CELLULAR FATTY-ACID PROFILES FOR THE DIFFERENTIATION OF PENICILLIUM SPECIES

Cellular fatty acid composition of eighteen species of Penicillium was studied to investigate its taxonomic usefulness. Many fungi included in this study displayed the same fatty acid composition but differed i n relative concentration. Several test species presented the same fatt y acid composition but differed in relative concentration. The princip al fatty acids were palmitic (16:0), oleic (18.1) and linoleic (18.2). The amount of unsatured fatty acids varied between 68.5% and 78.5%. M ultivariate analyses of data showed that it is possible to differentia te some species that belonged to different Penicillium groups. The lev el of agreement of long chain fatty acids with morphological taxonomy was acceptable. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.