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LIPID CLASS DISTRIBUTION OF HIGHLY UNSATURATED LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS IN MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES.
Citation:
Leblond, J. D. AND P J. Chapman. LIPID CLASS DISTRIBUTION OF HIGHLY UNSATURATED LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS IN MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 26(6):1103-1108, (2000).
Description:
The very long chain highly unsaturated C28 fatty acids, octacosaheptaenoic [28:7(n-6)] and octacosaoctaenoic acid [28:8(n-3)], were found to be associated with phospholipids, obtained by fractionation of total lipid extracts into distinct lipid classes, in 4 and 6, respectively, of 16 examined dinoflagellates. An interfraction comparison of fatty acids associated with phospholipids and glycolipids has also shown that the phospholipid fractions contained the majority (over 75% in 12 of 16 strains) of docosahexaenoic acid [22:6(n-3)] and traces of tetracosanoic acid (24:0). By contrast, the highly unsaturated C18 fatty acids octadecatetraenoic [18:4(n-3)] and octadecapentaenoic acid [18:5(n-3)] were primarily recovered from a chloroplast-associated glycolipid fraction comprised of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, digalactosyldiacylglycerol, and sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol. In 12 of 16 strains, an interfraction comparison showed that over 90% of 18:5(n-3) was found to be associated with glycolipids.These findings indicate that the C28 fatty acids are located and probably synthesized in the cytoplasm or in an organelle other than the chloroplast, possibly with 22:6(n-3) and 24:0 as precursors, whereas the C18 fatty acids 18:4(n-3) and 18:5(n-3) are glycolipid constituents apparently synthesized within the chloroplast. The function(s) of these C28 fatty acids as components of phospholipids in cellular membranes is currently unknown.