Thermothrix azorensis sp. nov., an obligately chemolithoautotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing, thermophilic bacterium.

A new aerobic, obligately chemolithoautotrophic, thermophilic, sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, Thermothrix azorensis, was isolated from a hot spring on Sao Miguel Island in the Azores. The cells of this organism are gram negative, nonsporulating, and rod shaped. Filament formation appears to occur as a response to nonoptimal growth conditions.

Formation of ammonium from nitrate during chemolithoautotrophic growth of the extremely thermophilic bacterium ammonifex degensii gen. nov. sp. nov.

A novel, extremely thermophilic bacterium has been isolated from a neutral volcanic hot spring. The gram-negative, rod-shaped cells were motile and exhibited a complex cell wall composed of murein and a surface protein layer covered by a surface coat. The core lipids consisted of non-phytanyl mono- and diethers and of fatty acid esters.

Comparative Physiological Studies on Hyperthermophilic Archaea Isolated from Deep-Sea Hot Vents with Emphasis on Pyrococcus Strain GB-D.

Three new sulfur- or non-sulfur-dependent archaeal isolates, including a Pyrococcus strain, from Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vents (Gulf of California; depth, 2,010 m) were characterized and physiologically compared with four known hyperthermophiles, previously isolated from other vent sites, with an emphasis on growth and survival under the conditions particular to the natural habitat. Incubation under in situ pressure (200 atm [1 atm = 101.29 kPa]) did not increase the maximum growth temperature by more than 1 degrees C for any of the organisms but did result in increases in growth rates of up to 15% at optimum growth temperatures.

Extremely thermophilic fermentative archaebacteria of the genus desulfurococcus from deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

Two strains of extremely thermophilic, anaerobic bacteria are described that are representative of isolates obtained from a variety of oceanic hydrothermal vent sites at depths from 2,000 to 3,700 m. The isolates were similar in their requirements for complex organic media, elemental sulfur, and seawater-range salinities (optimum, 2.1 to 2.

Effect of growth temperature on the long-chain diols and fatty acids of Thermomicrobium roseum.

Long-chain 1,2-diols constitute the hydrophobic backbone of membrane lipids (replacing glycerolipids) in the thermophilic eubacterium Thermomicrobium roseum. The effects of incubation temperature on chain length and chain branching of diols and fatty acids were investigated. The percentage of branched chains decreased, and chain length increased slightly, with increased growth temperatures.

Long-chain diols: a new class of membrane lipids from a thermophilic bacterium.

Glycerol-derived membrane lipids are essentially absent in the thermophilic bacterium Thermomicrobium roseum. A series of straight chain and internally methyl-branched 1,2-diols of carbon numbers C(18) to C(23) were found to replace glycerolipids in this bacterium. Fatty acids were present but were ester-linked to the diols or amide-linked to polar heads groups and not to glycerol.

Lipidosis of pulmonary macrophages in the dystrophic hamster.

Lavaged pulmonary macrophages of Bio 14.6 myopathic hamsters were compared with those from Bio F1B controls. Enlarged foamy macrophages were prevalent in the dystrophic strain.

Three proton pumps, morphology and movements.

The diameter of F1 coupling factor and the distance it protrudes from the membrane of bovine heart submitochondrial particles were measured quantitatively using horse spleen ferritin as a standard. Employing the freeze-etch technique, particles of similar size were found on membranes of submitochondrial particles and on membranes of particles first depleted by F1, then reconstituted by addition of F1. The extramembranous size of F1 is 9.

Lipid tracers of mycoplasma phylogeny.

Comparison of the lipid composition between members of the Mycoplasmatales reveals a striking diversity of lipid structures, not only between the six genera but among species within the same genus. This is in contrast to nearly all other bacterial groups in which members of the same genus possess essentially the same lipids. There are in fact more similarities between lipids of a given species of mycoplasma and a genus of bacterium than there are between lipids of a given species of mycoplasma and a genus of bacterium than there are between mycoplasma species.

Iso- and Anteiso-Branched Glycerol Diethers of the Thermophilic Anaerobe Thermodesulfotobacterium commune.

Thermodesulfotobacterium commune is an extremely thermophilic, anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacterium that grows optimally at 70 °C and neutral pH. Total lipids comprise about 6.7% of the cell dry weight and consist of 17.

Respiratory quinone composition of some acidophilic bacteria.

Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, S. brierleyi and S. solfataricus possessed caldariellaquinone (6-(3,7,11,15,19,23-hexamethyltetracosyl)-5-methylthiobenzo-[b]-thiophen-4,7-quinone) as their major lipoquinone.

Squalenes, phytanes and other isoprenoids as major neutral lipids of methanogenic and thermoacidophilic "archaebacteria".

The neutral lipids of nine species of methanogenic bacteria including five methanobacilli, two methanococci, a methanospirillum, one methanosarcina as well as two thermoacidophilic bacteria, Thermoplasma and Sulfolobus, were analyzed. The major components were C30, C25 and/or C20 acylic isoprenoid hydrocarbons with a continuous range of hydroisoprenoid homologues. The range of acyclic isoprenoids detected were from C14 to C30.

Diphytanyl and dibiphytanyl glycerol ether lipids of methanogenic archaebacteria.

The lipids of nine different methanogenic bacterial strains are comprised of diphytanyl glycerol diethers, previously known only in extremely halophilic bacterial, as well as dibiphytanyl diglycerol tetraethers, known formerly only in the extremely thermoacidophilic bacteria Thermoplasma and Sulfolobus. Of the methanogens examined from four representative taxonomic groups, Methanobacterium and Methanospirillum contained both types of isopranyl ethers in nearly equal proportions, whereas the coccal forms, Methanosarcina and Methanococcus, possessed diphytanyl glycerol diethers, but with only a trace of or no dibiphytanyl diglycerol tetraethers. The occurrence of both types of isopranyl glycerol ethers in methanogenic bacteria supports the proposal that they have a close genealogical relationship to the extremely halophilic and thermoacidophilic bacteria.

Existence of carotenoids in Acholeplasma axanthum.

The neutral lipids of Acholeplasma axanthum contain carotenoid pigments, as evidenced by spectral characteristics, visual color, color reactions, and labeling with [2-14C-A1mevalonic acid. Approximately 80% of the label from [2-14C]mevalonic acid appeared in esterified fatty acids of the glycolipids and polar lipids. These carboxylic acids behaved as hydroxy acids of varying chain length.

Comparative lipid composition of heterotrophically and autotrophically grown Sulfolobus acidocaldarius.

Complex lipids from the thermoacidophilic facultative autotroph Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, as well as a strictly autotrophic isolate, were compared between cells grown on yeast extract and elemental sulfur. Lipids from both organisms grown autotrophically were nearly identical. Each contained about 15% neutral lipids, 35% glycolipids, and 50% acidic lipids.

Long-chain diglycerol tetraethers from Thermoplasma acidophilum.

The C40 isopranol-containing glycerol ether residues which characterize the complex lipids of the extreme thermoacidophile Thermoplasma acidophilum were isolated and purified from the glycolipid and phospholipid fractions. The glycerol ether, as well as the acetate and methoxy derivatives were characterized by thin-layer, gel-permeation and gas-liquid chromatography, infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry and by vapor phase osmometry. The glycerol ethers are proposed to be unique fully saturated diglycerol tetraethers, primarily C86H172O6, Mr 1300, which contain two sn-2,3-glycerol residues bridged through ether linkages by two C40 isopranoid branched diols.

A 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxy pentane-substituted pentacyclic triterpene from Bacillus acidocaldarius.

A long-chained polyalcohol (polyol) was isolated from the glycolipid fraction of the extreme thermoacidophile Bacillus acidocaldarius. The polyol and its Smith degradation products, as well as the alkanes derived from these compounds were characterized by mobility on thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography, and by infrared and mass spectrometry. The polyol is proposed to be a fully saturated pentacyclic tetrol (C35H62O4, Mr 546) containing a 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxy pentane substituted to a hopane-derived pentacyclic triterpene nucleus.

A sulfonolipid and novel glucosamidyl glycolipids from the extreme thermoacidophile Bacillus acidocaldarius.

The total lipid content of the extreme thermoacidophile Bacillus acidocaldarius comprises about 8.1% of the cell dry weight. Total lipid had a distribution of 15.

Distribution and composition of lipopolysaccharides from mycoplasmas.

Polymeric carbohydrates containing glycerol and fatty acids were isolated from whole cells and membranes of mycoplasmas by hot aqueous phenol extraction and gel filtration. Lipopolysaccharides were found to occur in four species of Acholeplasma, two of Anaeroplasma, and in Mycoplasma neurolyticum. None were detected in Spiroplasma citri or in five species of Mycoplasma.

Polypeptide nature of growth requirement in yeast extract for Thermoplasma acidophilum.

The active component(s) in yeast extract required by Thermoplasma acidophilum for growth is polypeptide in nature. A fraction from yeast extract was isolated and partially characterized as one or more peptides of molecular weight about 1,000 containing 8 to 10 amino acids. Although it was composed largely of basic and dicarboxylic amino acids, only one amino group per molecule was free.

Plasmalogen composition of Anaeroplasma.

The polar lipids of Anaeroplasma contained 33.1 percent alk-1'-enyl glyceryl ether (plasmalogen) form. Phosphatidylglycerol was the major polar lipid (55.

Immunological analysis of glycolipids and lipopolysaccharides derived from various mycoplasmas.

The lipids and lipopolysaccharides of five mycoplasmas were examined for complement-fixing activity to antimembrane rabbit sera. Total glycolipid fractions and the aqueous phenol fractions (lipopolysaccharides) from the membranes of Acholeplasma laidlawii, A. modicum, A.