Neutral lipid composition of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tritaeniorhynchus cells at two phases of growth.

The mosquito cells Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex tritaeniorhynchus were grown in spinner cultures. The fatty acid profiles of the neutral lipid classes were analyzed, and comparisons were made between the two species at logarithmic and stationary phases of growth and between the species and the medium. The results from the data suggest an increase in the average chain length of the fatty acids in the free fatty acid and sterol ester fractions of the Culex quinquefasciatus cells with aging. From the logarighmic to stationary phase, both Culex cells showed some increase in desaturation of acids in the di- and triglyceride and free fatty acid fractions. The Culex tritaeniorhynchus cells also showed some increase in desaturation of acids in the monoglyceride fraction. Differences between the two Culex species at the logarithmic phase of growth were observed in the fatty acid profiles of all the neutral lipid fractions examined and at the stationary phase of growth in the free fatty acid, triglyceride, and sterol ester fractions.