Harnessing oleaginous yeast to produce omega fatty acids

Omega fatty acids are important for human health. They are traditionally extracted from animals or plants but can be alternatively produced using oleaginous yeast. Current efforts are producing yeast strains with similar fatty acid distributions and powerful lipogenesis capacity. The next step is to further make the process more competitive.

Relationship between Beef Quality and Bull Breed

The beef industry in Poland heavily relies on the Polish Holstein-Friesian (PHF) breed, known for its primary use in dairy production, but which also contributes significantly to the beef supply. In contrast, the Limousine (LM), Hereford (HH), and Charolaise (CH) breeds have gained popularity due to their ideal specialized characteristics for beef production. As PHF continues to dominate the beef market, a thorough comparison of its beef quality and nutritional attributes with the three most popular beef breeds in Poland is essential. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by conducting a rigorous comparison. The experiment was carried out on the beef from 67 bulls kept in a free-stall system with standardized feeding. The highest total antioxidant status (TAS) was found in CH and was 147.5% higher than that in PHF. Also, compared with PHF, a large difference of 70% was observed in LM, while in HH it was only 6.25%. For degree of antioxidant potential (DAP), the highest concentration was found in LM, while CH had a slightly lower score than LM. PHF had the lowest scores for each of the analyzed parameters of protein fraction. For anserine, taurine, creatinine, and creatine content, the highest results were found for LM. For carnosine and coenzyme Q10, the highest values were found for CH. Overall, these results highlight the impact of maturity and breed on carcass composition and quality. Late-maturing breeds, such as LM and CH, tend to exhibit leaner carcasses with superior fatty acid profiles and antioxidant properties. This knowledge is valuable for producers, enabling them to make informed decisions regarding breed selection and production strategies to meet specific market demands for beef with the desired composition and quality.

Fatty Acid Profile and Antioxidant Capacity of Dabai (Canarium odontophyllum L.): Effect of Origin and Fruit Component

In the present work, the influence of geographical location on the fatty acid profiles, antioxidant potential, as well as cytotoxicity of edible dabai fruit fractions (kernel, skin, and pulp) were analyzed. The fatty acid profiles were determined by Gas Chromatography (GC), and the antioxidant activity was quantified with free 2,2-diphenyl-1-picr/ylhdrazyl, while the cytotoxicity was assessed by the brine shrimp lethality test. The results showed that the samples from Sibu, Serian, and Kapit geographical locations had a high content of the saturated fatty acids, ranging from 46.63% to 53.31% in the three fractions. The highest mono-saturated fatty acids (MUFA) content was found in Sibu. Serian and Kapit kernel fractions MUFA, however, ranged from 21.2% to 45.91%. No fatty acid composition was detected in Bentong and Kanowit. The fatty acid composition and DPPH free radical scavenging antioxidant activity of dabai were statistically independent using a multivariate analysis in different localities in Malaysia. The skin fraction had a more appreciable antioxidant potential and toxicity level than the pulp and kernel fractions. The highest antioxidant activity (EC₅₀ 198.76 ± 1.06 µg/mL) with an LC₅₀ value of 1387.22 µg/mL was obtained from the Sibu skin fraction. Therefore, the fatty acid composition, antioxidant, as well as cytotoxicity analyses of the extracts from different localities indicated that “geographical location” remarkably influenced fatty acid composition, antioxidant activity, and toxicity.

Implications of Nutritional Management on Fatty Acid Profiles of Southern White Rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum) Housed at Two Zoological Institutions

Southern white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simum simum) are African megaherbivores that are considered near threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The fatty acid circulating values of these animals have not been thoroughly investigated. Fatty acids are critical for immune, heart, skin, and reproductive health, and may have a significant impact on the management and conservation of this species. Published data on fatty acids in this species is limited to incomplete profiles with very few animals in managed environments. The objectives of this research were to provide novel fatty acid percentage profiles for managed healthy southern white rhinoceroses, as well as to provide comparisons between two zoological institutions with differences in diet and climate during two distinct pasture growth periods. Whole blood samples were collected as dried blood spots from six rhinoceroses at the North Carolina Zoo (NC Zoo) and five rhinoceroses at Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT) in the low growth period (February to April) of 2019 and during the high growth period (July to September) of 2020. Fatty acid results indicated numerous differences when comparing the institutions within the same growth period and when comparing the same institution between its two growth periods. Most noteworthy were the higher levels of α-linolenic acid (18:3w3) and total omega-3 fatty acids and the lower linoleic acid (18:2w6), total omega-6 fatty acids, and omega-6 to omega-3 ratio found in the BGT population in both growth periods. This study provides novel percentages of fatty acids in managed southern white rhinoceroses and data on how fatty acid profiles may be altered between two housing locations via dietary differences in hay type and quantity, pasture availability via season, and pellet inclusion levels.

Accumulation of neutral lipids and carotenoids of Rhodotorula diobovata and Rhodosporidium babjevae cultivated under nitrogen-limited conditions with glycerol as a sole carbon source

A total of two red oleaginous yeasts, Rhodotorula diobovata and Rhodosporidium babjevae, were investigated for their potential to grow on nitrogen-limited media with sufficient glycerol as carbon source and produce biomass, triacylglycerides (TAGs) and carotenoids. The two yeasts produced equal quantities of biomass by 120 h post-inoculation (h pi), but R. diobovata consumed more glycerol than R. babajavae under the same conditions. The TAG concentrations accumulated by R. diobovata and R. babjevae were greater than 20% dry cell weight (dcw), and the major fatty acid components consisted of palmitic acid, oleic acid and linolenic acid. The highest concentration of total fatty acids in biomass were present during the late of stationary phase were 486.3 mg/g dcw for R. diobovata at 120 h pi, and 243.9 mg/g dcw for R. babjevae at 144 h pi. Both R. diobovata and R. babjevae produced high concentrations of torularhodin, and low amounts of torulene and γ-carotene. Total carotenoid concentrations in R. diobovata biomass were 31.5 mg/g dcw at 120 h pi and 43.1 mg/g dcw at 96 h pi for R. babjevae. The dcw accumulations of carotenoids by R. diobovata and R. babjevae were significantly greater than those reported for other carotenogenic Rhodotorula and Rhodosporidium strains.

Relationship Between the Fatty Acid Profiles and Gut Bacterial Communities of the Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) From Ecologically Different Habitats

The gut microbiota plays an important role in a variety of physiological functions such as intestinal digestion, metabolic homeostasis, immune response, and responses to disease treatment. Whether there is a relationship between gut microbial communities and fatty acid (FA) profiles of Chinese mitten crab is unclear. Hence, we analyzed the relationship between FA profiles and the gut bacterial communities of six Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) populations from different lakes. The crabs were sampled from six different lakes in Jiangsu Province, China. The FA profiles of these crab populations were compared and clustered, and then used to determine the relationship between geographic location and FA composition. We also characterized the gut microbial communities of these crabs using 16S rRNA high-throughput gene sequencing. The FA profiles varied significantly (P < 0.05) between crabs from different geographical locations. A similar trend was also observed in the gut microbial communities, which also varied significantly based on their geographical origin (P < 0.05). Furthermore, alpha diversity, cluster analysis, and matching bacterial community structures with specific locations revealed patterns that significantly linked FA profiles to the gut microbiota. Further analysis of FA profiles and gut microbial community generated patterns that linked the two parameters. Hence, it was observed that the gut microbial community seems to contribute significantly to the FA composition of the Chinese mitten crab. However, further studies need to be conducted to investigate the interactions between gut microbial communities and the biochemical composition of the Chinese mitten crab, which will ultimately unravel the complexity of microbial ecosystems for potential applications in aquaculture and species conservation.

Major Fatty Acid Profiles and Bioactivity of Seed Oils from Ten Tree Peony Cultivars as a Potential Raw Material Source for the Cosmetics and Healthy Products

As a new woody oleaginous crop, tree peony is now being widely developed and utilized, which attributed to the outstanding oil-use features regarding the fatty acid profiles and bioactivity. The major fatty acid profiles and bioactivity of seed oils in ten tree peony varieties collected from a common garden were investigated in the present study. The results showed that the oil yields, fatty acid profiles, bioactivity of seed oils existed significant variations among ten tree peony varieties (P<0.05). Considered the application value, 'Fengdan' (FD) and 'Ziban' (ZB) was the optimal resources as the high oil yields, rich unsaturated fatty acids especially high α-linolenic acid of 40.46 %, great antioxidant activity with low IC₅₀ values, high ABTS and FRAP values, and strong antimicrobial activity with high DIZ and low MIC/MBC values. The study also confirmed seed oil of tree peony as the potential raw materials sources in functional food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics for human health.

Effects of dietary energy level on growth performance, blood parameters and meat quality in fattening male Hu lambs

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary energy levels on growth performance, slaughter traits, meat quality and blood biochemical parameters in fattening male Hu lambs. Sixty lambs were fed five iso-protein diets which contained different levels of metabolizable energy in a completely randomized design for 70 days. At the end of study, fifteen lambs were harvested for further study. With the increase in dietary energy level, the daily weight gain and dry matter intake extremely increased (p < .001), and feed conversion ratio decreased significantly (p < .01). The live weight before slaughter (LWBS) and carcass weight had a significant increase (p < .05), non-carcass fat ratio and routine indexes of meat quality had no significant difference. Almost no effect was observed for the amino acid profile except for glycine concentration decreased (p < .05) in longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle. The concentrations of C17:0, C18:3n-3 and n-3 PUFA (p < .01) significantly decreased with the increasing dietary energy levels, and the ratio of ∑n-6/∑n-3 (p < .01) increased, whereas the concentrations of C18:1n-9t (p < .05) decreased in LD muscle and C18:1 (p < .01) increased in biceps femoris (BF) muscle. There were no obviously differences for diameter, area and density of muscle fibres. The relative expression of MyHC-IIa and MyHC-IIx decreased significantly (p < .05) in BF muscle, and the relative expression of MyHC-IIa displayed an obviously decreasing trend (p < .10) in LD muscle. These results suggest that increasing the dietary energy level can improve the growth performance and slaughter traits, and influence meat quality and fatty acid profiles in different muscle tissues of fattening male Hu lambs. These results provide a theoretical basis for developing Hu sheep nutritional standards and designing feed formulations.

Effect of Pulsed Electric Field-Assisted Process in Combination with Porcine Lipase on Defatting of Seabass Skin

Defatting of seabass skins using pulsed electric field (PEF)-assisted process at different electric field strengths (16 and 24 kV/cm) and times (36, 72, and 108 ms) in combination with porcine pancreas lipase (PPL) at 25 U/g dry matter was investigated. PEF-treated skin at 24 kV/cm for 72 ms followed by PPL treatment removed 86.93% lipids. PEF-treated skin was further optimized for lipid reduction by response surface methodology. Central composite design was adopted to establish treatments based on two independent variables, involving PPL concentration (30 to 55 U/g dry matter) and hydrolysis time (60 to 180 min). Second-order polynomial model was used for predicting the response. The highest lipid removal (91.96 ± 1.70%) was attained when the optimal condition (42.36 PPL units/g dry skin matter for 139.78 min) was used. The experiment value was in accordance with the predicted value. PEF-PPL-treated skin had lower monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids than the solvent-extracted skin (P < 0.05). When PEF-PPL-treated skin was hydrolyzed using papain at 0.30 U/g dry matter, lower fishy odor/flavor of resulting hydrolyzed collagen (PEF-PPL-HC) was found than other samples (P < 0.05). Lower total volatile compounds were also obtained in PEF-PPL-HC sample. Thus, the use of PEF pretreatment along with PPL before papain hydrolysis effectively prevented the formation of fishy odor/flavor in hydrolyzed collagen from seabass skin. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Fishy odor/flavor caused by lipid oxidation of fish skin hydrolysates limits their applications in foods. Defatting process is the significant step for skin pretreatment. Although several methods could remove lipids from fish skins, either by lipase or solvent extraction, fishy odor/flavor is still detected in hydrolysate. Pulsed electric field-assisted process in combination with porcine lipase is another approach that can be used to enhance efficiency via electroporation, causing the loosened skin matrix and facilitating the migration of lipase into the skin. Consequently, the resulting hydrolysate might have the lowered fishy odor/flavor and could be used in foods, especially for fortification.

Optimization of Synechococcus sp. VDW Cultivation with Artificially Prepared Shrimp Wastewater for Ammonium Removal and Its Potential for Use As a Biofuel Feedstock

To investigate the potential of application of marine cyanobacterium for concurrent biomass production and ammonium removal, Synechococcus sp. VDW was cultured under different conditions in medium containing varying concentrations of NH₄Cl. Response surface methodology (RSM) was then used to build a predictive model of the combined effects of independent variables (pH, inoculum size, ammonium concentration). At the optimum conditions of initial pH 7.4, inoculum size 0.17 (OD730) and ammonium concentration 10.5 mg L^-1, the maximum ammonium removal and biomass productivity were about 95% and 34 mg L^-1d^-1, respectively, after seven days of cultivation. The result of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis showed that the major fatty acids were palmitic acid (C16:0), linoleic acid (C18:2 n6 cis), palmitoleic acid (C16:1) and oleic acid (C18:1 n9 cis), which accounted for more than 80% weight of total fatty acids. Further, analysis of neutral lipid accumulation using flow cytometry revealed that the mean of the fluorescence intensity increased under optimal conditions. These results indicate that Synechococcus sp. VDW has the potential for use for concurrent water treatment and production of biomass that can be applied as biofuel feedstock.

Proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles of marine snail Rapana venosa meat, visceral mass and operculum

BACKGROUND

Rapana venosa (Rv), an important marine snail, demonstrates an increasing nutritional and economic importance. However, there is still limited information available on their nutritional composition. The present study highlights and provides new information on the proximate composition, amino acid and fatty acid profiles of different body parts of Rv, aiming for its better application and research.

RESULTS

The operculum contained a high amount of protein and flavor amino acids. The edible tissues, including meat and visceral mass, were valuable sources of essential amino acids (EAA) apart from methionine and cysteine. In addition, the meat contained high amount of taurine. Fatty acid analysis indicated that the edible tissues contained high amounts of ω3 fatty acids, especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (C20:5ω3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (C22:6ω3), and had a low ω6/ω3 fatty acid ratio. Interestingly, significantly higher concentrations of most nutritional elements such as fat, EAA, EPA and DHA, were found in the visceral mass compared to those in the meat.

CONCLUSION

The operculum of Rv may became a very interesting source for some protein and flavor peptide development, and the edible parts of Rv may be utilized for special dietary applications requiring high amounts of taurine, EPA, DHA and a lower ω6/ω3 fatty acid ratio. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Profile of Hanwoo Steer Carcass Characteristics, Meat Quality and Fatty Acid Composition after Feeding Italian Ryegrass Silage

The objective of this work was to evaluate the growth performance, feed intake, slaughter characteristics, meat quantity and quality characteristics of Hanwoo steers fed with Italian ryegrass (IRG) silage (TRT). IRG silage consisted 11.70% protein, 2.84% ether extract, 53.50% dry matter digestibility and 63.34% total digestible nutrients. The daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio of TRT were significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of control diet (CON; fed rice straw) in the whole periods. However, the slaughter weight, dressing percentage, quantity grade and quantity traits (marbling score, meat color, fat color, and quality grade) of either TRT or CON were similar. Meat fed TRT diet showed higher crude fat and lightness (L*) value and lower moisture content and pH value compared with the CON diet (p<0.05). Overall the carcass yield was 12.5% higher than CON diet.

Fatty acid profiles and antioxidants of organic and conventional milk from low- and high-input systems during outdoor period

BACKGROUND

Intensification of organic dairy production leads to the question of whether the implementation of intensive feeding incorporating maize silage and concentrates is altering milk quality. Therefore the fatty acid (FA) and antioxidant (AO) profiles of milk on 24 farms divided into four system groups in three replications (n = 71) during the outdoor period were analyzed. In this system comparison, a differentiation of the system groups and the effects of the main system factors 'intensification level' (high-input versus low-input) and 'origin' (organic versus conventional) were evaluated in a multivariate statistical approach.

RESULTS

Consistent differentiation of milk from the system groups due to feeding-related impacts was possible in general and on the basis of 15 markers. The prediction of the main system factors was based on four or five markers. The prediction of 'intensification level' was based mainly on CLA c9,t11 and C18:1 t11, whereas that of 'origin' was based on n-3 PUFA.

CONCLUSION

It was possible to demonstrate consistent differences in the FA and AO profiles of organic and standard conventional milk samples. Highest concentrations of nutritionally beneficial compounds were found in the low-input organic system. Adapted grass-based feeding strategies including pasture offer the potential to produce a distinguishable organic milk product quality.

Vitamin B-6 restriction impairs fatty acid synthesis in cultured human hepatoma (HepG2) cells

Vitamin B-6 deficiency has been reported to alter n-6 and n-3 fatty acid profiles in plasma and tissue lipids; however, the mechanisms underlying such metabolic changes remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of vitamin B-6 restriction on fatty acid profiles and fatty acid synthesis in HepG2 cells. Cells were cultured for 6 wk in media with four different vitamin B-6 concentrations (10, 20, 50, and 2,000 nM added pyridoxal, representing deficient, marginal, adequate, and supraphysiological conditions) that induced a range of steady-state cellular concentrations of pyridoxal phosphate. Total cellular lipid content was greatest in the deficient (10 nM pyridoxal) medium. The percentage of arachidonic acid and the ratio of arachidonic acid to linoleic acid in the total lipid fraction were ~15% lower in vitamin B-6-restricted cells, which suggests that vitamin B-6 restriction affects n-6 fatty acid interconversions. Metabolic flux studies indicated significantly lower fractional synthesis rate of oleic acid and arachidonic acid at 10, 20, and 50 nM pyridoxal, whereas that of eicosapentaenoic acid was lower in the cells cultured in 10 nM pyridoxal. Additionally, relative mRNA expressions of Δ5 and Δ6 desaturases were 40-50% lower in vitamin B-6-restricted cells. Overall, these findings suggest that vitamin B-6 restriction alters unsaturated fatty acid synthesis, particularly n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid synthesis. These results and observations of changes in human plasma fatty acid profiles caused by vitamin B-6 restriction suggest a mechanism by which vitamin B-6 inadequacy influences the cardiovascular risk.

Modification of Seed Oil Composition in Arabidopsis by Artificial microRNA-Mediated Gene Silencing

Various post transcriptional gene silencing strategies have been developed and exploited to study gene function or engineer disease resistance. The recently developed artificial microRNA strategy is an alternative method of effectively silencing target genes. The Δ12-desaturase (FAD2), Fatty acid elongase (FAE1), and Fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase B (FATB) were targeted with amiR159b-based constructs in Arabidopsisthaliana to evaluate changes in oil composition when expressed with the seed-specific Brassica napus truncated napin (FP1) promoter. Fatty acid profiles from transgenic homozygous seeds reveal that the targeted genes were silenced. The down-regulation of the AtFAD-2 gene substantially increased oleic acid from the normal levels of ∼15% to as high as 63.3 and reduced total PUFA content (18:2(Δ9,12) + 18:3(Δ9,12,15) + 20:2(Δ11,14) + 20:3(Δ11,14,17)) from 46.8 to 4.8%. Δ12-desaturase activity was reduced to levels as low as those in the null fad-2-1 and fad-2-2 mutants. Silencing of the FAE1 gene resulted in the reduction of eicosenoic acid (20:1(Δ11)) to 1.9 from 15.4% and silencing of FATB resulted in the reduction of palmitic acid (16:0) to 4.4% from 8.0%. Reduction in FATB activity is comparable with a FATB knock-out mutant. These results demonstrate for the first time amiR159b constructs targeted against three endogenous seed-expressed genes are clearly able to down-regulate and generate genotypic changes that are inherited stably over three generations.