PRODUCTION OF A NEW COMPOUND, 7,10-DIHYDROXY-8-(E)-OCTADECENOIC ACID FROM OLEIC-ACID BY PSEUDOMONAS SP PR3

Sixty-two cultures from the ARS Culture Collection and 10 cultures isolated from soil and water samples collected in Illinois were screened for their ability to convert agricultural oils to value-added industrial chemicals. A new compound, 7,10-dihydroxy-8-(E)-octadecenoic acid (DOD) was produced from oleic acid by a new strain, Pseudomonas sp. PR3 isolated from a water sample in Morton, IL. Strain PR3 is a motile, small rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium. It has multiple polar flagellae and is oxidase-positive. Strain PR3 grows aerobically and cannot grow anaerobically. The strain produces white, smooth colonies on agar plate and no water-soluble pigment. The yield of the product was greater than 60%. The optimum time, pH and temperature for the production of DOD were: 2 days, 7.0, and 30-degrees-C, respectively. Glycerol and dextrose support the growth of strain PR3, but the cells grown from the former failed to catalyse the conversion of oleic acid to DOD. The production of DOD is unique in that it involves a hydroxylation at two positions and a rearrangement of the double bond of the substrate molecule.