Phospholipids of two strains of dermatophyte,Arthroderma uncinatum

The phospholipid composition of a mutant strain of the dermatophyte Arthroderma uncinatum was compared with that of the wild type. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidic acid were present, and there was marked variation in the amounts of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, and phosphatidic acid in the two strains. Thus, the ratio of phosphatidylcholine (wild type) to phosphatidylcholine (mutant) was 2∶1; the ratio of phosphatidylserine (wild type) to phosphatidylserine (mutant) was 3∶1 and the ratio of phosphatidic acid (wild type) to phosphatidic acid (mutant) was 1∶5. In both strains, the predominant fatty acid was 18∶2, with 54.0% in the wild type and 46.7% in the mutant. Qualitatively, the same fatty acids, with the exception of C 20∶0 , were found in all of the phospholipid classes; C 20∶0 , both in the mutant strain (5.79%) and the wild type (trace amounts), was associated with phosphatidylserine. There was a significant difference in the rates of growth of the two strains; the mutant strain grew more rapidly than, and produced three times as much mycelium as, the wild type. The mutant strain also produced larger proportions of total lipid and phospholipid than the wild type; there was 20.5% total lipid and ca. 5% phospholipid in the mutant compared with 15.5% total lipid and 2.6% phospholipid in the wild type.