Subject: fungal symbiont storage lipids

From: [email-masked]
Date: 17 May 1996 07:05:16 -0700

Dear symbiologists,

I am looking for references to research on storage lipids of 
mycosymbionts.  We are finding that there is a direct correlation between 
fungal lipid content of grass endophytes and the degree of avirulence.  
It appears the more avirulent is the endophyte the greater the 
concentration of lipids produced by the fungus.  However, we have very 
little background in lipid chemistry.  If anyone could point us in the 
direction of some literature of storage lipids in fungi (or more 
specifically mycosymbionts) we would be very grateful.

Thanks,

Jim White
Dept. of Plant Pathology
Rutgers University
[email-masked]

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From: Peter J Harris <[email-masked]>
Date: 22 May 1996 10:14:01 GMT

>specifically mycosymbionts) we would be very grateful.
An old paper:- Cooper K M and Losel D 1978. Lipid physiology of 
vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza. I. Composition of lipids in roots of 
onion, clover and ryegrass infected with G mosseae. New Phytologist 80, 
143-151.

Might help if you don't have it.
Peter Harris

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From: [email-masked] ("Stephen P. Bentivenga")
Date: 22 May 1996 05:46:49 -0700

At 10:14 AM 5/22/96 GMT, [email-masked] wrote:
>mycosymbionts.  ...................   If anyone could point us in the

Probably the best source to find would be:  

  Weete, J.D.  1980.  Lipid Biochemistry of Fungi and Other Organisms.
     Plenum Press, New York.

This excellent book has chapters devoted to the various classes of lipids
(fatty acids, sterols, etc...), has  very lucid descriptions of lipid
biosynthesis and metabolism, and also the most extensive lists of which
lipids have been found in MANY different species of fungi.  

One major caveat:  just because a lipid was found, doesn't mean it was a
storage lipid.  This is especially true with fatty acids.  Most extraction
procedures are harsh enough to pull out both structural and storage lipids.  

I have been working with fatty acids in endomycorrhizal fungi and I have
compiled a pretty good list of the lipid literature for those fungi.  Let me
know and I can email it to individuals.

- Steve Bentivenga

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From: [email-masked] ("Dr. Barbara Schulz")
Date: 23 May 1996 02:29:50 -0700

> know and I can email it to individuals.
Dear Stephen,
I received your email, presumably forwarded by Jim White. Since we are
interested in fatty acids and lipids in endophytic fungi, I would very
much appreciated your list of references.
Thank you !
Sincerely,
Barbara Schulz