| Abstract: | SYNOPSIS Fatty acids were examined of photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic marine and freshwater cryptomonads cultured as photoauxotrophs, photoheterotrophs and heterotrophs at various incubation temperatures and constant light intensity. Photo-synthetic marine and freshwater forms contained octadecatrienoic, octadecatetraenoic, eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic (all-cis, ω3 acids) as the major polyunsaturates, and a freshwater heterotroph contained mostly the octadecatrienoic acid. The polar lipids of a marine, photosynthetic form, Cryptomonas sp., included the usual thylakoid membrane lipids of the chloroplasts of eukaryotic, photosynthetic cells: galactosyl diglycerides, phosphatidyl glycerol and a sulfolipid. Also present were 2 choline-containing phospholipids: phosphatidyl choline and an unknown. Ninhydrin-positive and inositol-containing lipids were not detected. Octadecatetraenoic acid comprised 75% of the total fatty acids of the monogalactosyl diglyceride fraction. The phosphatidyl glycerol was acylated mostly by ω13 trans-hexadecaenoic acid and the eicosapentaenoic acid. Evolutionary relationships of cryptomonads as mirrored in lipid composition are discussed. |
