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.

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-C13:0 acid were also isolated. Two major hydrocarbons were detected in the cyanobacteria species using GC-MS and 13C-NMR.