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Retroconversion of Docosapentaenoic Acid (n-6): an Alternative Pathway for Biosynthesis of Arachidonic Acid in Daphnia magna

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Lipids

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess metabolic pathways for arachidonic acid (20:4n-6) biosynthesis in Daphnia magna. Neonates of D. magna were maintained on [13C] enriched Scenedesmus obliquus and supplemented with liposomes that contained separate treatments of unlabeled docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6), 20:4n-6, linoleic acid (18:2n-6) or oleic acid (18:1n-9). Daphnia in the control treatment, without any supplementary fatty acids (FA) containing only trace amounts of 20:4n-6 (~0.3 % of all FA). As expected, the highest proportion of 20:4n-6 (~6.3 %) was detected in Daphnia that received liposomes supplemented with this FA. Higher availability of 18:2n-6 in the diet increased the proportion of 18:2n-6 in Daphnia, but the proportion of 20:4n-6 was not affected. Daphnia supplemented with 22:5n-6 contained ~3.5 % 20:4n-6 in the lipids and FA specific stable isotope analyses validated that the increase in the proportion of 20:4n-6 was due to retroconversion of unlabeled 22:5n-6. These results suggest that chain shortening of 22:5n-6 is a more efficient pathway to synthesize 20:4n-6 in D. magna than elongation and desaturation of 18:2n-6. These results may at least partially explain the discrepancies noticed between phytoplankton FA composition and the expected FA composition in freshwater cladocerans. Finally, retroconversion of dietary 22:5n-6 to 20:4n-6 indicates Daphnia efficiently retain long chain n-6 FA in lake food webs, which might be important for the nutritional ecology of fish.

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Abbreviations

ARA:

Arachidonic acid (20:4n-6)

C18PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid(s) with 18 carbons

C20PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid(s) with 20 carbons

C22PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid(s) with 22 carbons

DW:

Dry weight

GC-IRMS:

Gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass spectrometry

DPAn-6:

Docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6)

EPA:

Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3)

FA:

Fatty acid(s)

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl ester(s)

LNA:

Linoleic acid (18:2n-6)

OLA:

Oleic acid (18:1n-9)

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acid(s)

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Joseph L. Ravet for helping with the preparation of the liposomes. In addition Tom Le and Roxanne Russell are gratefully acknowledged for their assistance in the laboratory and maintenance of algal cultures. This study was financially supported by the Valle international exchange program, by the National Science Foundation Grant 0642834 to MTB, and by the Academy of Finland Grant (139786) to P. Kankaala.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Ursula Strandberg

  2. Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35 (YA), 40014, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Sami J. Taipale

  3. WasserCluster-Biological Station Lunz, Dr. Carl Kupelwieser Prom. 5, 3293, Lunz am See, Austria

    Martin J. Kainz

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, PO Box 352700, Seattle, WA, 98195-2700, USA

    Michael T. Brett

Authors
  1. Ursula Strandberg
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  2. Sami J. Taipale
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  3. Martin J. Kainz
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  4. Michael T. Brett
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Correspondence to Ursula Strandberg.

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Strandberg, U., Taipale, S.J., Kainz, M.J. et al. Retroconversion of Docosapentaenoic Acid (n-6): an Alternative Pathway for Biosynthesis of Arachidonic Acid in Daphnia magna . Lipids 49, 591–595 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-014-3902-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-014-3902-y

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