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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2003, p. 7019-7027, Vol. 69, No. 12
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.12.7019-7027.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Carbon Source-Induced Modifications in the Mycolic Acid Content and Cell Wall Permeability of Rhodococcus erythropolis E1

Ivana Sokolovská,1 Raoul Rozenberg,2 Christophe Riez,1 Paul G. Rouxhet,3 Spiros N. Agathos,1 and Pierre Wattiau1*

Bioengineering Unit,1 Interfacial Chemistry Unit, Faculty of Bioengineering, Agronomy and Environment,3 Mass Spectrometry Unit, Department of Chemistry, Catholic University of Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium2

Received 27 May 2003/ Accepted 18 September 2003

The influence of the carbon source on cell wall properties was analyzed in an efficient alkane-degrading strain of Rhodococcus erythropolis (strain E1), with particular focus on the mycolic acid content. A clear correlation was observed between the carbon source and the mycolic acid profiles as estimated by high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Two types of mycolic acid patterns were observed after growth either on saturated linear alkanes or on short-chain alkanoates. One type of pattern was characterized by the lack of odd-numbered carbon chains and resulted from growth on linear alkanes with even numbers of carbon atoms. The second type of pattern was characterized by mycolic acids with both even- and odd-numbered carbon chains and resulted from growth on compounds with odd-numbered carbon chains, on branched alkanes, or on mixtures of different compounds. Cellular short-chain fatty acids were twice as abundant during growth on a branched alkane (pristane) as during growth on acetate, while equal amounts of mycolic acids were found under both conditions. More hydrocarbon-like compounds and less polysaccharide were exposed at the cell wall surface during growth on alkanes. Whatever the substrate, the cells had the same affinity for aqueous-nonaqueous solvent interfaces. By contrast, bacteria displayed completely opposite susceptibilities to hydrophilic and hydrophobic antibiotics and were found to be strongly stained by hydrophobic dyes after growth on pristane but not after growth on acetate. Taken together, these data show that the cell wall composition of R. erythropolis E1 is influenced by the nutritional regimen and that the most marked effect is a radical change in cell wall permeability.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Catholic University of Louvain, Faculty of Bioengineering, Agronomy and Environment, Bioengineering Unit, Place Croix du Sud 2 Box 19, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Phone: 32 10 473655. Fax: 32 10 473062. E-mail: wattiau{at}gebi.ucl.ac.be.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2003, p. 7019-7027, Vol. 69, No. 12
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.12.7019-7027.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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