Seasonal Variations in the Content of Metabolites in Licenses of Cetraria Laevigata and Flavocetraria Cucullata

Abstract

Metabolic profiles of lichens Flavocetraria cucullata and Cetraria laevigata were obtained by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, samples of which were taken monthly throughout the year in a pine-lingonberry forest in Central Yakutia. In the obtained metabolic profiles of the studied lichens, 77 metabolites were identified, of which 44 were identified. Among them, 5 polyols, 8 mono- and disaccharides, 8 amino acids, 8 carboxylic acids, 5 fatty acids. On the obtained statistical models, it was shown that the metabolomes of the studied lichens collected from June to August (climatic summer) differed from the samples taken from October to April (climatic winter). It was revealed that in the summer period the accumulation rate of polyols, hydroxyproline and sucrose increased, which is associated, on the one hand, with the activation of photosynthetic processes, and, on the other hand, with resistance to dehydration. While during the climatic winter, an increased accumulation of unsaturated fatty acids and glycerol was observed, which is probably due to the protective functions of these compounds when exposed to low temperatures.