A Microbial Sulfolipid. I. Isolation and Physiological Studies*

SYNOPSIS. A sulfolipid, isolated from the phytoflagellate, Ochromonas danica , and from its medium, constitutes over 50% of the sulfur of the cells. It is bound to protein and excreted by the phytoflagellate. When the S 35 ‐labeled sulfolipid was placed in the medium it was incorporated by the cells without cleavage of the sulfate group. Thus it passes back and forth between the growth medium and the cells. The sulfolipid has been found in O. danica, O. malhamensis, Tetrahymena pyriformis, Chlamydomonas sp., Pseudomonas sp. (sea water bacterium). It was identified in the culture medium of O. danica, O. malhamensis, Chlorella pyrenoidosa , and Streptomyces griseus. Preliminary evidence was obtained for its presence in the growth medium of white clover and sorghum.