Metabolism of phosphoglycerides in E. coli III. The presence of phospholipase A

Abstract

The breakdown of labelled phosphoglycerides by E. coli 015 and 0118 was studied in vitro. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine labelled in the 1-acyl ester position with 1-14C-stearic acid were hydrolyzed to 14C-label1ed fatty acid. 32P-labelled phosphatidylethanolamine yielded labelled lysophosphatidylethanolamine and water-soluble products. Deoxycholate favored the production of both 14C-labelled fatty acid and 32P-labelled lysophosphatidylethanolamine. It is suggested that part of the breakdown of phosphoglycerides is brought about by the action of phospholipase A1.