Abstract:
The lipid composition of an ammonium oxidizing bacterium isolated from Alaskan waters was examined at 2 different growth temperatures (5 and 25 °C). The composition was surprisingly simple with palmitic acid (C ₁₆:₀) and a monounsaturated isomer, palmitoleic acid, comprising about 90 % of the total lipids. There was a > 4-fold increase in the degree of fatty acid unsaturation in the organisms grown at the lower temperature. Shifts in the cardinal growth temperatures of this organism may be explained by this observed change in lipid composition.
