COMPARISON OF THE FATTY-ACIDS OF THE TUNICATE BOTRYLLUS-SCHLOSSERI FROM THE BLACK-SEA WITH 2 ASSOCIATED BACTERIAL STRAINS

The fatty acid composition of the tunicate Botryllus schlosseri and of two bacterial strains found within the tunicate, namely Vibrio paraha emolyticus and of an associated but previously unreported gram positiv e cocci were studied. The polyunsaturated fatty acids 6,9,12-octadecat rienoic acid, 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid, and 4,7,10,13,16,19- docosahexaenoic acid were particularly abundant in B. schlosseri and w ere not detected in the two bacterial strains found in the tunicate. T he iso/anteiso pair, 13-methyltetradecanoic acid and 12-methyltetradec anoic acid, were the principal fatty acids in the gram positive cocci, and the 9- and 11-hexadecenoic acids were particularly abundant in V. parahaemolyticus. The diunsaturated fatty acid 9,12-octadecadienoic a cid was also shown to be present in V. parahaemolyticus. The fatty aci d composition of a third bacterial strain, characterized as either a P seudomonas or an Alteromonas species, and shown to be present only in the sea water from the Black Sea and not in B. schlosseri, is also rep orted. This is the first investigation on fatty acids from Black Sea b acteria.