Utilization of [1-14C]Acetate in the Synthesis of Lipids by Acholeplasmas

Fifteen Acholeplasma strains, including some belonging to A. laidlawii, A. axanthum, A. granularum, or A. modicum, incorporated radioactivity into their lipids when grown in a medium containing [1-¹⁴C] acetate. The majority of the radioactivity was found in the glycolipid (43%) and the polar lipid (55%) fractions. The amount of radioactivity incorporated into the lipids (disintegrations per minute per milligram of lipid) of strains of 6 Mycoplasma species was less than 1% of the amount found in the 15 Acholeplasma strains. The ability to synthesize lipids from acetate is a useful criterion for differentiating the genus Acholeplasma from Mycoplasma.