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Identification of a Δ5-like Fatty Acyl Desaturase from the Cephalopod Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier 1797) Involved in the Biosynthesis of Essential Fatty Acids

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Abstract

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) have been identified as essential compounds for common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), but precise dietary requirements have not been determined due, in part, to the inherent difficulties of performing feeding trials on paralarvae. Our objective is to establish the essential fatty acid (EFA) requirements for paralarval stages of the common octopus through characterisation of the enzymes of endogenous LC-PUFA biosynthetic pathways. In this study, we isolated a cDNA with high homology to fatty acyl desaturases (Fad). Functional characterisation in recombinant yeast showed that the octopus Fad exhibited Δ5-desaturation activity towards saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acyl substrates. Thus, it efficiently converted the yeast’s endogenous 16:0 and 18:0 to 16:1n-11 and 18:1n-13, respectively, and desaturated exogenously added PUFA substrates 20:4n-3 and 20:3n-6 to 20:5n-3 (EPA) and 20:4n-6 (ARA), respectively. Although the Δ5 Fad enables common octopus to produce EPA and ARA, the low availability of its adequate substrates 20:4n-3 and 20:3n-6, either in the diet or by limited endogenous synthesis from C18 PUFA, might indicate that EPA and ARA are indeed EFA for this species. Interestingly, the octopus Δ5 Fad can also participate in the biosynthesis of non-methylene-interrupted FA, PUFA that are generally uncommon in vertebrates but have been found previously in marine invertebrates, including molluscs, and now also confirmed to be present in specific tissues of common octopus.

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Acknowledgements

This research and OM were supported by a Marie Curie Reintegration Grant within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (PERG08-GA-2010-276916, LONGFA), with additional support from ‘Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación’ through the OCTOPHYS Project (AGL-2010-22120-C03-02) and a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract for OM, and the Generalitat Valenciana through a PROMETEO Project (2010/006).

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  1. Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal (IATS-CSIC), 12595, Ribera de Cabanes, Castellón, Spain

    Óscar Monroig & Juan C. Navarro

  2. Institute of Aquaculture, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK

    James R. Dick & Douglas R. Tocher

  3. Ramón y Cajal 32, Pego 03780, Alicante, Spain

    Frederic Alemany

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  1. Óscar Monroig
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Correspondence to Óscar Monroig.

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Monroig, Ó., Navarro, J.C., Dick, J.R. et al. Identification of a Δ5-like Fatty Acyl Desaturase from the Cephalopod Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier 1797) Involved in the Biosynthesis of Essential Fatty Acids. Mar Biotechnol 14, 411–422 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-011-9423-2

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