Lipidomic analysis of elaiosomes from Coreanomecon hylomeconoides Nakai by high performance liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

Elaiosome is a small structure attached to a seed and mainly consists of lipids. The main role of elaiosome is to attract ants to disperse the seeds of plants from place to place. High performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS) was used to profile and quantify the lipid contents in the elaiosomes of Coreanomecon hylomeconides Nakai, which is endemic species in Korea. Lipids extracted from elaiosomes sampled in seven different populations were subjected to relative quantification using a quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometer in both positive and negative ion modes. More than 85 lipid species including glycerophospholipids and triglycerides were identified in each of pooled samples analyzed in triplicate. The majority of fatty acyl chain composition of the identified lipids were C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, and C18:2, These results were consistent with the previous studies on the composition of elaiosome free fatty acids, which are regarded as key players in the mutualistic relationship between and ants. Finally, statistical analyses were conducted with the R software to differentiate lipidome among the seven populations.