Lipid Composition of Entomophthora obscura Hall & Dunn

The composition of neutral, polar and sphingolipids of Entomophthora obscura Hall & Dunn during resting spore formation has been investigated. Sporogenesis was accompanied by an increase in the total lipid concentration and a decrease in the polar/neutral lipid ratio. The most prevalent neutral lipid fatty acids were C10:0, C12:0, C16:0 and C18:0; the concentration of C18:0 increased greatly during sporogenesis. Polar lipids were characterized by high concentrations of C16:0, C20:4 and C20:5; the concentration of C20:5 decreased and those of C18:1 and C20:4 increased during resting spore formation. The fatty acid composition of neutral and polar lipids was similar in several strains of E. obscura and proved their conspecificity irrespective of the facility with which each strain produced resting spores.