Temperature-related variations in the lipid composition of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains.

Growth of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus at 28 and 37 degrees C led to changes in the relative amounts of phospholipids recovered. The major phospholipids present in these strains were phosphatidylglycerol, lysophosphatidylglycerol, and diphosphatidylglycerol. Phosphatidylglycerol tended to occur in lower amounts in the resistant strains, but it was the major phospholipid in both methicillin-susceptible and -resistant S. aureus strains. Growth patterns and total lipid concentrations were similar in all strains.