Sarcina ventriculi synthesizes very long chain dicarboxylic acids in response to different forms of environmental stress.
Changes in the composition of membrane lipids in a strictly anaerobic, facultative acidophilic eubacterium, Sarcina ventriculi, were studied in response to various forms of environmental stress. Changes in lipid composition and structure occurred in response to changes in environmental pH. At neutral pH, the predominant membrane fatty acids ranged in chain length from C14 to C18. However, when cells were grown at pH 3.0, a family of unique very long chain fatty acids containing 32-36 carbon atoms was synthesized and accounted for 50% of the total membrane fatty acids. These acids were identified as very long chain alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acids ranging in length from 28 to 36 carbons by electron impact mass spectrometry of methyl and (perdeuterio) methyl ester derivatives. These methyl esters all bore a vicinal dimethyl group toward the center of the chain. The assignment of the structures was confirmed by isolating one of the very long chain unusual fatty acids as the ester form after methanolysis and performing further analyses including 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Coupling this information with the data from gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis, the exact structure was confirmed as alpha,omega-15,16-dimethyltricotanedioate dimethyl ester. Addition of alcohols, either metabolic (0.25 M ethanol) or nonmetabolic (0.05 M butanol) to cells grown at pH 7.0, or thermal stress (growth temperature at pH 7.0 was raised from 37 to 45 or 55 degrees C) also resulted in the synthesis of these very long chain fatty acids. Synthesis of these very long chain alpha,omega-dicarboxylic acids was reversed by reducing the temperature back to 37 degrees C. S. ventriculi is also unusual in that the membrane components are not the usual phospholipid components but appear to be predominantly glycolipids.