462 Marine Microbiology 



Activity of Fragment 202 120 989 2314 

 ^'^"^^ CHC)|j-C-C-C-COOH 



% activity 5 3 25 58 



Fig. 7. Distribution of C^* in palmitic acid moiety of myristyl palmitate 

 isolated from cultures of Micrococcus sp. utilizing tetradecane-1-C^'* for 



growth. 



cane without change in the carbon atom structure. Total C^* 

 activity of cetyl alcohol equalled that of the palmitic acid. 



Palmitic acid from myristyl palmitate ( derived from tetrade- 

 cane) represents a somewhat more complex problem. Radioac- 

 tivity of the myristyl alcohol moiety, presumably labeled in 

 positions 1 and 14 equalled the C^^ activity of carbons 3 and 16 of 

 palmitate, thus suggesting these fragments arose more or less 

 directly from tetradecane-1-C^^. Carbon atoms 1 and 2 of pal- 

 mitic acid showed considerable labeling - far greater activity 

 than in the remainder of the palmitic acid ( Fig. 7 ) . No explana- 

 tion is available for the high activity in Ci and C2 of this palmitic 

 acid but it does seem quite clear that palmitate is formed from 

 a 14-carbon atom unit derived from tetradecane without change 

 in carbon skeleton to which have been added 2 carbon atoms 

 either by condensation of a 2-carbon unit in which considerable 

 C^* randomization has occurred, or by successive 1 carbon addi- 

 tions, or by a combination of these two processes. The data 

 give the appearance of some selective process whereby the 

 first acetyl group removed from myristic acid (which would 

 be labeled in the Ci position) is almost exclusively used to con- 

 struct the palmitic acid of the ester formed. 



REFERENCES 



1. Baptist, J. N. and Coon, M. J.: Hydrocarbon oxidation by a bacterial 



enzyme system. Proc. Am. Chem. Soc. Ahstr. 9C, 1959. 

 2. Bruyn, J.: An intermediate product in the oxidation of hexadecene-1 



by Candida lipohjtica. Koninkl. Ned. Acad. Wetenschap. Proc. Ser., 



C, 57:41-45, 1954. 

 3. EiSE, Merle I. and Giesecke, Paul: Colorimetric determination of 



organic peroxides. Anal. Chem., 31:1558-1560, 1959. 



