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Abstract
SUMMARY: Long-chain paraffins, such as nonacosane, reach the soil from plants and are degraded by micro-organisms. The ability of one soil organism, Micro-coccus cerificans, to grow on cabbage paraffin (n-nonacosane) was studied. Unlike the pattern seen with hexadecane, waxy esters were not produced when nonacosane was the sole carbon source, but esters were formed when a co-oxidation technique of [14C] n-nonacosane with hexadecane was employed. The alcohol and acid portions of the radioactive esters formed were primarily of chain length C16 C17 and C18; neither nonacosanol nor nonacosanoic acid were detected. Thus the nonacosanol and nonacosanoic acid which might have been produced from n-nonacosane must have been oxidized to shorter-chain compounds which in turn were incorporated into waxy esters as well as other lipids.
- Accepted:
- Published Online: