The formation of ω-cyclohexyl-fatty acids from shikimate in an acidophilic thermophilic bacillus. A new biosynthetic pathway

Abstract

Labelled acetate, phenylalanine and shikimic acid were fed to Bacillus acidocaldarius. A high proportion of the 14C incorporated from acetate and shikimate was recovered in methyl esters from the cell lipids, but such recovery of 14C from phenylalanine was low. Only the 14C from shikimate was selectively incorporated into 11-cyclohexylundecanoate and 13-cyclohexyltridecanoate. Degradation of these cyclohexyl-fatty acids showed that shikimate was incorporated as an intact C7 unit.