Biodegradation of phytane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylhexadecane) and accumulation of related isoprenoidwaxesters by Mycobacteriumratisbonense strainSD4under nitrogen-starved conditions

Roxana A. Silva (1) , Vincent Grossi (2, 3) , Héctor M. Alvarez (1)

1 Centro Regional de Investigacio´n y Desarrollo Cient´ıfico – Tecnolo´gico (CRIDECIT) Facultad de Ciencias Naturales
2 LMGEM - Laboratoire de MicrobiologiE de Géochimie et d'Ecologie Marines
3 PEPS - PaleoEnvironnements et PaleobioSphere

The accumulation of storage lipids during the biodegradation of 2,6,10,14- tetramethylhexadecane (phytane) byMycobacterium ratisbonense strain SD4 grown under nitrogen-starved conditions was investigated. Detailed chemical analysis of intracellular metabolites revealed the existence of (at least) three different pathways for the catabolism of phytane, and the accumulation of significant proportions (39% of the total lipids) of several isoprenoid wax esters formed by condensation of oxidation products of the hydrocarbon. In contrast, triacylglycerols but no wax esters were accumulated by strain SD4 grown on hexadecane, the unbranched homologue of phytane.

Mots clés: Actinomycetes; phytane metabolism; isoprenoid wax esters; nitrogen-starvation; Mycobacterium ratisbonense

Domaines: Géochimie; Interfaces continentales, environnement; Microbiologie et Parasitologie; Ecologie, Environnement

Roxana A. Silva, Vincent Grossi, Héctor M. Alvarez. Biodegradation of phytane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylhexadecane) and accumulation of related isoprenoidwaxesters by Mycobacteriumratisbonense strainSD4under nitrogen-starved conditions. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2007, 272, pp.220-228. ⟨10.1111/j.1574-6968.2007.00770.x⟩. ⟨hal-00171075⟩