids of 14,15,16,17,18,19,20, and 22 carbons, and were practically free from hydroxy acids. These fatty acids were bound to a minor amount of phosphatidylcholine and to a special kind of lipid containing ethanolamine and the amino acids serine, alanine, and leucine.…”