Abstract
Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) were quantified in fresh and preserved material of the chlorolichen Dermatocarpon luridum var. luridum (Verrucariaceae/Ascomycota). The analyzed samples represented a time-series of over 150 years. An HPLC coupled with a diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) in hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) mode method was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of MAAs. We found evidence for substance specific differences in the quality of preservation of two MAAs (mycosporine glutamicol, mycosporine glutaminol) in Natural History Collections. We found no change in average mycosporine glutamicol concentrations over time. Mycosporine glutaminol concentrations instead decreased rapidly with no trace of this substance detectable in collections older than nine years. Our data predict that a screening for MAAs in organism samples from Natural History Collections can deliver results that are comparable to those obtained from fresh collections only for some MAAs (e.g., mycosporine glutamicol). For other MAAs, misleading, biased, or even false negative results will occur as a result of the storage sensitivity of substances such as mycosporine glutaminol. Our study demonstrates the value of pilot studies with time-series based on model taxa with a rich representation in the Natural History Collections.
Highlights
Natural History Collections provide a rich source of preserved material for the study of organisms, which otherwise could only be accessed with an excessive logistic effort [1]
Natural History Museum London (BM) and Rennes1 University Herbarium (REN), we found that among all all Verrucariaceae, Verrucariaceae, this is one one of of the the taxa taxa with with the the best best representation representation across across geographic geographic range range among this is and time
Our results show that degradation of Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) may not be visible in short-term exposure experiments, but can lead to total loss of UV-absorbance within a couple of years if MAAs that have not been tested in longer time-series studies are used
Summary
Natural History Collections provide a rich source of preserved material for the study of organisms, which otherwise could only be accessed with an excessive logistic effort [1]. For species that are extinct in the wild or where natural populations are inaccessible because of political unrest and war or natural disasters and cannot be cultured, access to Natural History collections is the only remaining choice [2]. Invasive sampling can be mandatory, even for routine identification in some organism groups, for example, for lichenized fungi, the need for the study of anatomical characters and chemotaxonomical markers as part of Molecules 2019, 24, 1070; doi:10.3390/molecules24061070 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules. For the taxonomy of lichenized fungi, having characters based on the visualization of characteristic metabolites or their reaction with selected test reagents has a long tradition. In the 20th century, the visualization of metabolite profiles by thin layer chromatography has become an additional routine tool for chemotaxonomic purposes [5]
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