SYSTEMATIC DISTRIBUTION OF RIBITOL IN THE FUNGI

Abstract

The polyol fractions of the fruit bodies of 12 basidiomycetes and the vegetative mycelia of more than 30 species representing all major classes of fungi were isolated, tested by gas chromatography for the presence of ribitol and found to be free of this compound – with the exception of Mortierella rammaniana, Actinomucor elegans, Mucor miehei and Zygorhynckus moelleri. Using preparative paper chromatography, ribitol was isolated from M. miehei in a yield of about 0·3 % of the mycelial dry wt and its identity confirmed by IR spectroscopy and determination of melting point. The present survey, together with the reported occurrence of ribitol in only two other species, Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici and Candida polymorpha, shows this polyol to be a rare fungal component that appears to be distributed randomly within the Eumycetes. Clustering of ribitol within the Mucorales can, however, not be overlooked. Copyright © 1980, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved