Abstract: | The carbon source markedly influenced the qualitative and quantitative composition of cellular hydrocarbons in Cladosporium resinae. Total lipid and hydrocarbon content was greater in cells grown on n-alkanes than in cells grown on glucose or glutamic acid. Glucose-grown cells contained a spectrum of aliphatic hydrocarbons from C(7) to C(36); pristane and n-hexadecane comprised 98% of the total. Cells grown on glutamic acid contained C(7) to C(23) hydrocarbons; n-tridecane, n-tetradecane, n-hexadecane, and pristane made up 74% of the total. n-Decane-grown cells yielded C(8) to C(32) compounds, and n-hexadecane (96%) was the major hydrocarbon. Cells grown on individual n-alkanes from C(11) to C(15) all contained C(11) to C(28) hydrocarbons, and cells grown on n-hexadecane contained C(11) to C(32) hydrocarbons. In n-undecane-grown cells, n-hexadecane and pristane made up 92% of the total, but in cells grown on C(12) to C(16)n-alkanes the major cellular hydrocarbon was the one on which the cells were grown. This suggests that cells cultured on n-alkanes of C(12) or longer accumulate n-alkanes prior to oxidizing them. |