LIPOAMINO ACIDS AND SULFONOPLIPIDS IN CYTOPHAGA-JOHNSONAE STANIER STRAIN C21 AND 6 RELATED SPECIES OF CYTOPHAGA

Cytophaga johnsonae Stanier strain C21 (C. johnsonae C21) contains phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), an unusual glycine-containing lipid (glycine lipid), and two kinds of unidentified lipid as major lipid components. One of the latter lipids was identified by chemical and physicochemical methods as iso-3-hydroxy fatty acid, alpha-amide linked to ornithine and esterified to iso-nonhydroxy fatty acid (ornithine lipid). The other lipid was identified as a sulfonolipid by a tracer experiment using S-35. PE, glycine lipid and sulfonolipid were found in all seven species of Cytophaga examined, namely, C. huchinsonii, C. heparina, C.johnsonae C21, C. aquatilis, and three unidentified species of Cytophaga. However, ornithine lipid was found only in the latter five species. By contrast, a serine-containing lipid, which is a specific lipid component of Flavobacterium species, was not found in any species of Cytophaga examined. The possible use and significance of amino acid-containing lipids and sulfonolipids as chemosystematic markers of the Cytophaga species are discussed.