Journal of Lipid Research, Vol. 9, 350-352, May 1968
Copyright © 1968 by Lipid Research, Inc.

On the origin of pristane in marine organisms

Joel Avigan and Max Blumer

Laboratory of Metabolism, National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014, and Chemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543

Phytol-U-¹⁴C was adsorbed on algae and ingested in this form by zooplanktonic copepods (two species of Calanus). The lipids of these animals were analyzed after 48 hr and found to contain radioactive pristane and radioactive phytanic acid. The conversion of phytol to pristane by the copepods is interpreted as a likely biological source of pristane in nature.

Supplementary key words pristane • hydrocarbon biosynthesis • isoprenoid fatty acids • decarboxylation of fatty acids • phytol • Calanus • marine organisms • intestinal bacteria

Submitted on July 27, 1967
Accepted on February 6, 1968

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