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SUMMARY: The lipid composition of the psychrophilic bacterium Micrococcus cryophilus (ATCC 15174) has been examined. The chloroform-methanol extractable (i.e. ‘free’) lipid represents nearly 10% of the bacterial mass and is composed of 85% polar lipid and 15% neutral lipid. The polar lipid consists of 46% phosphatidyl ethanolamine, 43% phosphatidyl glycerol and 9% cardiolipin, plus a fourth unidentified minor component which cannot be detected in all extracts. The neutral lipid is characterized by the presence of a mixture of simple waxes, which constitute 86% of this fraction, together with smaller amounts of free fatty acids, alcohols and a ubiquinone, probably Q8. Simple waxes have not been found previously in such large amounts in true bacteria. The implications of the results of the lipid analysis are discussed with regard to the taxonomic position of M. cryophilus.
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