LIPIDS OF R-VARIANTS AND S-VARIANTS OF RHODOCOCCUS-ERYTHROPOLIS

A comparative study of lipids of two Rhodococcus erythropolis variants - rough (R), stored in the laboratory, and smooth (S), isolated from tundra soil - was carried out. On medium with hexadecane, the S-varian t cells formed significantly less free lipids, and trehalose dimycolat e, which is the predominant glycolipid in the R-form cells, was lackin g in their composition. The colony form and the capacity for fast grow th of the R-variant of R. erythropolis in hydrocarbon-containing mediu m was shown to correlate with the presence of trehalose dimycolate in the cell wall of the bacterium.