title: Metabolic Profiling of Alpine and Ecuadorian Lichens.
abstract: Non-targeted ¹H-NMR methods were used to determine metabolite profiles from crude extracts of Alpine and Ecuadorian lichens collected from their natural habitats. In control experiments, the robustness of metabolite detection and quantification was estimated using replicate measurements of Stereocaulon alpinum extracts. The deviations in the overall metabolite fingerprints were low when analyzing S. alpinum collections from different locations or during different annual and seasonal periods. In contrast, metabolite profiles observed from extracts of different Alpine and Ecuadorian lichens clearly revealed genus- and species-specific profiles. The discriminating functions determining cluster formation in principle component analysis (PCA) were due to differences in the amounts of genus-specific compounds such as sticticin from the Sticta species, but also in the amounts of ubiquitous metabolites, such as sugar alcohols or trehalose. However, varying concentrations of these metabolites from the same lichen species e.g., due to different environmental conditions appeared of minor relevance for the overall cluster formation in PCA. The metabolic clusters matched phylogenetic analyses using nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of lichen mycobionts, as exemplified for the genus Sticta. It can be concluded that NMR-based non-targeted metabolic profiling is a useful tool in the chemo-taxonomy of lichens. The same approach could also facilitate the discovery of novel lichen metabolites on a rapid and systematical basis.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biochemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenberg-Str. 4, D-85747 Garching, Germany. verena.mittermeier@tum.de.
authors.forename: Verena K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Mittermeier
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biochemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenberg-Str. 4, D-85747 Garching, Germany. nicola.schmitt1@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schmitt
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biochemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenberg-Str. 4, D-85747 Garching, Germany. lukas.volk@web.de.
authors.forename: Lukas P M
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Volk
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, San Cayetano Alto s/n, C.P. 11 01 608 Loja, Ecuador. jpsuarez@utpl.edu.ec.
authors.forename: Juan Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Suárez
authors.affiliation: Department of Lichenology and Bryology, Botanische Staatssammlung München, Menzinger Str. 67, D-80638 München, Germany. beck@bsm.mwn.de.|GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, D-80333 München, Germany. beck@bsm.mwn.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beck
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Biochemie, Technische Universität München, Lichtenberg-Str. 4, D-85747 Garching, Germany. wolfgang.eisenreich@ch.tum.de.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Eisenreich
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D008011:Lichens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: Stereocaulon; Sticta; chemotaxonomy; metabolomics; principle component analysis; sticticin