Polar lipids of Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae, in comparison with those of selected other fungi

Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae differed significantly from Phycomyces blakesleeanus, Neurospora crassa, Saccharomyces pastorianus, S. fragilis, Schizophyllum commune, and Polyporus versicolor in its polar lipid composition. While phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl ethanolamine were the major phospholipids in all these fungi, unidentified compounds constituted 25% of Phytophthora phospholipids but, in all cases except one, less than 10% of the phospholipids of the other fungi. Phytophthora contained little or no phosphatidyl serine, and the other fungi contained one to three compounds of intermediate polarity which were absent from Phytophthora. Cholesterol present or absent in the medium did not influence appreciably the phospholipid content of Phytophthora.