SULFONOLIPIDS NOVEL IN PROCARYOTES ARE SIGNIFICANT CELLULAR COMPONENTS OF MANY GLIDING BACTERIA

Abstract

At least two different sulfonolipids, of chemical structure not heretofore recognized to occur in procaryotes, have been isolated, characterized and shown to be present in several genera of non-fruiting gliding bacteria. One of the lipids, capnine, is 2-amino-3-hydroxy-isoheptadecane-1l-sulfonic acid. Capnine and N-acylcapnine (the acyl group(s) of which appear to be C-15, C-16, and C-17 3-hydroxy moieties in the one organism studied) constitute 10% to 20% of the lipids of Capnocytophaga, Cytophaga, Beggiatoa, Flexibacter, Vitreoscilla and Sporocytophaga, and up to 3% of the cell dry weight. These quantitatively significant cell components may represent an important chemotaxonomic marker of non-fruiting gliding bacteria, for they appear to be absent from the fruiting myxobacters thus far examined, as they are also from E. coli and other bacteria which are either nonmotile, or motile as a result of flagellar action. The prospect that they may be associated with, or responsible for, motility in non-fruiting, gliding bacteria is raised.