An examination of 20 strains of butyric acid-producing Clostridium species for phospholipid class compositions, plasmalogen content, and acyl and alk-1-enyl chains showed that the deoxyribonucleic acid homology groups I (Clostridium butyricum) and II (Clostridium beijerinckii) could be distinguished by their lipid compositions. The phospholipids of C. butyricum strains had ethanolamine as the major nitrogenous lipid polar head-group moiety, more octadecenoate plus C19-cyclopropane than hexadecenoate plus C17-cyclopropane acyl chains, and the predominant alk-1-enyl chain was C18-monounsaturated. Clostridium beijerinckii strains had N-methylethanolamine plus ethanolamine in phospholipid head-groups, more hexadecenoate plus C17-cyclopropane than octadecenoate plus C19-cyclopropane acyl chains, and the major alk-1-enyl chain was C16-saturated. Three species falling outside the two homology groups Clostridium fallax, Clostridium pseudofallax and Clostridium acetobutylicum had ethanolamine as the major phospholipid base, but these species could be distinguished from C. butyricum by their acyl and alk-1-enyl chain compositions. The lipid composition of Clostridium pasteurianum is even more distinct.
BaumannN. A.,
HagenP-O.,
GoldfineH.1965; Phospholipids of Clostridium butyricum.Studies on plasmalogen composition and biosynthesis. Journal of Biological Chemistry 240:1559–1567
BroquistH. P.,
SnellE. E.1951; Biotin and bacterial growth. I. Relation to aspartate, oleate, and carbon dioxide. Journal of Biological Chemistry 188:431–444
CumminsC. S.,
JohnsonJ. L.1971; Taxonomy of the clostridia: wall composition and DNA homologies in Clostridium butyricum and other butyric acid- producing clostridia. Journal of General Microbiology 67:33–46
DittmerJ. C.,
LesterR. L.1964; A simple, specific spray for the detection of phospholipids on thin-layer chromatograms. Journal of Lipid Research 5:126–127
GilbertsonJ. R.,
FerrellW. J.,
GelmanR. A.1967; Isolation and analysis of free fatty aldehydes from rat, dog, and bovine heart muscle. Journal of Lipid Research 8:38–45
GoldfineH.1962; The characterization and biosynthesis of an ;V-methylethanolamine phospholipid from Clostridium butyricum. Biochimica et biophysica acta 59:504–506
GoldfineH.,
KhullerG. K.,
BorieR. P.,
SilvermanB.,
SelickH.,
JohnstonN. C.,
VanderkooiJ. M.,
HorwitzA. F.1977; Effects of growth temperature and supplementation with exogenous fatty acids on some physical properties of Clostridium butyricum phospholipids. Biochimica et biophysica acta 488:341–352
GottfriedE. L.,
RapportM. M.1962; The biochemistry of plasmalogens. I. Isolation and characterization of phosphatidal choline, a pure native plasmalogen. Journal of Biological Chemistry 242:5700–5708
HardmanJ. K.,
StadtmanT. C.1960; Metabolism of w-amino acids. I. Fermentation of γ-aminobutyric acid by Clostridium aminobutyricum N. Sp. Journal of Bacteriology 79:544–548
HoldemanL. V.,
CatoE. P.,
MooreW. E. C.editors1977Anaerobe Laboratory Manual, 4th edn. Blacksburg, Virginia: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University;
JohnsonJ. L.,
FrancisB. S.1975; Taxonomy of the Clostridia: ribosomal ribonucleic acid homologies among the species. Journal of General Microbiology 88:229–244
KhullerG. K.,
GoldfineH.1975; Replacement of acyl and alk-l-enyl groups in Clostridium butyricum phospholipids by exogenous fatty acids. Biochemistry 14:3642–3647
MatsumotoM.,
TamiyaK.,
KoizumiK.1971; Studies on neutral lipids and a new type of aldehydogenic ethanolamine phospholipid in Clostridium butyricum. Journal of Biochemistry 69:617–620