Fatty acids in muscle of wild and farmed red porgy, Pagrus pagrus

The total fat content and the fatty acids of total lipids (TL), phospholipids (PL) and triacylglycerols (TAG) were analysed in white muscle from wild and reared red porgy, Pagrus pagrus (L.). The fat percentage was higher in reared (3.03 ± 0.57%) (mean ± SE) than wild (0.65 ± 0.03%) fish. The fatty acid pattern of reared porgy TL reflected the diet's lipid. Wild red porgy showed higher levels of ω3 and ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) than reared, but both the atherogenic index and the index of thrombogenicity were very low for both wild and reared red porgy. The lipid fractions showed that the PL were composed of very high levels of PUFA, especially 22:6ω3, and their composition seemed to be better regulated than the composition of TAG. TAG showed greater differences between wild and reared fish, presumably because they reflected the dietary content of lipids. PUFA were the principal component of wild red porgy TAG.     

Marine wax ester digestion in salmonid fish: a review

Alternative marine resources from lower trophic levels could partly cover the rapidly increasing needs for marine proteins and oils in the future. The North Atlantic calanoid copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, has a high level of lipids rich in n‐3 fatty acids. However, these animals have wax esters as the main lipid storage component rather than triacylglycerol (TAG). Although these esters are considered difficult to digest by many fish, is it well known that juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) feed on zooplankton species. It is therefore possible that the capacity to utilize these lipids should be well developed in salmonids. Nonetheless, salmon hydrolyse wax esters slower than TAG and absorb fatty alcohols slower than fatty acids. However, salmon have several adaptations to digest diets rich in wax esters. These includes increased feed conversion, higher production of bile and higher activity of lipolytic enzymes in the midgut. Atlantic salmon has been shown to feed and grow on diets with a medium amount of wax esters (30% of the lipid) with results comparable to fish maintained on fish oil diets. Ingestion of higher level of wax esters (50% of the lipid) cause, however, poorer lipid digestibility and growth, so that optimal utilization of wax esters in Atlantic salmon is closer to 30% than 50% of the dietary lipid.     

The effect of PUFA enriched Artemia on growth, survival and lipid composition of western rock lobster, Panulirus cygnus, phyllosoma

Western rock lobster, Panulirus cygnus, phyllosoma were grown from hatching to stage IV. Larvae were fed with Artemia enriched with a (i) base enrichment (Base) containing 520 g kg^?1 squid oil or tailor made enrichments in which oils high in polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) have been added at the expense of squid oil. These treatments were (ii) base enrichment supplemented with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) rich oil, (iii) base enrichment supplemented with arachidonic acid (AA) rich oil, or (iv) base enrichment supplemented with DHA and AA (D + A) rich oils. Total survival of phyllosoma to stage IV was high, with no significant difference between treatments (range 12.3–17.5%). By stage IV, the larvae fed the DHA or AA enriched Artemia were significantly larger (3.33 mm length) than larvae fed the Base or D + A enriched Artemia (3.18–3.24 mm length). Phyllosoma were sampled at stages II and III for biochemical analysis. The major lipid class (LC) in all phyllosoma was polar lipid (PL) (88.9–92.4%), followed by sterol (ST) (6.2–9.7%). Triacylglycerol (TAG), free fatty acid (FFA) and hydrocarbon/wax ester were minor components (≤1%) in all phyllosoma samples. In contrast, the major LC in all enrichments and enriched Artemia was TAG (76.3–85.1% and 53.4–60.2%, respectively), followed by PL (11.4–14.8% and 30.6–38.1% respectively). The main fatty acids (FA) in phyllosoma were 16:0, 18:1n‐9, 18:1n‐7, 18:0, AA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and DHA. Addition of AA, and to a lesser extent DHA, to enrichments resulted in increased levels of those FA in Artemia and phyllosoma compared with the Base enrichment. This was particularly evident for stage III larvae. Comparatively, elevated growth for phyllosoma to stage IV was achieved with DHA and AA enriched diets. Our findings highlight the importance of lipids and in particular essential long‐chain PUFA, as nutritional components for phyllosoma diets.     

The effect of temperature and dietary fat level on tissue lipid composition in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed wax ester‐rich oil from Calanus finmarchicus

Copepod oil (CO) from the marine zooplankton, Calanus finmarchicus, is a potential alternative to fish oils (FOs) for inclusion in aquafeeds. The oil is composed mainly of wax esters (WE) containing high levels of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and monounsaturated fatty alcohols that are poorly digested by fish at low temperatures. Consequently, tissue lipid compositions may be adversely affected in salmon‐fed CO at low temperatures. This study examined the lipid and FA compositions of muscle and liver of Atlantic salmon reared at two temperatures (3 and 12 °C) and fed diets containing either FO or CO, supplying 50% of dietary lipid as WE, at two fat levels (～330 g kg^?1, high; ～180 g kg^?1, low). Fish were acclimatized to rearing temperature for 1 month and then fed one of four diets: high‐fat fish oil (HFFO), high‐fat Calanus oil (HFCO), low‐fat fish oil (LFFO) and low‐fat Calanus oil (LFCO). The fish were grown to produce an approximate doubling of initial weight at harvest (220 days at 3 °C and 67 days at 12 °C), and lipid content, lipid class composition and FA composition of liver and muscle were determined. The differences in tissue lipid composition between dietary groups were relatively small. The majority of FA in triacylglycerols (TAG) in both tissues were monounsaturated, and their levels were generally higher at 3 °C than 12 °C. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), particularly (n‐3) PUFA, predominated in the polar lipids, and their level was not significantly affected by temperature. The PUFA content of TAG was highest (～26%) in the muscle of fish fed the HFCO diet at both temperatures. Tissue levels of SFAs were lower in fish‐fed diets containing HFCO than those fed HFFO, LFFO or LFCO, particularly at 3 °C. The results are consistent with Atlantic salmon being able to incorporate both the FA and fatty alcohol components of WE into tissue lipids but, overall, the effects of environmental temperature on tissue lipids were more pronounced in fish fed the CO diets than FO diets.     

Lipids of arctic charr,Salvelinus alpinus (L.) I. Dietary induced changes in lipid class and fatty acid composition

Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus L.) were fed either a commercial diet or six experimental test diets containing coconut oil and different polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) at a level of 1% by dry weight. Best growth rates were observed with the commercial diet, worst with diet containing coconut oil with no PUFA. An increase in hepatic lipid, hepatic sterol esters and muscular moisture content, and a decrease in muscular lipid was generally found in fish fed the test diets compared to those maintained on the commercial diet.Phosphatidylcholine was the dominant polar lipid (PL) class in all tissues examined. Extensive modification of dietary saturated fatty acids into 18:1 (n-9) was observed in tissue triacylglycerols (TAG) of fish fed test diets. No changes occurred with the commercial diet.Dietary PUFA were essentially incorporated unchanged into tissue TAG of all fish in the present study. PUFA composition of hepatic phospholipids was significantly influenced by that contained in the diets. However both 18:2 (n-6) and 18:3 (n-3) in the test diets were extensively elongated and desaturated prior to incorporation into PL. The (n-9) PUFA content was always higher in liver of fish fed the test diets. When 18:2 (n-6) and 18:3 (n-3) were supplied together, the level of (n-3) PUFA exceeded those of (n-6) PUFA. Muscle PL were less influenced by diet than liver. In muscle (n-3) PUFA were always the predominant PUFA irrespective of diet. Only low amounts of (n-9) PUFA were found. It is suggested that (n-3) PUFA are the prime essential fatty acids for Arctic charr, and that they are used in preference to (n-6) PUFA for elongation, desaturation and incorporation into PL. The results suggest that the quantitative requirement of Arctic charr for EFA is may be higher than that of other salmonids.     

Lipid class and fatty acid composition of eggs of Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.), in relation to egg quality in captive broodstock

Abstract. Lipid class and fatty acid analyses were carried out on eight batches of pre-fertilized eggs of Atlantic halibut, Hippoglossus hippoglossus (L.). These batches were classified as ‘viable’ or ‘non-viable’ according to fertilization rate, blastomere symmetry and incubation success. The lipid class and fatty acid compositions were very similar between egg categories with exception of cholesterol which was shown to be significantly greater in the ‘non-viable’ eggs. Polar lipid classes predominated (67·1% and 67·0% of the total lipid for ‘viable’ and ‘non-viable’ egg batches respectively), with phosphatidylcholine (PC) being the major class (43·2% and 43·5%) and triacylglycerol (TAG) the main neutral lipid class (18·8% and 17·8%). Gas liquid chromatography of fatty acid methyl esters from the total lipid revealed no significant differences in fatty acid composition. The fatty acid profiles of viable egg batches showed five major fatty acids 16:0 (17·3%), 18:0 (4·8%), 18:1n-9 (9%), 20:5n-3 (119%) and 22:6n-3 (25·9%). The results are discussed in terms of the potential role of lipids as egg quality determinants in fish.     

Essential fatty acids in Atlantic salmon: time course of changes in fatty acid composition of liver, blood and carcass induced by a diet deficient in n-3 and n-6 fatty acids

Atlantic salmon fry (4 g) were fed a semi-synthetic diet devoid of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for 4 months. External signs of nutritional imbalance during the period were slow growth rate and increased mortality. Some symptoms of essential fatty acid deficiency appeared in the fatty acid composition of the blood and liver during the fourth month. At that time, the percentages of n-3 and n-6 PUFA of triacylglycerols (TAG) were nearly exhausted, and the percentages of 22:6 n-3 and of 20:5 n-3 in phospholipids (PL) showed a marked decrease. This decrease in the PUFA level of the PL was paralleled by the appearance of 20:3 n-9, whereas in the TAG an increase in the percentage of 18:1 n-9 was observed. After 4 months the monounsaturated fatty acid 18:1 n-9 constituted nearly 50% of the fatty acids in the TAG fraction of the liver. The time course of the changes in fatty acid composition of liver and blood lipids was quite similar, whereas the carcass lipid composition appeared to respond slowly to a diet devoid of essential fatty acids.     

Lipid and fatty acid composition of likely zooplankton prey of spiny lobster (Jasus edwardsii) phyllosomas

Several of the world's major spiny lobster fisheries, including Jasus edwardsii in Australasia, have gone into dramatic decline due to decreasing recruitment of their lecithotrophic postlarvae. There is evidence that the decline is related to poor nutritional condition of the postlarvae, especially lipid that is accumulated in large quantities during the preceding pelagic larval stage. Therefore, characterizing the lipid composition of the likely potential zooplankton prey of the larvae (phyllosomas) of spiny lobsters will provide new insights into their nutritional requirements. The lipid class and fatty acid composition of more than 30 species of likely zooplankton prey of the larvae of the spiny lobster, J. edwardsii, were determined. These results showed that most zooplankton prey had a high proportion of their lipid content as polar lipid (PL) (range of 9.4–94.8%, mean of 76.1 ± 2.6%). Zooplankton prey provide phyllosomas with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) for growth and development, as well as a range of other important fatty acids that are accumulated as PL and used for fuelling the migration of the subsequent lecithotrophic postlarvae across the continental shelf. Overall, these results indicate that phyllosomas consume prey with wide ranging lipid content, but dominated by PL, and high in docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid and the key fatty acids used for energy storage.     

黄颡鱼早期发育阶段受精卵和鱼体脂肪酸组成变化

研究了黄颡鱼受精卵孵化期间和仔鱼发育阶段脂肪含量和脂肪酸的组成变化规律.采用常规化学分析方法和气相色谱法对黄颡鱼从鱼卵受精开始至仔鱼孵化后未投饵的7 d内的脂肪含量和脂肪酸组成进行测定.结果表明,受精卵在整个孵化期间脂肪含量有下降趋势.受精卵中不饱和脂肪酸含量大于饱和脂肪酸含量.受精卵在整个孵化期间各种脂肪酸含量无明显变化.仔鱼孵化后,鱼体总脂肪含量急剧下降,总脂含量从0日龄的4.57%降低到7日龄的0.75%.仔鱼在饥饿期间鱼体脂肪酸组成发生明显变化,单不饱和脂肪酸含量下降最为明显,尤其是C18:1.仔鱼在饥饿期间,脂肪酸按n-9>n-6>n-3顺序被先后利用,黄颡鱼仔鱼发育阶段主要以单不饱和脂肪酸作为能量代谢基质,而C20:4n6(AA)和C22:6n3(DHA)优先于C20:5n3(EPA)被保存下来.     

Utilization and metabolism of palmityl and oleoyl fatty acids and alcohols in caecal enterocytes of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

The substitution of fish oil with wax ester‐rich calanoid copepod‐derived oil in diets for carnivorous fish, such as Atlantic salmon, has previously indicated lower lipid digestibility. This suggests that the fatty alcohols (FAlc) present in wax esters may be a poorer substrate for intestinal enzymes than the fatty acids (FA) in triacylglycerol (TAG), the major lipid in fish oil. The hypothesis tested was that the possible lower utilization of dietary FAlc by salmon enterocytes is at the level of uptake and that subsequent intracellular metabolism was identical to that of FA. A dual‐labelled FAlc–FA metabolism assay was employed to determine simultaneous FAlc and FA uptake and relative utilization in enterocytes isolated from pyloric caeca of Atlantic salmon fed either a diet supplemented with fish oil or wax ester‐rich Calanus oil. The diets were fed for 10 weeks before caecal enterocytes from each dietary group were isolated and incubated with equimolar mixtures of either [1‐¹⁴C]16:0 FA and [9,10(n)‐³H]16:0 FAlc, or [1‐¹⁴C]18:1n‐9 FA and [9,10(n)‐³H] 18:1n‐9 FAlc. Uptake was measured after 2 h with relative utilization of labelled FAlc and FA calculated as a percentage of uptakes. Differences in uptake were observed, with FA showing higher uptake than FAlc, and 18:1 chains a higher uptake than 16:0. A proportion of unesterified FAlc was possibly recovered in the cells, but the majority of FAlc was recovered in lipid classes such as TAG and phospholipids indicating substantial conversion of FAlc to FA followed by esterification. However, incorporation of FA and FAlc into esterified lipids was higher when derived from FA than from FAlc. Twenty‐five to fifty percentage of the absorbed 16:0 FA was recovered in TAG fraction of the enterocytes compared with 15–75% of 18:1 FA. Twenty to thirty percentage of the absorbed 16:0 FA was recovered in the phosphatidylcholine fraction of the enterocytes compared with only 5–15% of the 18:1 FA. Less than 15% of the fatty chains taken up by the cells were used for energy production, with significantly higher oxidation of 18:1 in enterocytes from fish fed the fish oil diet compared with the Calanus oil diet. However, overall, dietary copepod oil had little effect on FAlc and FA metabolism. Metabolic modification by elongation and/or desaturation was generally low at 1–5% of the uptake. We conclude that our hypothesis was generally proved in that the uptake of FAlc by salmon enterocytes was lower than the uptake of FA and that subsequent intracellular metabolism of FAlc was similar to that of FA. However, unesterified FAlc was possibly recovered in the cells suggesting that the conversion to FA may not be concomitant with uptake.     

黄鳝肌肉营养成分的分析

对黄鳝的稚鳝（体重9.2-15.5g)、幼鳝（体重62.3-76.0g)、小成鳝（体重108.3-121.4g)和大成鳝（体重222.8-242.8g)肌肉中的水分、蛋白质、脂肪含量及脂肪酸、氨基酸的组成进行了分析,结果表明：黄鳝肌肉中的蛋白质含量高达18.79%-19.93%,脂肪含量较低。高度不饱和脂肪酸含量占脂肪酸总量的19.15%,必需氨基酸的含量上中氨基酸总量的40.98%,谷氨酸的含量很高,为氨基酸总量的16.95%。     

短须裂腹鱼营养成分分析与品质评价

采用生化方法对短须裂腹鱼(Schizothorax wangchiachii)的常规营养成分、氨基酸和脂肪酸组成进行了分析,并对其营养品质进行了评价,为其养殖生产及饲料配制提供理论依据。2015年5月采集当年人工繁殖的短须裂腹鱼幼鱼200尾作为实验材料,体长为5~8 cm,体重为3.12~4.51 g,分成4个混合样本进行检测分析。结果表明,短须裂腹鱼鲜样中水分、粗蛋白、粗脂肪和粗灰分分别为(70.66±1.50)%、(14.24±0.40)%、(12.83±1.44)%和(2.05±0.11)%。共检测出17种氨基酸,总量为(10.88±0.21)%,必需氨基酸总量(5.05±0.11)%,非必需氨基酸总量为(5.83±0.10)%;依据氨基酸评分(AAS),短须裂腹鱼的第一限制性氨基酸为缬氨酸(Val),第二限制性氨基酸为异亮氨酸(Ile);依据化学评分,第一限制性氨基酸为蛋氨酸+胱氨酸(Met+Cys),第二限制性氨基酸为苯丙氨酸+酪氨酸(Phe+Tyr)。共检测出17种脂肪酸,总量为(84.39±7.20)mg/100 g,饱和脂肪酸、单不饱和脂肪酸以及多不饱和脂肪酸分别为(24.95±2.22)mg/100 g、(38.69±3.29)mg/100 g、(20.22±1.60)mg/100 g。综合分析认为短须裂腹鱼是具有食用价值和资源开发潜力。     

Effect of a dietary phospholipid supplementation on growth and fatty acid composition of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.) juveniles from weaning onwards

Two 40-day feeding trials using extruded diets were conducted to assess the effect of a dietary phospholipid (PL) supplementation on growth, survival and fatty acid composition of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) from weaning onwards. Two dietary treatments (FO and PL) were tested; both had an identical extruded basis (92.5% total diet weight) coated with a different lipid fraction (7.5% total diet weight). Diet PL contained 2% egg yolk PL (69% pure). In diet FO the PL was replaced by hydrogenated coconut oil. The isolipidic diets contained an equal amount of fish oil ethyl esters providing 1.6% (% diet dry weight) of n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA). A diet water stability test showed no effect of the PL supplementation on the leaching of the dietary fatty acids. In both fish species weight, but not survival, significantly increased as a result of PL supplementation. Weaning onto the experimental diets resulted in similar changes in the relative percent levels of fatty acids in both species. In general, the percentage of saturated fatty acids levelled off after a rapid increase, while monoenes increased after an initial decrease. Total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) decreased and total n-6 PUFA remained almost constant. The major effect of the dietary PL on fish fatty acid composition was a 50% increase in n-6 and n-3 HUFAs compared to the PL-free FO diet. The rise in n-6 HUFA may have reflected the higher moiety in the dietary PL. On the other hand this was not the case for the n-3 HUFA since they represented only low levels in the PL fraction (0.1%) compared to that provided by the ethyl esters (1.6%) suggesting a more efficient incorporation of the PL n-3 HUFA than of the ethyl ester n-3 HUFA. A second hypothesis is that the dietary PL may have favored the incorporation of the dietary ethyl ester n-3 HUFA.     

Reproductive performance and offspring quality of Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis (H. Milne-Edwards) females fed an optimized formulated diet and the razor clam Sinonovacula constricta

After feeding female Eriocheir sinensis on an optimized formulated diet or fresh razor clam Sinonovacula constricta for 7 months, their reproductive performance and offspring quality were compared. To evaluate diet nutrient contents, the proximate, fatty acid and amino acid compositions of the formulated diet and the razor clam were analysed. The nutritional value of the diets was determined by assessing survival, gonadosomatic index (GSI) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) of female crabs from both diet treatments, together with the percentage of females that spawned, total egg production per female and fecundity (number of eggs g^?1 female wet weight). Furthermore, the quality of eggs and newly hatched larvae from the two dietary treatments were determined using the following parameters: egg diameter, wet weight and dry weight, hatchability, proximate and fatty acid profile of eggs, larval carapace length, resistant to starvation and osmotic shock, larval survival and development to the zoea II stage. Higher protein, phospholipids (PL) and amino acids (AA) contents were found in the razor clam while the formulated diet contains higher levels of ash, total lipid (TL) and 18:1n‐9, 18:2n‐6 and 22:6n‐3 fatty acids. Although female crabs fed the two different diets showed similar reproductive performances, newly hatched zoea I larvae produced by the crabs fed the formulated diet had significantly longer mean carapace length and shorter development time to the zoea II stage under identical culture condition (P<0.05). Moreover, dietary fatty acid appeared to have more significant effects on the fatty acid composition of the hepatopancreas than it did on mature ovaries or eggs. This suggests that the fatty acid profile of mature ovaries is indicative of the specific fatty acid required for ovarian development in E. sinensis. In conclusion, our results show that the optimized formulated diet developed in this laboratory can totally replace the razor clam, a broodstock food widely used in E. sinensis hatcheries in China. This encouraging result should facilitate more reliable hatchery production of this important aquaculture species.     

池塘低盐养殖点篮子鱼肌肉营养成分的分析与评价

点篮子鱼(Siganus guttatus)在低盐池塘中养殖102 d后,对其营养成分及其品质进行了分析和评价。结果表明,点篮子鱼新鲜肌肉中水分、粗灰分、粗蛋白和粗脂肪的质量分数分别为(75.17±0.87)%、(0.60±0.08)%、(22.33±0.50)%和(1.96±0.13)%;其肌肉干样中共检出19种氨基酸,总量为(89.03±0.36)%,其中,必需氨基酸总量为(34.26±0.12)%,占总氨基酸含量的38.49%,半必需氨基酸总量为(7.39±0.10)%,非必需氨基酸总量为(46.50±0.48)%,必需氨基酸与非必需氨基酸的比值为73.68%。可见,低盐度养殖点篮子鱼的必需氨基酸构成比例符合联合国粮农组织/世界卫生组织(FAO/WHO)的标准。根据氨基酸品质评价,其第一限制性氨基酸为色氨酸,第二限制性氨基酸为缬氨酸,必需氨基酸指数为75.44。低盐度养殖的点篮子鱼肌肉干样中鲜味氨基酸总量为(33.97±0.32)%,占总氨基酸含量的38.15%。综合来看,低盐度养殖的点篮子鱼必需氨基酸营养组成合理,鲜味氨基酸含量丰富,是一种营养丰富、味道鲜美的理想养殖对象。     

Changes in fatty acid and sterol composition during oogenesis in the pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera

The fatty acid and sterol composition of the oyster Pinctada margaritifera during oogenesis and in eggs was analysed. No major differences were observed during oogenesis, but the egg composition was significantly different from that of gonads. The amount of saturated fatty acids was the highest in eggs and the C16:0 predominant (P<5%); by contrast, the amount of 22:6(n‐3) was significantly lower (P<5%) than in gonads. No major differences were observed for the polar lipid (PL) composition during oogenesis. The main free sterols in gonads and eggs were cholesterol and brassicasterol. Among free sterols, the proportion of cholesterol diminished continuously from the beginning to the end of gonad maturation, and this decrease persisted in eggs after spawning. Cholesterol represented 40% to 55% of the sterol ester encountered in gonad and eggs. This study allowed us to investigate the fatty acid and sterol composition during oogenesis of the pearl oyster P. margaritifera, leading to a clearer understanding of the nutritional requirements of pearl oyster during the reproduction process.     

Effects of dietary highly unsaturated fatty acids and astaxanthin on the fecundity and lipid content of pond-reared Penaeus monodon (Fabricius) broodstock

Five diets that contained fresh squid meat as the basic constituent and were supplemented with different amounts of highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) and astaxanthin were fed to pond‐reared Penaeus monodon broodstock. Diet A was sole squid meat. Diets B and C were supplemented with astaxanthin 50 and 100 mg kg^?1 respectively. Diets D and E were supplemented with HUFA 5 and 10 g kg^?1 and astaxanthin 50 mg kg^?1 respectively. The result showed that the group fed diet E had the best reproductive performance in all experimental groups. It had a higher proportion of spawns (71.5%), spawning rate (0.047), a shorter latency period (7.7±0.3 d), higher absolute fecundity (× 10³) (361.6±5.5) and egg production/female (× 10³) (597.0±18.0) than all the other experimental groups. The fatty acid composition in broodstock diets strongly affected the tissue and fecundity of broodstock. Good correlations between the content of 20:4n‐6 in eggs and the fecundity (r²=0.6109) and egg production (r²=0.9876) of broodstock were found. On the other hand, 22:6n‐3 and DHA/EPA ratio was negatively correlated with the fecundity of broodstock (r²=0.5362, 0.8702 respectively). The result also showed that the balance between n‐3 and n‐6 fatty acid families, total polyunsaturated fatty acids and total saturated fatty acid and 20:5n‐3 (EPA) and 22:6n‐3 (DHA) may play vital roles in maturation and reproductive performance of P. monodon broodstock.     

Influence of broodstock gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) dietary fatty acids on egg quality and egg fatty acid composition throughout the spawning season

The influence of broodstock dietary lipids on egg quality and egg fatty acid composition throughout the spawning season of gilthead seabream was investigated. For this purpose, the fish were fed for 7 months either a control diet (diet C) or a diet deficient in n−3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n−3 HUFA) but rich in both oleic (18:1n−9) and linolenic (18:3n−3) acids (diet D). Eggs spawned by both groups of fish were sampled at the beginning, middle and end of the spawning season and the fatty acid composition of their neutral (NL) and polar lipids (PL) determined. In the early season, percentages of fertilized and hatched eggs, relative proportions of NL and PL as well as their fatty acid compositions, were not affected by the lipid composition of the broodstock diet. However, the eggs spawned during the middle and late seasons showed marked differences among the two groups of fish, clearly reflecting the influence of dietary fatty acids. This influence was more evident in the neutral lipid fraction than in the polar lipids. No correlation was found between the number of buoyant eggs and eicosapentaenoic (20:5n−3, EPA), docosahexaenoic (22:6n−3, DHA) fatty acids or total n−3 HUFA contents in egg phospholipids. However, a negative correlation was detected when percentages of fertilized eggs were compared with the levels of 18:1n−9, 18:3n−3 and with the ratio 18:1n−9/n−3 HUFA present in the phospholipids. Our results indicate the importance of maintaining not only the level of n−3 HUFA in egg membrane phospholipids, but also the balance between n−3 HUFA and other fatty acids such as 18:1n−9 and 18:3n−3, in order to obtain a high spawning quality.     

Molecular cloning,characterization and nutritional regulation of key enzymes required for the effective utilization of marine wax esters by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

Previous studies had shown that wax ester‐rich lipid extracted from calanoid copepods could be a useful alternative to fish oil as a provider of long‐chain n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in diets for use in salmon aquaculture. Effective utilization of wax ester requires digestion and metabolism in the intestine with the fatty alcohol component being oxidized to fatty acid in intestinal cells through the combined activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). We studied wax ester utilization in Atlantic salmon using a candidate gene approach, focusing on ADH and ALDH as sequence information was available for these genes, including fish sequences, facilitating isolation of the cDNAs. Here, we report on the isolation and cloning of full‐length cDNAs for ADH3 and ALDH3a2 genes from salmon intestinal tissue. Functional characterization by heterologous expression in the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, showed the products of these cDNAs had long‐chain ADH and ALDH enzyme activities. Thus, ADH3 was capable of oxidizing long‐chain fatty alcohol, and ALDH3a2 was capable of oxidizing long‐chain fatty aldehyde to the corresponding fatty acid. The genes were highly expressed in intestinal tissue, particularly pyloric caeca, but their expression was not increased in salmon fed dietary copepod oil in comparison to fish fed fish oil.     

Determination of Fatty Acid Composition and Phospholipid Molecular Species of Large Yellow Croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) Roe from China

The aim of this study is to investigate the composition of the fatty acids and phospholipids derived from large yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) roe. The composition of the total lipids and the molecular species of phospholipids were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC–MS) and high performance liquid chromatography–evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC–ELSD), respectively. The results showed that large yellow croaker roe had high levels of the total lipid (19.6% ± 1.32%, w/w) and phospholipid (61.2% ± 1.22% of the total lipid). The phospholipid was rich in docosahexaenoic acid (31.0% ± 0.19% of the total phospholipids), and the major phospholipid molecular species was phosphatidylcholine (PC, 61.06% ± 0.02% of the total phospholipids, w/w). It was concluded that large yellow croaker roe is expected to be a good resource of phospholipids with a high content of PC.