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UPLC-MS analysis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Scenedesmus obliquus lipid extracts and their possible metabolic roles

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Abstract

The paper presents the ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and high-resolution mass spectrometric analysis and comparison of total lipid profiles of two green algal species, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Scenedesmus (Acutodesmus) obliquus. The targeted UPLC-mass spectroscopy (MS) analysis revealed that both the green algae showed the presence of almost similar types of lipids. However, there were differences in the presence of three triacylglycerol (TAG) species (TAG 54:4, TAG 54:5 and TAG 54:8) and two diacylglycerol (DAG) species (DAG 36:3 and DAG 36:4) in C. reinhardtii that were found to be completely absent in Scenedesmus obliquus. The triacylglycerol content in S. obliquus was five times more than that in C. reinhardtii. In addition, amount of diacylglycerol-O-(N,N,N-trimethyl) homoserine, a characteristic algal lipid, in S. obliquus was only half of that in C. reinhardtii. The paper also discusses the metabolic roles of the lipids produced by these algal species with reference to the lipids identified by UPLC-MS analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, 110016, India

    Durlubh Kumar Sharma & Kshipra Gautam

  2. Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam, Germany

    Jessica Jueppner & Patrick Giavalisco

  3. Max Planck Institute for the Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Magdeburg, Germany

    Liisa Rihko-Struckmann & Kai Sundmacher

  4. School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India

    Ashwani Pareek

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  1. Durlubh Kumar Sharma
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  2. Kshipra Gautam
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  3. Jessica Jueppner
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  4. Patrick Giavalisco
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  5. Liisa Rihko-Struckmann
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  6. Ashwani Pareek
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  7. Kai Sundmacher
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Correspondence to Kshipra Gautam.

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Sharma, D.K., Gautam, K., Jueppner, J. et al. UPLC-MS analysis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Scenedesmus obliquus lipid extracts and their possible metabolic roles. J Appl Phycol 27, 1149–1159 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0407-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-014-0407-2

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