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Gelippi M, Caraveo-Patiño J, Gauger MFW, Popp BN, Panigada S, Marcín-Medina R. Isotopic composition of the eastern gray whale epidermis indicates contribution of prey outside Arctic feeding grounds. Sci Rep 2022; 12:7055. [PMID: 35488113 PMCID: PMC9054758 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10780-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Eastern gray whales' distribution range and plasticity in feeding behavior complicates the understanding of critical life-history such as pregnancy and lactation. Our goal was to determine if females who experienced gestation, gave birth, and lactated their calves, assimilated a high proportion of benthic amphipods from the Bering Sea, which are considered the species' main prey. We used Bayesian stable isotope mixing models to estimate the probability of contribution of food items sampled along the species' distributional range, using isotopic data on amphipods from the Bering Sea, mysids from Vancouver Island, and amphipods and polychaetes from Ojo de Liebre Lagoon. We sampled epidermal tissue from lactating females (n = 25) and calves (n = 34) and analyzed their carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition. Model outcome indicated that benthic amphipods from the Bering Sea were not the primary food for the eastern gray whale. Each mother performed a different feeding strategy, and prey from Vancouver Island were generally as important as that from the Bering Sea. Moreover, model results indicate a constant use of Ojo de Liebre Lagoon as a feeding ground. Our results appear to agree with previous studies that report continuous feeding by females to satisfy certain physiological requirements (e.g., fatty acids omega-6) during migration and breeding time. Future investigations of the isotopic composition of all those prey items that could be assimilated by the eastern gray whale emerge as critical. Both historical and recent information, that would provide insights in the species feeding ecology under past and present environmental conditions, should be considered as equally important to establish conservation and management plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Gelippi
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C., La Paz, B.C.S., México
| | | | - Marco F W Gauger
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste S.C., La Paz, B.C.S., México
| | - Brian N Popp
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
| | | | - Rocío Marcín-Medina
- Asociación de Investigación y Conservación de Mamíferos Marinos y su Hábitat A.C., La Paz, B.C.S., México
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Antonucci M, Belghit I, Truzzi C, Illuminati S, Araujo P. Modeling the influence of time and temperature on the levels of fatty acids in the liver of Antarctic fish Trematomus bernacchii. Polar Biol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-019-02577-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Antarctic fish (Trematomus bernacchii) are an ideal group for studying the effect of ocean warming on vital physiological and biochemical mechanisms of adaptation, including changes in the fatty acid composition to higher heat tolerance in the sub-zero waters of the Southern Ocean. Despite the awareness of the impact of ocean warming on marine life, bioclimatic models describing the effect of temperature and time on fatty acid levels in marine species have not been considered yet. The objective of the present study was to investigate changes in the concentrations of fatty acids in liver from T. bernacchii in response to an increase in temperature in the Antarctic region. Changes in the concentrations of fatty acids in liver from T. bernacchii were observed after varying simultaneously and systematically the temperature and time. The fatty acid profiles were determined by gas chromatography prior to acclimation (− 1.8 °C) and after acclimation (0.0, 1.0, and 2.0 °C) at different times (1, 5, and 10 days). The observed changes were graphically visualized by expressing the fatty acid concentration in absolute units (mg g−1) as a function of the temperature and time using polynomial models. Major changes in fatty acid composition were observed at day 1 of exposition at all temperatures. At day 5, the fish seem to tolerate the new temperature condition. The concentrations of saturated fatty acids were almost constant throughout the various conditions. The concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids (in particular 18:1n − 9) decrease at day 1 for all temperatures. In contrast, there was an increase in the concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids (in particular 20:5n − 3 and 22:6n − 3) with increasing temperatures after 1, 5, and 10 days of exposure. The proposed models were in agreement with reported studies on polar and temperate fish, indicating possibly similar adaptation mechanisms for teleost to cope with global warming.
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Kostetsky EY, Velansky PV, Sanina NM. Thermal Adaptation and Fatty Acid Composition of Major Phospholipids in the Plain Sculpin Myoxocephalus jaok at Different Temperatures of Natural Habitat. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2018. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093018030055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Kostetsky EY, Velanskii PA, Sanina NM. Phospholipid and Fatty Acid Composition of Phosphatidylcholine and Phosphatidylethanolamine in the Black Plaice Pleuronectes obscura during Thermoadaptation. J EVOL BIOCHEM PHYS+ 2018. [DOI: 10.1134/s0022093018020035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Lipid remodelling in the reef-building honeycomb worm, Sabellaria alveolata, reflects acclimation and local adaptation to temperature. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35669. [PMID: 27762300 PMCID: PMC5071839 DOI: 10.1038/srep35669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Acclimation and adaptation, which are key to species survival in a changing climate, can be observed in terms of membrane lipid composition. Remodelling membrane lipids, via homeoviscous adaptation (HVA), counteracts membrane dysfunction due to temperature in poikilotherms. In order to assess the potential for acclimation and adaptation in the honeycomb worm, Sabellaria alveolata, a reef-building polychaete that supports high biodiversity, we carried out common-garden experiments using individuals from along its latitudinal range. Individuals were exposed to a stepwise temperature increase from 15 °C to 25 °C and membrane lipid composition assessed. Our results suggest that S. alveolata was able to acclimate to higher temperatures, as observed by a decrease in unsaturation index and 20:5n-3. However, over the long-term at 25 °C, lipid composition patterns are not consistent with HVA expectations and suggest a stress response. Furthermore, unsaturation index of individuals from the two coldest sites were higher than those from the two warmest sites, with individuals from the thermally intermediate site being in-between, likely reflecting local adaptation to temperature. Therefore, lipid remodelling appears limited at the highest temperatures in S. alveolata, suggesting that individuals inhabiting warm environments may be close to their upper thermal tolerance limits and at risk in a changing climate.
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Lee SR, Lee JH, Kim AR, Kim S, Park H, Baek HJ, Kim HW. Three cDNAs encoding vitellogenin homologs from Antarctic copepod, Tigriopus kingsejongensis: Cloning and transcriptional analysis in different maturation stages, temperatures, and putative reproductive hormones. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 192:38-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2015.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2015] [Revised: 11/11/2015] [Accepted: 11/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Ronges D, Walsh JP, Sinclair BJ, Stillman JH. Changes in extreme cold tolerance, membrane composition and cardiac transcriptome during the first day of thermal acclimation in the porcelain crab Petrolisthes cinctipes. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 215:1824-36. [PMID: 22573761 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.069658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Intertidal zone organisms can experience transient freezing temperatures during winter low tides, but their extreme cold tolerance mechanisms are not known. Petrolisthes cinctipes is a temperate mid-high intertidal zone crab species that can experience wintertime habitat temperatures below the freezing point of seawater. We examined how cold tolerance changed during the initial phase of thermal acclimation to cold and warm temperatures, as well as the persistence of cold tolerance during long-term thermal acclimation. Thermal acclimation for as little as 6 h at 8°C enhanced cold tolerance during a 1 h exposure to -2°C relative to crabs acclimated to 18°C. Potential mechanisms for this enhanced tolerance were elucidated using cDNA microarrays to probe for differences in gene expression in cardiac tissue of warm- and cold-acclimated crabs during the first day of thermal acclimation. No changes in gene expression were detected until 12 h of thermal acclimation. Genes strongly upregulated in warm-acclimated crabs represented immune response and extracellular/intercellular processes, suggesting that warm-acclimated crabs had a generalized stress response and may have been remodelling tissues or altering intercellular processes. Genes strongly upregulated in cold-acclimated crabs included many that are involved in glucose production, suggesting that cold acclimation involves increasing intracellular glucose as a cryoprotectant. Structural cytoskeletal proteins were also strongly represented among the genes upregulated in only cold-acclimated crabs. There were no consistent changes in composition or the level of unsaturation of membrane phospholipid fatty acids with cold acclimation, which suggests that neither short- nor long-term changes in cold tolerance are mediated by changes in membrane fatty acid composition. Overall, our study demonstrates that initial changes in cold tolerance are likely not regulated by transcriptomic responses, but that gene-expression-related changes in homeostasis begin within 12 h, the length of a tidal cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daria Ronges
- Romberg Tiburon Center and Department of Biology, San Francisco State University, Tiburon, CA 94920, USA
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Hassett RP, Crockett EL. Habitat temperature is an important determinant of cholesterol contents in copepods. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009; 212:71-7. [PMID: 19088212 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.020552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Effects of habitat and acclimation temperature on cholesterol contents were examined in oceanic and inshore species of copepods. The cholesterol content of five species of thermally acclimated copepods was determined, and nine species (representing six families) were sampled to assess the role of habitat temperature. The species selected have maximum habitat temperatures (and temperature tolerances) that vary at least twofold. Levels of dietary cholesterol required to achieve maximum growth were also studied at different acclimation temperatures in a eurythermal copepod. Both eggs and copepodites of Calanus finmarchicus had higher cholesterol levels at the warm acclimation temperature (16 degrees C) than at the cooler temperature (6 degrees C). Neither Acartia tonsa, Acartia hudsonica, Temora longicornis nor Eurytemora affinis altered cholesterol contents with acclimation temperature. Maximum growth rates were achieved at fourfold higher concentrations of dietary cholesterol in warm-acclimated Eurytemora affinis than in cold-acclimated animals. The most consistent trend is the positive relationship between cholesterol content and habitat temperature. Species residing in warmer habitats (e.g. Centropages typicus, Eurytemora affinis) had approximately twice the cholesterol of species living in colder waters (e.g. Calanus glacialis, Euchaeta norvegica). A similar pattern was observed for comparisons of species within genera (Calanus, Acartia and Centropages), with the species abundant at lower latitudes having more cholesterol than the northern congener. These data indicate that habitat temperature is an important determinant of cholesterol content, and cholesterol endows membranes with the stability required for a range of body temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Patrick Hassett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
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Hayward SAL, Murray PA, Gracey AY, Cossins AR. Beyond the lipid hypothesis: mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity in inducible cold tolerance. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2007; 594:132-42. [PMID: 17205681 DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-39975-1_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
The physiological adjustment of organisms in response to temperature variation is a crucial part of coping with environmental stress. An important component of the cold response is the increase in membrane lipid unsaturation, and this has been linked to an enhanced resistance to the debilitating or lethal effects of cold. Underpinning the lipid response is the upregulation of fatty acid desaturases (des), particularly those introducing double bonds at the 9-10 position of saturated fatty acids. For plants and microbes there is good genetic evidence that regulation of des genes, and the consequent changes in lipid saturation, are causally linked to generation of a cold-tolerant phenotype. In animals, however, supporting evidence is almost entirely limited to correlations of saturation with cold conditions. We describe our recent attempts to provide a direct test of this relationship by genetic manipulation of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We show that this species displays a strong cold tolerant phenotype induced by prior conditioning to cold, and that this is directly linked to upregulated des activity. However, whilst genetic disruption of des activity and lipid unsaturation significantly reduced cold tolerance, animals retained a substantial component of their stress tolerant phenotype produced by cold conditioning. This indicates that mechanisms other than lipid unsaturation play an important role in cold adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A L Hayward
- School of Biological Sciences, Liverpool University, The Biosciences Building, Crown St., Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK
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Bergé JP, Barnathan G. Fatty acids from lipids of marine organisms: molecular biodiversity, roles as biomarkers, biologically active compounds, and economical aspects. ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL ENGINEERING/BIOTECHNOLOGY 2005; 96:49-125. [PMID: 16566089 DOI: 10.1007/b135782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Because of their characteristic living environments, marine organisms produce a variety of lipids. Fatty acids constitute the essential part of triglycerides and wax esters, which are the major components of fats and oils. Nevertheless, phospholipids and glycolipids have considerable importance and will be taken into account, especially the latter compounds that excite increasing interest regarding their promising biological activities. Thus, in addition to the major polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids, a great number of various fatty acids occur in marine organisms, e.g. saturated, mono- and diunsaturated, branched, halogenated, hydroxylated, methoxylated, non-methylene-interrupted. Various unprecedented chemical structures of fatty acids, and lipid-containing fatty acids, have recently been discovered, especially from the most primitive animals such as sponges and gorgonians. This review of marine lipidology deals with recent advances in the field of fatty acids since the end of the 1990s. Different approaches will be followed, mainly developing biomarkers of trophic chains in marine ecosystems and of chemotaxonomic interest, reporting new structures, especially those with biological activities or biosynthetic interest. An important part of this review will be devoted to the major PUFA, their relevance to health and nutrition, their biosynthesis, their sources (usual and promising) and market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Pascal Bergé
- Centre de Nantes, Laboratoire Génie Alimentaire, Département Valorisation des Produits, Institut Français pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), BP21105, 44311 Nantes 03, France.
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Lavarías S, Dreon MS, Pollero RJ, Heras H. Changes in phosphatidylcholine molecular species in the shrimp Macrobrachium borellii in response to a water-soluble fraction of petroleum. Lipids 2005; 40:487-94. [PMID: 16094858 DOI: 10.1007/s11745-005-1408-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The effect of the water-soluble fraction (WSF) of crude oil on lipid contents, lipid classes, FA, and PC molecular species was studied in high-phospholipid (hepatopancreas) and low-phospholipid (egg) tissues of a freshwater crustacean. After a 21-d exposure to a sublethal concentration of WSF, a significant decrease in shrimp total lipids was observed, although no alterations could be detected in the hepatopancreas or egg lipid contents. TAG/phospholipid ratios increased in the hepatopancreas and decreased in the eggs, suggesting alterations either in the mobilization of TAG to phospholipid pools or in the energy balance. The FA composition of phosphoglycerides in the hepatopancreas and eggs was dominated by PUFA, whereas the n-3/n-6 ratio was not affected by WSF exposure, although there was a significant increase in hepatopancreas 18:1n-9. Analysis of the PC molecular species by HPLC-ELSD showed the presence of 15 species, with 16:0/18:1, 18:1/18:2, 16:0/20:5, and 16:1/20:5 being the major species in the hepatopancreas. The PC molecular species in the eggs showed a different pattern, dominated by 16:0/18:1 and 18:1/18:2. Of the PC molecular species, 10 contained 22:6n-3, 20:5n-3, and 20:4n-6. Small amounts of di-PUFA species were also found. Exposure to WSF altered the PC molecular species in both tissues. The four major hepatopancreas molecular species and most of the ones containing PUFA decreased. This was compensated for by an increase in 16:1/18:1 (152%) and 18:1/18:1 (50%). The two major egg PC molecular species decreased, whereas the PUFA-containing ones increased. The contrasting responses of both tissues to WSF contamination suggests the presence of different homeostatic mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Lavarías
- Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de La Plata (INIBIOLP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)-Cátedra de Bioquímica, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, (1900) La Plata, Argentina
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Crockett EL, Hassett RP. A Cholesterol‐Enriched Diet Enhances Egg Production and Egg Viability without Altering Cholesterol Content of Biological Membranes in the CopepodAcartia hudsonica. Physiol Biochem Zool 2005; 78:424-33. [PMID: 15887089 DOI: 10.1086/430040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/28/2004] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Copepods may lack the capacity for de novo synthesis of cholesterol, while at the same time their dietary levels of sterol vary. We tested the hypothesis that copepods maintain the cholesterol contents of their biological membranes despite varying dietary levels of cholesterol. Acartia hudsonica were acclimated for 5 d to phytoplankton alone or phytoplankton supplemented with cholesterol, at a level sufficient to induce a maximal response on egg production rates. Biological membranes were prepared from the copepods and cholesterol contents assayed. Egg production and hatch rates were measured (the former to confirm that supplemented cholesterol was being assimilated). Analyses of marker enzymes indicate that the majority of membrane-associated cholesterol in the copepod resides in the plasma membrane. In membranes fractions, cholesterol normalized to protein or activity of Na+/K+-ATPase is not significantly different for supplemented and unsupplemented groups (29 and 33 mu g cholesterol mg(-1) protein, respectively; 0.24 and 0.25 mg cholesterol U(-1) Na+/K+-ATPase, respectively). At the same time, acclimating animals to a diet enriched with cholesterol enhances egg production by up to 1.8-fold and egg viability by 1.5-fold. We conclude that a cholesterol-enriched diet stimulates both egg production and hatching rates without altering cholesterol contents of plasma membranes in the copepod A. hudsonica.
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Barceló-Coblijn G, Kitajka K, Puskás LG, Hogyes E, Zvara A, Hackler L, Farkas T. Gene expression and molecular composition of phospholipids in rat brain in relation to dietary n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratio. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 2003; 1632:72-9. [PMID: 12782153 DOI: 10.1016/s1388-1981(03)00064-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Rats were fed from conception till adulthood either with normal rat chow with a linoleic (LA) to linolenic acid (LNA) ratio of 8.2:1 or a rat chow supplemented with a mixture of perilla and soy bean oil giving a ratio of LA to LNA of 4.7:1. Fat content of the feed was 5%. Fatty acid and molecular species composition of ethanolamine phosphoglyceride was determined. Effect of this diet on gene expression was also studied. There was an accumulation of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic acids (AA) in brains of the experimental animals. Changes in the ratio sn-1 saturated, sn-2 docosahexaenoic to sn-1 monounsaturated, sn-2 docosahexaenoic were observed. Twenty genes were found overexpressed in response to the 4.7:1 mixture diet and four were found down-regulated compared to normal rat chow. Among them were the genes related to energy household, lipid metabolism and respiration. The degree of up-regulation exceeded that observed with perilla with a ratio of LA to LNA 8.2:1 [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 99 (2002) 2619]. It was concluded that brain sensitively reacts to the fatty acid composition of the diet. It was suggested that alteration in membrane architecture and function coupled with alterations in gene expression profiles may contribute to the observed beneficial impact of n-3 type polyunsaturated fatty acids on cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwendolyn Barceló-Coblijn
- Biological Research Center, Institute of Biochemistry, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-6701 Szeged, Hungary
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Kitajka K, Puskás LG, Zvara A, Hackler L, Barceló-Coblijn G, Yeo YK, Farkas T. The role of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in brain: modulation of rat brain gene expression by dietary n-3 fatty acids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:2619-24. [PMID: 11880617 PMCID: PMC122397 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.042698699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 207] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/26/2001] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Rats were fed either a high linolenic acid (perilla oil) or high eicosapentaenoic + docosahexaenoic acid (fish oil) diet (8%), and the fatty acid and molecular species composition of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides was determined. Gene expression pattern resulting from the feeding of n-3 fatty acids also was studied. Perilla oil feeding, in contrast to fish oil feeding, was not reflected in total fatty acid composition of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides. Levels of the alkenylacyl subclass of ethanolamine phosphoglycerides increased in response to feeding. Similarly, levels of diacyl phosphatidylethanolamine molecular species containing docosahexaenoic acid (18:0/22:6) were higher in perilla-fed or fish oil-fed rat brains whereas those in ethanolamine plasmalogens remained unchanged. Because plasmalogen levels in the brains of rats fed a n-3 fatty acid-enriched diet increased, it is plausible, however, that docosahexaenoic acid taken up from the food or formed from linolenic acid was deposited in this phospholipid subclass. Using cDNA microarrays, 55 genes were found to be overexpressed and 47 were suppressed relative to controls by both dietary regimens. The altered genes included those controlling synaptic plasticity, cytosceleton and membrane association, signal transduction, ion channel formation, energy metabolism, and regulatory proteins. This effect seems to be independent of the chain length of fatty acids, but the n-3 structure appears to be important. Because n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been shown to play an important role in maintaining normal mental functions and docosahexaenoic acid-containing ethanolamine phosphoglyceride (18:0/22:6) molecular species accumulated in response to n-3 fatty acid feeding, a casual relationship between the two events can be surmised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klára Kitajka
- Institute of Biochemistry, and DNA-Chip Laboratory, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 521, H-6701 Szeged, Hungary
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