A new N-C-31/9 polyene hydrocarbon from Antarctic bacteria

• Published in: FEMS Microbiology Letters
• Main Authors: Nichols, DS, Nichols, PD, McMeekin, TA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science Bv 1995
• Subjects: Biological Sciences; Biochemistry and Cell Biology; Analytical Biochemistry; Antarctic; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.1995.tb07369.x; http://ecite.utas.edu.au/5498

The non-saponifiable neutral lipid composition of nineteen bacterial strains isolated from Antarctic sea ice were analysed. Nine of these strains produced a novel highly unsaturated straight chain hydrocarbon as the major non-saponifiable neutral lipid component. The compound was identified as hentriacontanonene (n-C(31:9)) by mass spectrometry and the formation of n-C(31:10) following hydrogenation. The occurrence of n-C(31:9) also correlated with the production of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) by the bacterial strains. n-C(31:9) may therefore represent a novel biomarker for the location of PUFA-producing bacteria from environmental samples.