Triacylglycerol fatty acid and sterol composition of sediment microorganisms from McMurdo Sound,Antarctica

Summary The triacylglycerol fatty acid and sterol profiles of microorganisms from three McMurdo Sound sediment sites, collected during the austral summer of 1984–1985, were determined using gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Comparison of the three sites indicated that Cape Evans contained the greatest concentration of triacylglycerol (TG) (220 nmoles/gram dry weight (gdw) of sediment), approximately six to seven times that determined for sediment microorganisms from the Cape Armitage and New Harbor sites. The relative proportion of triacylglycerolderived polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) revealed a somewhat different trend. New Harbor sediment contained the greatest relative proportion of PUFA (22% of triacylglycerol fatty acids), followed by Cape Evans (16%) and Cape Armitage (11%). The proportion of unsaturated fatty acids (poly-and monounsaturated) was relatively constant and ranged from 63% to 71% of the triacylglycerol fatty acids for the three sites. Sterol concentrations varied from 610 pmoles/gdw at Cape Evans, to 370 and 240 pmoles/gdw for Cape Armitage and New Harbor respectively, and was approximately 1% of the total determined lipid. Cholesterol was the major sterol component detected, occurring at similar relative levels (29%) for all three sites. Other sterols present in decreasing order of abundance were 22-dehydrocholesterol, brassicasterol, 24-ethylcholesterol and 24-methylcholesterol. 5-stanols were only minor components of the three sediments, indicating that in situ biohydrogenation of stenols was not a major sterol transformation process in these recent surface oxic sediments.Part 3 in the series: Microbial Ecology in Antarctic Sea-Ice and Benthic Communities