The Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids of Marine Dinoflagellates

SYNOPSIS. Eight photosynthetic and one heterotrophic, marine dinoflagellates were cultured axenically in chemically defined media and their fatty acids characterized. Palmitic, octadecatetraenoic and docosahexaenoic were the most typical fatty acids. Photosynthetic forms also contained the polyunsaturates icosapentaenoic acid and α‐linolenic acid, the latter as a relatively minor component. The galactolipids of one photosynthetic species, Glenodinium sp., were isolated and their fatty acids analyzed. Octadecatetraenoic acid was the predominant fatty acid, particularly of the monogalactosyl diglyceride fraction. The relationship of these findings to the body of knowledge of the photosynthesis‐associated lipids of eucaryotic microbes and to the ecology of polyunsaturated fatty acids in marine food chains is discussed.