Characteristics Of Phospholipid Fatty Acids Of Common Phytoplankton

Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) can be used to study the phytoplankton communitystructure. And it can also be used for the studies of foodweb and element biogeochemical cyclingby analyzing the stable isotope of PLFA which can be converted to the stable isotope ofphytoplankton. In this study, we isolated and cultured some common phytoplankton species fromfresh water and measured PLFA contents. Meanwhile, we measured the PLFA of phytoplanktonfrom lakes and ponds such as Huizhou West Lake which were analyzed in relation tophytoplankton communities. The results showed that18:3ω3and EPA(20:5ω3)were positivelycorrelated with the abundance and biomass of Cryptomonas and Euglena; EPA(20:5ω3)had apositive correlation with the abundance and biomass of diatom; DHA(22:6ω3)had a positivecorrelation with the abundance and biomass of diatom and Cryptomonas.16:3ω3were onlypositively correlated with the abundance and biomass of green algae. Among them,16:3ω3waslikely specific to the green algae. This study suggests that PLFA might be used as biomakers toanalyze the community composition of phytoplankton, and be used to explore the method ofisotope technology for food web in aquatic ecosystems.