Variability of Hydrocarbon and Fatty Acid Components in Cultures of the Filamentous Cyanobacterium Scytonema sp. Isolated from Microbial Community “Black Cover” of Limestone Walls in Jerusalem

V. M. Dembitsky^* and M. Srebnik

Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, School of Pharmacy, P. O. Box 12065, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91120, Israel; fax: +972-2-675-8201; E-mail: dvalery@cc.huji.ac.il

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received November 14, 2001

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The hydrocarbon and lipid components of four strains of the filamentous cyanobacterium Scytonema sp. isolated from microbial community “Black Cover” of limestone walls in Jerusalem were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using serially coupled capillary columns. The dominant compounds were: 1-heptadecyne (1.5-8%), hexadecanoic acid (14-36%), (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic acid (12-30%), (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid (6-12%), n-heptadecane (4-16%), and 1-heptadecene (1.5-8%). In addition to unsaturated alkanes and fatty acids, the very long-chain (C₃₀-C₃₂) hydrocarbons, squalene (2.4-3.0%), and branched 4,8,12-trimethyl-C_13:0 acid were also isolated. Two major hydrocarbons were detected in the cyanobacteria species using GC-MS and ¹³C-NMR.

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KEY WORDS: hydrocarbons, fatty acids, Scytonema sp., cyanobacterial biofilm, GC-MS, ¹³C-NMR

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