THE COMPONENT FATTY ACIDS OF OILS FOUND IN SPORES OF PLANT RUSTS AND OTHER FUNGI

Abstract

The fatty acid compositions of oils extracted from the spores of 21 species of fungi, mainly rusts and smuts, have been determined by gas liquid phase chromatography. Cis-9,10-epoxyoctadecanoic acid was present in the spore oil of six species of Puccinia, two species of Melampsora, and one species each of Cronartium and Phragmidium, but not in one species each of Uromyces, Gymnosporangium, and Ravenelia. Palmitic acid was the principal saturated acid in all the fats, except those from the mildews, and the unsaturated C₁₈ acids generally made up the remainder. Rusts of the same genus with hosts in the same plant family had similar fatty acids but other rusts of the same genus with hosts in other families had a quite different pattern. The fats of smuts and mildews are quite distinct from those found in the rusts.