[Investigations on the structure of the sphingolipids of the genus Bacteroides (author's transl)]

Abstract

In 1972 Fritsche and Thelen have described the difference between the structure of the komplex lipids of the genus Bacteroides and the genus Sphaerophorus. Further investigations of Fritsche demonstrated the possibility of grouping gramnegative anaerobes into the genus Bacteroides in spite of the fact, that one of the final products of metabolism of these strains is butyric acid. These strains are the so-called butyric acid producing Bacteroides. This paper describes the structure of the still unknown fatty acids of the komplex lipids of Bacteroides strains and confirms the heterogenity of the sphingosine bases of Bacteroides as a principle. Fife strains of Bacteroides - with and without production of butyric acid - were used for purification of their long chain bases, which were characterized by degradation. The unknown fatty acids were isolated from B. thetaiotaomicron and analyzed by Dr. Rosenfelder with the aid of mass spectrometry, O-methylation and dehydratisation. The experiments of Rosenfelder demonstrate, that the unknown fatty acids have the behaviour of 3-hydroxy fatty acids, the two main peaks are a hexadecanoic and a heptade-behaviour of 3-hydroxy fatty acids, the two main peaks are a hexadecanoic and a heptadecanoic acid. They have an identical behaviour with the 3-hydroxy-15-methyl-palmitic acid of Myxococcus fulvus. Therefore the genus Bacteroides differs from the genus Sphaerophorus by synthesis of 3-hydroxy fatty acids. The production of sphingolipids is a common characteristic of the genus Bacteroides, each of the five strains demonstrated a heterogeneous pattern of bases with sphingosines with 16 to 20, perhaps also 12 to 14 carbon atoms, sometimes predominantly the branched and n-heptadeca- and the octadeca-sphinganine can be identified. The possibility of the production of phyto-sphingosines is discussed.