Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T20:37:16.312Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Fatty acid composition as an indicator of possible sources of nutrition for soft corals of the genus Sinularia (Alcyoniidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2012

Andrey B. Imbs*
Affiliation:
A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia
Nikolay A. Latyshev
Affiliation:
A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.B. Imbs, A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Palchevskogo str., 17, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia email: [email protected].

Abstract

Fatty acids (FAs) composition of eight zooxanthellate soft corals, Sinularia leptoclados, S. flexibilis, S. aff. deformis, S. lochmodes, S. cf. muralis, S. densa, S. notanda and S. cruciata collected in Van Phong Bay (Vietnam) were studied to identify possible origin of unsaturated FAs. The main FAs were 14:0, 16:0, 7-Me-16:1n-10, 16:1n-7, 16:2n-7, 18:0, 18:1n-9, 18:4n-3, 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3, 22:6n-3, 24:5n-6 and 24:6n-3. On the average, saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) contributed 35.6, 6.2 and 54.0% of total coral FAs, respectively. PUFAs of n-6 series predominated in all animals (n-6/n-3 > 1.6). The content of 20:4n-6 varied from 10.2 to 23.8%. The main n-3 PUFA was 18:4n-3 (on the average, 5.4%); the contribution of 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3, typical PUFAs of marine organisms, was not more than 2.4 and 3.9%, respectively. In Sinularia, PUFAs were produced by endosymbiotic dinoflagellates (zooxanthellae) and the coral host tissue, or obtained with food. Zooxanthellae can be considered as the source of C16 PUFAs and 18:4n-3. The coral host synthesized 18:2n-7, 24:5n-6 and 24:6n-3 acids. The low content of 18:1n-7, saturated odd-chain FAs and saturated methyl-branched FAs indicated a negligible contribution of bacteria to total lipids of Sinularia. A comparison of the levels of diatom and dinoflagellate FA markers in coral and plankton lipids showed eukaryotic microalgae to play a secondary role in feeding of Sinularia. The high level of 20:4n-6 may be considered as an indicator of heterotrophic feeding of Sinularia.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Andersson, B.A. (1978) Mass spectrometry of fatty acid pyrrolidides. Progress in the Chemistry of Fats and other Lipids 16, 279308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anthony, K.R.N. (1999) Coral suspension feeding on fine particulate matter. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 232, 85106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bak, R.P.M., Joenje, M., de Jong, L., Lambrechts, D.Y.M. and Nieuwland, G. (1998) Bacterial suspension feeding by coral reef benthic organisms. Marine Ecology Progress Series 175, 285288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, D.G. and Kenrick, J.R. (1980) Fatty acid composition of symbiotic zooxanthellae in relation to their hosts. Lipids 15, 799804.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bligh, E.G. and Dyer, W.J. (1959) A rapid method of total lipid extraction and purification. Canadian Journal of Biochemistry and Physiology 37, 911917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brown, B.E. and Bythell, J.C. (2005) Perspectives on mucus secretion in reef corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 296, 291309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carballeira, N.M. and Shalabi, F. (1994) Unusual lipids in the Caribbean sponges Amphimedon viridis and Desmapsamma anchorata. Journal of Natural Products 57, 11521159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carballeira, N.M., Sostre, A. and Rodrigues, A.D. (1997) Phospholipid fatty acid composition of gorgonians of the genus Eunicea: further identification of tetracosapolyenoic acids. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 118, 257260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carreau, J.P. and Dubacq, J.P. (1979) Adaptation of a macro-scale method to the micro-scale for fatty acid methyl transesterification of biological lipid extracts. Journal of Chromatography 151, 384390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chu, F.L.E., Lund, E.D., Harvey, E. and Adlof, R. (2004) Arachidonic acid synthetic pathways of the oyster protozoan parasite, Perkinsus marinus: evidence for usage of delta-8 pathway. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 133, 4551.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dalsgaard, J., St John, M., Kattner, G., Muller-Navarra, D. and Hagen, W. (2003) Fatty acid trophic markers in the pelagic marine environment. Advances in Marine Biology 46, 225340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Desvilettes, C. and Bec, A. (2009) Formation and transfer of fatty acids in aquatic microbial food webs: role of heterotrophic protists. In Arts, M.T., Brett, M.T. and Kainz, M.J. (eds) Lipids in aquatic ecosystems. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 2542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunstan, G.A., Volkman, J.K., Barrett, S.M., Leroi, J-M. and Jeffrey, S.W. (1994) Essential polyunsaturated fatty acids from 14 species of diatom (Bacillariophyceae). Phytochemistry 35, 155161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ederington, M.C., MacManus, G.B. and Harvey, H.R. (1995) Trophic transfer of fatty acids, sterols, and a triterpenoid alcohol between bacteria, a ciliate, and the copepod Acartia tonsa. Limnology and Oceanography 40, 860867.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Escribano, R. and Perez, C.S. (2010) Variability in fatty acids of two marine copepods upon changing food supply in the coastal upwelling zone off Chile: importance of the picoplankton and nanoplankton fractions. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 90, 301313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fabricius, K.E. and Dommisse, M. (2000) Depletion of suspended particulate matter over coastal reef communities dominated by zooxanthellate soft corals. Marine Ecology Progress Series 196, 157167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrant, P.A., Borowitzka, M.A., Hinde, R. and King, R.J. (1987) Nutrition of the temperate Australian soft coral Capnella gaboensis. II. The role of zooxanthellae and feeding. Marine Biology 95, 575581.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fullarton, J.C., Dando, P.R., Sargent, J.R., Southward, A.J. and Southward, E.C. (1995) Fatty acids of hydrothermal vent Ridgeia piscesae and inshore bivalves containing symbiotic bacteria. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 75, 455468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, A.J., Remond, M., People, J. and Hinde, R. (1997) Effects of host tissue homogenate of the scleractinian coral Plesiastrea versipora on glycerol metabolism in isolated symbiotic dinoflagellates. Marine Biology 128, 665670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imbs, A.B. and Dautova, T.N. (2008) Use of lipids for chemotaxonomy of octocorals (Cnidaria: Alcyonaria). Russian Journal of Marine Biology 34, 174178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imbs, A.B., Latyshev, N.A., Zhukova, N.V. and Dautova, T.N. (2007) Comparison of fatty acid compositions of azooxanthellate Dendronephthya and zooxanthellate soft coral species. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 148, 314321.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imbs, A.B., Demidkova, D.A., Dautova, T.N. and Latyshev, N.A. (2009) Fatty acid biomarkers of symbionts and unusual inhibition of tetracosapolyenoic acid biosynthesis in corals (Octocorallia). Lipids 44, 325335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Imbs, A.B., Latyshev, N.A., Dautova, T.N. and Latypov, Y.Y. (2010a) Distribution of lipids and fatty acids in corals by their taxonomic position and presence of zooxanthellae. Marine Ecology Progress Series 409, 6575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imbs, A.B., Yakovleva, I.M. and Pham, L.Q. (2010b) Distribution of lipids and fatty acids in the zooxanthellae and host of the soft coral Sinularia sp. Fisheries Science 76, 375380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Imbs, A.B., Yakovleva, I.M., Latyshev, N.A. and Pham, L.Q. (2010c) Biosynthesis of polyunsaturated fatty acids in zooxanthellae and polyps of corals. Russian Journal of Marine Biology 36, 452457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaneda, T. (1991) Iso-fatty and anteiso-fatty acids in bacteria: biosynthesis, function, and taxonomic significance. Microbiological Reviews 55, 288302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kawashima, H. and Ohnishi, M. (2004) Identification of minor fatty acids and various nonmethylene-interrupted diene isomers in mantle, muscle, and viscera of the marine bivalve Megangulus zyonoensis. Lipids 39, 265271.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lakshmi, V. and Kumar, R. (2009) Metabolites from Sinularia species. Natural Product Research 23, 801850.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, R.F., Nevenzel, J.C. and Paffenhofer, G.A. (1971) Importance of wax esters and other lipids in the marine food chain: phytoplankton and copepods. Marine Biology 9, 99108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, J.B. (1982) Feeding behaviour and feeding ecology of the Octocorallia (Coelenterata: Anthozoa). Journal of Zoology (London) 196, 371384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, Y. and Pattenden, G. (2011) Novel macrocyclic and polycyclic norcembranoid diterpenes from Sinularia species of soft coral: structural relationships and biosynthetic speculations. Natural Product Reports 28, 429440.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liang, Y., Mai, K.-S. and Sun, S.-C. (2000) Total lipid and fatty acid composition of eight strains of marine diatoms. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology 18, 345349.Google Scholar
Lund, E.D., Chu, F.L.E. and Harvey, E. (2004) In vitro effects of temperature and salinity on fatty acid synthesis in the oyster protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 307, 111126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mansour, M.P., Holdsworth, D.G., Forbes, S.E., Macleod, C.M. and Volkman, J.K. (2005) High contents of 24:6(n-3) and 20:1(n-13) fatty acids in the brittle star Amphiura elandiformis from Tasmanian coastal sediments. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 30, 659674.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Migne, A. and Davoult, D. (2002) Experimental nutrition in the soft coral Alcyonium digitatum (Cnidaria: Octocorallia): removal rate of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 43, 916.Google Scholar
Napier, J.A. (2002) Plumbing the depths of PUFAs biosynthesis: a novel polyketide synthase-like pathway from marine organisms. Trends in Plant Science 7, 5154.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Papina, M., Meziane, T. and van Woesik, R. (2003) Symbiotic zooxanthellae provide the host-coral Montipora digitata with polyunsaturated fatty acids. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 135, 533537.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pham, L.Q., Luu, H.V., Imbs, A.B. and Dautova, T.N. (2008) Lipid and fatty acids of Vietnamese coral reefs—biochemical diversity. Hanoi: Science and Technology Publishing House.Google Scholar
Reuss, N. and Poulsen, L.K. (2002) Evaluation of fatty acids as biomarkers for a natural plankton community. A field study of a spring bloom and a post-bloom period off West Greenland. Marine Biology 141, 423434.Google Scholar
Ribes, M., Coma, R. and Gili, J.M. (1999) Heterogeneous feeding in benthic suspension feeders: the natural diet and grazing rate of the temperate gorgonian Paramuricea clavata (Cnidaria: Octocorallia) over a year cycle. Marine Ecology Progress Series 183, 125137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorokin, Y.I. (1991) Biomass, metabolic rates and feeding of some common reef zoantharians and octocorals. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 42, 729741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sorokin, Y.I. (1993) Coral reef ecology. New York, Berlin and Heidelberg: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sprecher, H. (2000) Metabolism of highly unsaturated n-3 and n-6 fatty acids. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1486, 219231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stransky, K., Jursik, T. and Vitek, A. (1997) Standard equivalent chain length values of monoenic and polyenic (methylene-interrupted) fatty acids. Journal of High Resolution Chromatography 20, 143158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svetashev, V.I. and Vysotskii, M.V. (1998) Fatty acids of Heliopora coerulea and chemotaxonomic significance of tetracosapolyenoic acids in coelenterates. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 119, 7375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takagi, T., Kaneniwa, M. and Itabashi, Y. (1986) Fatty acids in Crinoidea and Ophiuroidea: occurrence of all-cis-6,9,12,15,18,21-tetracosahexaenoic acid. Lipids 21, 430433.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treignier, C., Grover, R., Ferrier-Pages, C. and Tolosa, I. (2008) Effect of light and feeding on the fatty acid and sterol composition of zooxanthellae and host tissue isolated from the scleractinian coral Turbinaria reniformis. Limnology and Oceanography 53, 27022710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viso, A.C. and Marty, J.C. (1993) Fatty acids from 28 marine microalgae. Phytochemistry 34, 15211533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Widdig, A. and Schlichter, D. (2001) Phytoplankton: a significant trophic source for soft corals? Helgoland Marine Research 55, 198211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wild, C., Woyt, H. and Huettel, M. (2005) Influence of coral mucus on nutrient fluxes in carbonate sands. Marine Ecology Progress Series 287, 8798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaslow, R.B-D. and Benayahu, Y. (1999) Temporal variation in lipid, protein and carbohydrate content in the Red Sea soft coral Heteroxenia fuscescens. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 79, 10011006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhukova, N.V. and Kharlamenko, V.I. (1999) Sources of essential fatty acids in the marine microbial loop. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 17, 153157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar