Lipids and fatty acids of tachyzoites and purified pellicles of Toxoplasma gondii.

Various lipids were extracted from tachyzoites and from purified pellicles of Toxoplasma gondii. Extracts from both sources were found to have a low cholesterol/phospholipid ratio. The major phospholipid in these fractions was phosphatidylcholine associated with a low amount of sphingomyelin. Oleic acid represented one-third of whole-cell fatty acids and 44% of pellicular fatty acid content. The lipid composition of the pellicle of T. gondii is consistent with the previously reported high fluidity of this membrane.