Bound lipids in lacustrine sediments in Guchenghu Lake, East China

Conclusion Lipids present in different modes of occurrence in lacustrine sediments vary obviously in their composition. The ester-bound and amide-bound lipids are more likely to be derived from autochthonous input such as bacteria, algae and fungi in the lake, and they were more stable than the free lipids in the process of early diagenesis. Bound lipids record the more actual information about the paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes. Amide-bound P-hydroxy fatty acids can be used as a fingerprint of the past bacterial communities which is informative to the paleoenvironment.