Adaptation of Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL14 to growth on n-alkanes, alcohols and terpenes.

Rhodococcus erythropolis DCL14 has the ability to convert the terpene (-)-carveol to the valuable flavour compound (-)-carvone when growing on a wide range of carbon sources. To study the effect of carbon and energy sources such as alkanes, alkanols and terpenes on the biotechnological process, the cellular adaptation at the level of fatty acid composition of the membrane phospholipids and the (-)-carvone production were examined. All tested carbon sources caused a dose-dependent increase in the degree of saturation of the fatty acids. The exception was observed with short-chain alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, to which the cells adapted with a concentration-dependent decrease in the saturation degree of the membrane phospholipids. This influence of the different carbon sources on the rigidity of the cell membrane also had an impact on the (-)-carvone productivity of the strain.