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The diether and tetraether lipids were isolated from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum cells (ATCC 29183) during their growth phase. The diether content (mg/g dry weight) increased several fold during the 6-day cell growth, while the tetraether content decreased by about 60% over the same time period. The diether:tetraether ratio changed from 1:2.7 at day 2 to 1:0.2 at day 6. The results indicate that the diether:tetraether ratio changed with time and can therefore not be used as a reliable chemical indicator to identify species of methanogenic bacteria as has been suggested. The content and composition of the fatty acids in these bacteria were also investigated. Their content decreased with time.
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Kramer et al. (1991) studied this question.
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