Intermediary metabolism of Acinetobacter grown on dialkyl ethers

The microbial dissimilation of long-chain dialkyl ethers by Acinetobacter sp. H01-N involved a terminal methyl group oxidation of the dialkyl ether substrates, resulting in the formation of ether oxygen containing fatty acids of corresponding chain length. An internal carbon–carbon scission of the dialkyl ethers resulted in the formation of end-product ether fatty acids and corresponding dicarboxylic acids. Cellular carbon and energy were derived from the subsequent metabolism of the dicarboxylic acids. Dicarboxylic acid oxidation, activation, and identification of cellular dicarboxylic acids indicated dibasic acids as intermediates in the metabolism of dialkyl ethers.