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Fatty Acid, Lipid Class, and Phospholipid Molecular Species Composition of the Soft Coral Xenia sp. (Nha Trang Bay, the South China Sea, Vietnam)

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Lipids

Abstract

The soft corals of the genus Xenia are common for Indo-Pacific reef ecosystems. Lipid class, fatty acid (FA), phospho- and phosphonolipid molecular species compositions were identified for the first time in the soft coral Xenia sp. from Vietnam. Total lipids consisted predominantly of waxes, monoalkyl diacylglycerols, triacylglycerols, sterols, and polar lipids (21.4, 7.7, 14.2, 10.5, and 36.7 %, respectively). Sesquiterpene alcohol, valerenenol, was found. Acids 16:0, 18:3n-6, 20:4n-6, and 20:5n-3 dominated in total FA. The markers of zooxanthellae (18:4n-3 and 18:5n-3) and octocorals (24:5n-6 and 24:6n-3) were detected. Acids 18:5n-3, 20:4n-6, 22:4n-6, and 24:5n-6 concentrated in FA of polar lipids, whereas 14:0, 16:0, 16:1n-7, 18:2n-6, and 18:3n-6 were the major FA of neutral lipids. ChoGpl, EtnGpl, SerGpl, CAEP, PtdIns, and lyso ChoGpl constituted 39.5, 20.8, 20.5, 9.7, 4.3, and 5.3 %, respectively, of the sum of phospho- and phosphonolipids. Thirty-two molecular species of phospholipids and ceramide aminoethylphosphonate (CAEP) were determined by high resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Lyso 18:0e PakCho (4.1 %), 18:0e/20:4 PakCho (20.5 %), 18:1e/20:4 PlsEtn (18.0 %), 18:0e/24:5 PakSer (14.0 %), and 16:0 CAEP (9.6 %) were the major molecular species. EtnGpl and PtdIns mainly consisted of alkenyl acyl and diacyl forms, respectively. Alkyl acyl forms predominated in ChoGpl and SerGpl. Acid 24:5n-6 was a principal FA in SerGpl, whereas 20:4n-6 was more abundant in ChoGpl and EtnGpl. PtdIns contained various C20–24 PUFA. In the context of chemotaxonomy of corals, Xenia sp. has the lipid composition typical for soft corals and the FA profile similar to that of alcyonarians with the high level of 18:3n-6.

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Abbreviations

APCI:

Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization

CAEP:

Ceramide aminoethylphosphonate

ChoGpl:

Choline glycerophospholipids

DMA:

Dimethylacetals

DMOX4:

4-Dimethyloxazoline

ESI:

Electrospray ionization

EtnGpl:

Ethanolamine glycerophospholipids

FA:

Fatty acids

FAME:

Fatty acid methyl esters

FFA:

Free fatty acids

GC:

Gas chromatography

GC–MS:

Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

HRMS:

High resolution mass spectrometry

HPLC–HRMS:

High performance liquid chromatography–high resolution mass spectrometry

lyso ChoGpl:

Lyso choline glycerophospholipids

MADAG:

Monoalkyl diacylglycerols

NL:

Neutral lipids

NMR:

Nuclear magnetic resonance

PakCho:

1-O-Alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine

PakEtn:

1-O-Alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine

PCA:

Principal components analysis

PL,:

Phospholipids

PlsCho:

Choline plasmalogen

PlsEtn:

Ethanolamine plasmalogen

PoL:

Polar lipids

PtdCho:

Phosphatidylcholine

PtdEtn,:

Phosphatidylethanolamine

PtdIns:

Phosphatidylinositol

PtdSer:

Phosphatidylserine

PUFA:

Polyunsaturated fatty acids

SerGpl:

Serine glycerophospholipids

ST:

Sterols

TAG:

Triacylglycerols

TL:

Total lipids

TLC:

Thin-layer chromatography

WE:

Wax esters

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant 14–04–93002), Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology (Grants VAST.HTQT.NGA.06/13–14 and VAST.HTQT.NGA.09/14–15), and the Russian Academy of Science (project “Far East” VANT–005). We are grateful to Dr. Tatyana N. Makarieva (PIBOC FEB RAS) for NMR spectra.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A.V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 17 Palchevskogo str., Vladivostok, 690041, Russian Federation

    Andrey B. Imbs, Viacheslav G. Rybin & Vasily I. Svetashev

  2. Institute of Natural Products Chemistry, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet str, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Ly P. T. Dang

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  1. Andrey B. Imbs
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Correspondence to Andrey B. Imbs.

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Imbs, A.B., Dang, L.P.T., Rybin, V.G. et al. Fatty Acid, Lipid Class, and Phospholipid Molecular Species Composition of the Soft Coral Xenia sp. (Nha Trang Bay, the South China Sea, Vietnam). Lipids 50, 575–589 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-015-4021-0

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