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Stability and Synthesis of Phospholipids during Desiccation and Rehydration of a Desiccation-Tolerant and a Desiccation-Intolerant Moss ¹

Department of Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4

The fatty acid composition of the phospholipids from the desiccation-tolerant moss Tortula ruralis (Hedw.) Gaertn, Meyer and Scherb and the desiccation-intolerant moss Cratoneuron filicinum has been determined. No changes in composition occur in either moss as a consequence of rapid drying, but, after slow drying, there is a decline in some unsaturated fatty acids. Upon rehydration of T. ruralis after slow drying, these acids decline further; however, within 105 minutes, they regain the same levels as those in undesiccated controls. A smaller and more transient decline occurs after rapid desiccation. Most phospholipid unsaturated fatty acids decrease during rehydration of C. filicinum, and their levels are not recovered. After both rapid and slow drying of T. ruralis, acetate and glycerol are incorporated into the phospholipid fraction, although de novo synthesis, alone, might not account for the increase in unsaturated fatty acids upon rehydration. Very little acetate or glycerol is incorporated during rehydration of C. filicinum. Loss of unsaturated fatty acids from the phospholipids of T. ruralis does not appear to be associated with increased lipoxygenase activity. Furthermore, there is little correlation between the extent of peroxidation of fatty acids due to desiccation and changes in the phospholipid fraction.

¹ Supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Grant A6352 and G0154.

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