Microalgae, dominating protists in aquatic systems, are rich in lipids, a complex molecular class regulating cell physiology and phytoplankton ecology. Investigation of microalgal lipid metabolism is increasing, but common strategies for comprehensive lipid analyses are still lacking. Major methodological gaps are represented by separate analytical procedures for extraction and characterization of lipid molecules, thus hindering accurate comparison of metabolic data. Herein we propose one unique methodology for sample collection, extraction and analysis of main lipid mediators (oxylipins, fatty acids, glycerolipids, sterols and sterol derivatives) from diatoms. Extractions relied on the MTBE/methanol method, which provides high lipid extraction yields, involving either MeOH or water preparation of samples. Experiments focused on Skeletonema marinoi, a diatom species often used as model organism in plankton chemical ecology. Extraction protocols were implemented to characterize oxylipins and glycerolipids from algal cells collected as pellets or accumulated on glass-fibre filters, thus providing a practical tool to study multiple lipid classes in natural phytoplankton.

微藻是水生生物中的主要生物，富含藻类脂，这是一种复杂的分子类别，可调节细胞生理和浮游植物生态。对微藻类脂质代谢的研究正在增加，但是仍然缺乏用于全面脂质分析的通用策略。主要的方法学差距由用于脂类分子提取和表征的单独分析程序来代表，因此阻碍了代谢数据的准确比较。本文中，我们提出了一种用于样品收集，提取和分析主要脂质介体（脂类，脂肪酸，硅藻脂中的甘油脂，固醇和固醇衍生物）。提取依赖于MTBE /甲醇方法，该方法可提供高脂质提取产率，涉及MeOH或水的样品制备。实验集中于Skeletonema marinoi ，一种在浮游生物化学生态学中常被用作模型生物的硅藻物种。实施提取规程以表征藻类细胞中收集的沉淀或堆积在玻璃纤维滤池上的藻类细胞中的脂环素和甘油脂，从而为研究天然浮游植物中的多种脂质提供了实用的工具。