Interspecies comparison of brain ganglioside patterns studied by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography.

Brain gangliosides from four vertebrate classes (fish, amphibia, aves, and mammalia) were studied by patterns generated with the use of two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. In an effort to retain possible alkalilabile gangliosides, samples were not base-hydrolyzed. Resultant chromatograms revealed complex patterns of the major known gangliosides and a number of minor and trace molecular species previously unresolved. More than 30 resorcinol-positive components were detected in mammalian neural samples. Our data indicate both qualitative and quantitative differences in the chromatogram patterns between the vertebrate classes, but potentially greater qualitative similarity exists between the lower and higher classes than has previously been noted.