Peroxidative formation of C3-hydrocarbons from an ω-4 polyunsaturated fatty acid(16∶3ω4) in the algaBumilleriopsis

Under peroxidative conditions (i.e., illumination in the presence of Cu²⁺ or ap-nitro diphenylether herbicide), the xanthophycean microalga,Bumilleriopsis filiformis, evolves C₂ and C₅ hydrocarbons besides substantial amounts of propane and propene. Fatty acids were separated as methyl esters by argentation and reversed-phase thin layer chromatography and the fractions subsequently peroxidized by illuminated and copper-supplementedAnacystis thylakoids. These membranes do not contain polyunsaturated fatty acids and are, therefore, unable to evolve volatile hydrocarbons by itself. The C₂ and C₅ hydrocarbons formed by the fractions added match with their content of ω-3 and ω-6 fattyacid species having 2–4 double bonds. The fractions yielding C₃ hydrocarbons contain a fatty acid hitherto unknown forBumilleriopsis, which was isolated and identified as 16∶3ω4.