During exponential growth, strain AW405 of Escherichia coli K-12 did not regulate the fatty acid composition of its lipids in response either to temperature or to the addition of NaCl, KCl, or MgCl2 to the medium. Growth was severely restricted at temperatures below 21 degrees C. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of the isolated lipids from a culture with a typical exponential-phase composition yielded a broad transition, extending from approximately 0 to 33 degrees C, with a midpoint at 19 degrees C. During late stages of growth, the fatty acid composition changed. The percentage of palmitic acid increased and cyclopropane fatty acids replaced some of the equivalent unsaturated fatty acids. The increase in palmitate seemed largely independent of growth conditions, whereas the increase in the cyclopropane fatty acids was stimulated by the addition of salts or sucrose. Cultures grown in the presence of sucrose also had higher cyclopropane fatty acid levels during exponential growth. DSC of lipids from a sucrose culture, in which the compositional changes were most pronounced, yielded a much narrower transition with a midpoint at 27 degrees C.