Search

The cellular fatty acid composition of Aureispira marina IAM 15389 T (JCM 23197 T ), a gliding bacterium isolated from the coastline of Thailand, was re-examined by using a standard MIDI method based on alkaline hydrolysis, and two other methods. The direct transesterification using 5% HCl/methanol or 4 M HCl hydrolysis followed by methyl esterification revealed that 2-hydroxy-15-methyl-hexadecanoic acid (2-OH-iso-C 17:0 ) and 2-hydroxy-15-methyl-hexadecenoic acid (2-OH-iso-C 17:1 ), which were not reported in a previous paper, were found to be major cellular fatty acids of this bacterium, and the amount of 2-OH-iso-C 17:1 was even higher than that of arachidonic acid (C 20:4 ), a characteristic polyunsaturated fatty acid present in this bacterium. These 2-hydroxy-fatty acids were contained in two cellular lipids that were relatively stable against alkaline hydrolysis. One of them was analyzed by mass spectrometry, 1 H-nuclear magnetic resonance, and other chemical methods, and identified as a ceramide composed of 2-hydroxy-fatty acid and sphingosine of 19 carbons with three double bonds. A minor ceramide containing 18 carbon sphingosine with three double bonds was also detected.

Protein C (PC) and protein S (PS) play key roles in an anticoagulant pathway in order to control the haemostatic system. We identified single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and/or haplotypes in the promotor and exons of the whole PC and PS genes and in the 3'-untranslated region of the PS gene in 55 Thai individuals. The PC gene revealed 10 haplotypes. One synonymous SNP at 2196 was found in the normal Thai population with a minor allele frequency of 4.90%. One homozygous mutation in exon 7, R147W, co-segregated with the synonymous SNP 2196 (homozygote) of the PC gene, resulting in decreased PC activity and antigenic levels. The PS gene revealed three haplotypes with two frequent dimorphisms in exon 15 and the 3'-untranslated region. The most frequent haplotype in the PS gene was H3 (wild type). There was no correlation between the haplotypes of PC and PS genes with functional and antigenic levels of PC and PS.