Phospholipid metabolism in the molluscs. I. Distribution of phospholipids in the water snail Lymnaea stagnalis

Abstract

The phospholipid distribution in the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis was investigated by fractionation of the lipid extract with silica-gel column chromatography followed by qualitative and quantitative thin-layer chromatography. The results obtained show that choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides are the major phospholipids in this species and that they amount to about 50% and 30% of total phospholipids, respectively. The amount of ceramide 2-aminoethylphosphonate in this species is 7.5% of the total phospholipids and this compound is the main phosphonolipid in this species. The glyceryl ether derivatives of both choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides are found to be very high. Nearly half (45%) of the choline phosphoglycerides is glyceryl ether in nature while 15% of the ethanolamine phosphoglycerides is also of this type.