Distribution of normal isoprenologs of coenzyme Q and dihydro coenzyme Q10 in various molds

The coenzymes Q found in 18 molds were examined by paper chromatography, melting point, and ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy. In the six following organisms, CoQ9 was the major component: Aspergillus niger, Mucor abundans, Penicillium brevi-compactum, Penicillium charlesii, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Penicillium notatum. Two molds contained CoQ10: Aspergillus fumigatus and Cladosporium fulvum. The following ten organisms contained dihydro CoQ10 as the major component: Alternaria solani, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus flavus-oryzae, Aspergillus quadrilineatus, Aspergillus terreus, Cephalosporium sp., Chaetomium globosum, Curvularia lunata, Gibberella fujikuroi, and Neurospora crassa. In the latter molds, the presence of ten C5 units was further confirmed by hydrogenation to the perhydroquinone structure, followed by paper chromatographic comparison with authentic perhydro CoQ10. In many cases, small amounts of other isoprenelogs accompanied the major CoQ component. In all of these molds, ergosterol was the major sterol component.