Fatty acid composition of lipids present in selected lichenized fungi: a chemotyping study.

The total-lipid composition of 21 lichens of the ascomycetous genera Cladonia (11) and Cladina (1) of the family Cladoniacea, Cladia (1), Parmotrema (3), Ramalina (2), Leptogium (1), Cetraria (1), and the basidiomycetous genus Dictyonema (1) was determined. Analyses of those of Dictyonema glabratum were carried out with a total extract and those obtained after successive extractions with various solvents. Each extract was partitioned between n-heptane/isopropanol and 1 M sulfuric acid, giving triglycerides (TG) in the upper phase. Extracts were methanolyzed and the resulting methyl esters were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Methanolyzates of TG unexpectedly contained esters of 9-oxodecanoic, 9-methyl-tetradecanoic, 6-methyl-tetradecanoic, 3-hydroxy-decanoic, nonanedioic, and decanedioic acids, as well as common fatty acids. Fatty acid methyl ester profiles from the lichens were submitted to cluster analysis, and the resulting dendogram showed a cluster consistent with Cladonia spp., suggesting an efficient aid to lichen taxonomy. The total carbohydrate content of each lipid extract was determined by a modified phenol-sulfuric acid method, which compensated for the presence of pigments.