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J Bacteriol. 1969 May; 98(2): 528–531.
PMCID: PMC284848
PMID: 5784208

Fatty Acids and Polar Lipids of Extremely Thermophilic Filamentous Bacterial Masses from Two Yellowstone Hot Springs

Abstract

The fatty acid composition of filamentous bacterial masses from two very hot Yellowstone Park springs is not unusual despite the extreme environment. Both populations have a series of C14 to C20 straight-chain acids with a maximum at C18, and a series of saturated iso acids with a maximum at C17 in one case and C19 in the other. The fatty acid pattern of this anomalous group of organisms is like that of bacteria but not of blue-green algae. Both populations have similar polar lipids and identical carotenoids. It is speculated that these organisms may be adapted to their high-temperature environment by means of stable lipoprotein membrane systems.

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Selected References

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