Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Biology
Date of Award
12-2021
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Aruna Kilaru
Committee Members
Lev Yampolsky, Cecilia A. McIntosh
Abstract
Lipids maintain fluidity of the cell membrane during the lifetime of all organisms. The moss Physcomitrium patens, an early land plant, enters reproductive phase under cold (15°C) conditions relative to its gametophytes (22°C). Thus, we hypothesized that their lipid content and composition would be distinct. Using ESI-MS/MS, we showed that the content and acyl composition of 11 lipid classes varied during development. Galactolipids were abundant in gametophytes but insignificant in sporophytes; among phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine was predominant in both phases. Although, sporophytes contained around five-fold less lipids than the gametophyte, their phosphatidic acid content, which accumulates during stress, was 18-fold higher. Furthermore, comparative analyses of lipidomes revealed that the 38C and 40C acyl species are abundant in the moss and mouse, which are mostly absent in vascular plants. The occurrence of long-chain, highly unsaturated lipids perhaps contribute to membrane stability that was necessary for the evolution of early land plants.
Document Type
Thesis - embargo
Recommended Citation
Gautam, Deepshila, "Lipidomic Analysis of Various Developmental Stages of Physcomitrium patens" (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3997. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3997
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.