Abstract
The activity of fatty acid synthetase (FAS) from Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1 required the presence of acyl carrier protein and was completely inhibited by thiolactomycin, an inhibitor specific for a type II FAS. These observations indicate that this enzyme is a type II FAS. Analysis by gas-liquid chromotography of the reaction products synthesized in vitro from [2-14C]malonyl-CoA by the partially purified FAS revealed, in addition to 16-and 18-carbon fatty acids which are normal constituents of this bacterium, the presence of fatty acids with very long chains. These fatty acids were identified as saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids with 20 up to as many as 30 carbon atoms. The longest fatty acids normally found in this bacterium contain 18-carbon atoms. These results suggest that the FAS from Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1 has potentially the ability to synthesize fatty acids with very long chains.
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Abbreviations
- ACP:
-
acyl carrier protein
- FAME:
-
fatty acid methyl ester
- FAS:
-
fatty acid synthetase
- FID:
-
flame ionization detection
- GLC:
-
gas-liquid chromatography
- TLC:
-
thin-layer chromatography
- In designations of fatty acids, such as 16:0, 16:1, etc:
-
the colon separates the number that denotes the number of carbon atoms and the number that denotes the number of double bonds, respectively, in the molecule
- 16:0-CoA:
-
CoA ester of 16:0
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Morita, N., Okajima, N., Gotoh, M. et al. Synthesis in vitro of very long chain fatty acids in Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1. Arch. Microbiol. 157, 223–228 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00245154
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00245154