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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Determination of Total Lipid and Lipid Classes in Marine Samples
Published on: December 11, 2021
Lipid Composition and Metabolism of Volvox carteri
1Department of Botany, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712.
Abstract:
The membrane structural lipids of somatic cells and gonidia isolated from Volvox carteri f. nagariensis spheroids have been characterized. The principal polar lipid components of both cell types are sulfoquinovosyl diglyceride, mono- and digalactosyl diglyceride, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and 1(3), 2-diacylglyceryl-(3)-O-4'-(N,N,N,-trimethyl)homoserine. Light-synchronized cultures of spheroids were shown to incorporate [(14)C]bicarbonate, [(35)S]sulfate, [(14)C]palmitic acid, and [(14)C]lauric acid into complex lipids. [(14)C]Palmitic acid was incorporated mainly into diacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine and was not significantly modified by elongation or desaturation. In contrast, [(14)C]lauric acid was incorporated into a wider variety of complex lipids and was also converted into longer chain saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. Volvox is a promising system for studying the role of membranes in algal cellular differentiation.
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