Characterization of Glucuronosyl-diacyl/monoacylglycerols and Discovery of Their Acylated Derivatives in Tomato Lipid Extracts by Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography with Electrospray Ionization and Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Glucuronic acid containing diacylglycerols (3-(O-α-d-glucuronopyranosyl)-1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols, GlcA-DAG) are glycolipids of plant membranes especially formed under phosphate-depletion conditions. An analytical approach for the structural characterization of GlcA-DAG in red ripe tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) extracts, based on reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization (ESI) and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using a linear ion trap, is described in this paper. At least 14 GlcA-DAG (R₁/R₂) species, including four regioisomers, containing three predominant fatty acyl chains C16:0, C18:2, and C18:3, were identified for the first time. Moreover, 29 GlcA-DAG acylated on the glucuronosyl ring (acyl-R₃ GlcA-DAG) were discovered, alongside 15 acylated lyso-forms, i.e., acylated 3-(O-α-d-glucuronosyl)monoacylglycerols, abbreviated as acyl-R₃ GlcA-MAG (R₁/0) or (0/R₂). Although many of these acylated lyso-forms were isomeric with GlcA-DAG (i.e., acyl chains with equivalent sum composition), they were successfully separated by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) using a solid-core C18 column packed with 2.6 μm particle size. Tandem MS (and eventually MS³) data obtained from sodium adducts ([M + Na]⁺) and deprotonated molecules ([M - H]^-) were fundamental to detect diagnostic product ions related to the glucuronosyl ring and then determine the identity of all investigated glycolipids, especially to recognize the acyl chain linked to the ring. A classification of GlcA-MAG, GlcA-DAG, and acylated GlcA-DAG and GlcA-MAG was generated by an in house-built database. The discovery of acylated derivatives emphasized the already surprising heterogeneity of glucuronic acid-containing mono- and diacylglycerols in tomato plants, stimulating interesting questions on the role played by these glycolipids.