Monocarboxylic acids from oxidation of acyclic isoprenoid alkanes by Mycobacterium fortuitum.

Mycobacterium fortuitum utilizes certain stereoisometric mixtures of individual multimethyl branched alkanes as sole carbon source, including 2,6(R), 10(S), 14(RS)-tetramethylhexadecane; 2.6(R), 10(S), 14(RS)-tetramethylheptadecane; 2,6(RS), 10(RS)-trimethyltetradecane, and 2,6(R), 10(S)-trimethylpentadecane. Products of oxidation isolated from the bacterial lipids were acids derived predominantly from oxidation of the isopropyl terminus of each alkane, except in the case of 2,6(RS), 10(RS)-trimethyltetradecane. With the latter, acids from oxidation at either terminus were detected in comparable proportions.