Effects of n-alkanes on Cladosporium resinae.

Growth of three different soil isolates of Cladosporium resinae on a large number of carbon compounds was found to be inhibited by n-hexane and n-heptane whereas n-octane and all higher liquid n-alkanes had no effect on growth. In addition, n-hexane and, to a lesser extent, n-heptane caused rapid inhibition of glucose incorporation and considerable loss of potassium and protein from the cells. The phenomenon is unlikely to be due to removal of membrane lipids such as sterols and phospholipids by the n-alkanes, but rather to a limited disorganization of the cell membrane resulting in rapid loss of selective permeability.