Lipids of Sarcina Lutea. I. Fatty Acid Composition of the Extractable Lipids.

Huston, Charles K. (U.S. Army Biological Laboratories, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md.), and Phillip W. Albro. Lipids of Sarcina lutea. I. Fatty acid composition of the extractable lipids. J. Bacteriol. 88:425-432. 1964.-The extractable lipids of Sarcina lutea were separated into several fractions by a combination of column and thin-layer chromatography. Qualitative and quantitative characterization of the fatty acid content of these lipid fractions was accomplished by means of gas-liquid chromatography and infrared analyses. Of the total extract, the lipids consisted of 2.1% free fatty acids, 51.0% glycerides, and 22.7% complex lipids; they had a fatty acid content with a complete spectrum of carbon numbers from C(8) to C(22). The fatty acids included a large component of branched-acids in addition to the normal straight-chain acids. The branched-acids, comprising 40% of the fatty acids analyzed, constituted a homologous series of iso-acids from C(12) to C(19). Two 18-carbon unsaturates were found cis-9-octadecenoate and cis-11-octadecenoate. A relatively high percentage (20.5%) of the extractable material from S. lutea was found to be hydrocarbon. This material was not further characterized.