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LIPID BIOMARKER ANALYSIS OF MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES
Citation:
Leblond, J. D. AND P J. Chapman. LIPID BIOMARKER ANALYSIS OF MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES. Presented at 53rd Annual Meeting of the Phycological Society of America, St. Louis, MO, 1-7 August 1999.
Description:
Many marine eukaryotic algae have been shown to possess characteristic chemotaxonomic lipid biomarkers. Dinoflagellates in particular are often characterized by the presence of sterols and pigments that are rarely found in other classes of algae. To evaluate the utility of chemical biomarkers in characterizing marine phytoplankton communities, methods were developed and applied in a survey of the solvent-extractable lipid constituents of cultures of different dinoflagellates. Open-column chromatography on silica was used to obtain principle lipid classes, which were characterized by TLC-FID. Lipid fractions were also derivatized and characterized by GC/MS analyses of free and esterified fatty acids and sterols. Photopigments were also examined by HPLC. Preliminary findings for representative species of the genera Alexandrium, Gymnodinium, Gyrodinium, Heterocapsa, and Prorocentrum will be presented.