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Changes in lipid content, lipid class composition and fatty acid composition of developing eggs and unfed larvae of cod (Gadus morhua)

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Abstract

Changes in the lipid class and fatty acid composition of developing eggs and unfed larvae of cod (Gadus morhua L.) were studied with the objective of determining probable requirements of cod larvae for dietary lipid. The eggs were collected on 24 March 1985 from holding tanks containing cod which had been caught off the northwest coast of Scotland. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) was the only lipid class to decline in absolute terms during embryogenesis. Catabolism of neutral lipid was initiated during the first week after hatching, and the rate of neutral lipid utilisation increased after the larvae had completely absorbed their yolk sacs. The quantity of triacylglycerol (TAG) remained constant during embryogenesis, but the percentage of 22:6(n-3) int TAG increased substantially during this period. It was calculated that ca. 33% of the 22:6(m-3) released during the process of PC catabolism was incorporated into TAG and sterol ester. The results suggest that PC, replete in appropriate essential fatty acids, should represent a major proportion of the lipid in artificial diets for fish and crustacean larvae.

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Author notes

  1. A. J. Fraser

    Present address: Marine Chemistry Division, Physical and Chemical Sciences, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, B2Y 4A2, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Natural Environment Research Council, Unit of Aquatic Biochemistry, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Stirling, Scotland

    A. J. Fraser & J. R. Sargent

  2. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland, Marine Laboratory, Victoria Road, AB1 3A, Aberdeen, Scotland

    J. C. Gamble

Authors
  1. A. J. Fraser
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  2. J. C. Gamble
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  3. J. R. Sargent
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Communicated by R. W. Doyle, Halifax

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Fraser, A.J., Gamble, J.C. & Sargent, J.R. Changes in lipid content, lipid class composition and fatty acid composition of developing eggs and unfed larvae of cod (Gadus morhua). Mar. Biol. 99, 307–313 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02112122

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