Distribution of menaquinones in actinomycetes and corynebacteria

Abstract

Menaquinones were the only isoprenoid quinones found in 48 corynebacteria and actinomycete strains examined. Dihydromenaquinones having nine isoprene units were the main components isolated from Gordona, Mycobacterium, Corynebacterium bovis, Corynebacterium glutamicum and a strain labelled Nocardia farcinica, but dihydromenaquinones having eight isoprene units were characteristic of other Corynebacterium species and representatives of the 'rhodochrous' complex. Tetrahydromenaquinones having six and eight isoprene units were found in Nocardia strains and in a single strain of Micropolyspora brevicatena, which also contained mycolic acids similar in chain length to those of Nocardia. Menaquinones having nine isoprene units with from one to five double bonds hydrogenated were the main components in Actinomadura madurae, Actinomadura pelletieri, Micropolyspora faeni, Oerskovia turbata and Streptomyces strains. Actinomadura dassonvillei strains had a characteristic pattern of di-, tetra- and hexahydromenaquinones with 10 isoprene units which was slightly different from the pattern in mixtures of similar quinones from Actinomyces israelii and Actinomyces viscosus.