LAKE-MICHIGAN SPONGE PHOSPHOLIPID VARIATIONS WITH HABITAT - A P-31 NUCLEAR-MAGNETIC-RESONANCE STUDY

The sponge Eunapius fragilis, which is common in Lake Michigan's south ern basin, exhibits a complex phospholipid profile containing 18 diffe rent phospholipids that can be used to differentiate among sponge habi tats. Sponges from three habitats, a coastal lagoon at the Hammond mar ina, the shipwreck of the Material Service Barge in the open waters of Lake Michigan and an industrial section of the Calumet River, showed significant Variations in the following phospholipids: glycerol plasma logen, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylser ine, an uncharacterized phospholipid, lysoalkylacylphosphatidylcholine , lysophosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, alkylacylphosphatidyl choline and phosphatidylcholine. Phospholipids that did not vary stati stically among the three environments were the diacylglyceryl-(2-amino ethyl)phosphonates, lysophosphatidic acid, lysoethanolamine plasmaloge n, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidic acid, diphosphatidylglyc erol, dihydrosphingomyelin and the ethanolamine plasmalogen. The quant itative phospholipid concentration data in conjunction with numerical indexes derived therefrom demonstrate that P-31 nuclear magnetic reson ance (NMR) phospholipid profiling can be used to distinguish among hab itats using a single species as a bioindicator. Because the cellular m embrane is fundamental to all life, its precise evaluation through pho spholipid P-31 NMR provides a new tool for the study of phylogeny at t he molecular level.