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Lipid Profile of Tissues of the Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus): on the Relationship of the Composition of Lipids and Their Physiological and Biochemical Role in Maintaining Tissue Function

  • MARINE BIOLOGY
  • Published:
Oceanology Aims and scope

Abstract

The authors studied the composition of lipids in different tissues of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus and compared the lipid profiles of tissues with different functional loads. Five types of tissues (skin, muscle, liver, and outer and inner layers of fat) were collected from 17 individuals of eastern gray whales during permitted aboriginal fishing in the village of Lorino, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, in summer 2020. For all of the listed tissues, the composition of total lipids and their individual lipid classes was studied by high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), the lipid profiles of different types of tissues were identified and described, which made it possible to identify their general and specific features of lipid metabolism according to the studied parameters. Comparative analysis of the lipid profiles of tissues revealed the individual lipid classes that make the greatest contribution to discrimination between different tissues. Both the content of total lipids and individual lipid classes varied significantly in different tissues. At the same time, 93% of the differences between tissues are two functions that are most closely related to the content of metabolically associated diacylglycerols (DAG), monoacylglycerols (MAG), triacylglycerols (TAG) and waxes, mainly energetic lipids, in tissues. The paper discusses the relationship between the qualitative and quantitative composition of lipids and the functional load and the physiological role of tissues. The metabolic features of the accumulation and consumption of lipid classes during the feeding period were noted. The revealed differences in certain parameters of lipid metabolism of the outer and inner layers of fat are due to different metabolic activity of tissues and their function in the body, which, among other things, is provided by lipids.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the fearless whalers of TSO KMNP Lorino for their hard work and all-out assistance in conducting fieldwork and collecting samples from taken whales.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    M. S. Mamaev & V. V. Rozhnov

  2. Institute of Biology, Karelian Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Petrozavodsk, Russia

    S. A. Murzina & V. P. Voronin

  3. Office of the Governor and Government of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Anadyr, Russia

    D. I. Litovka

Authors
  1. M. S. Mamaev
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  2. S. A. Murzina
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  3. V. P. Voronin
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  4. D. I. Litovka
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  5. V. V. Rozhnov
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Correspondence to V. V. Rozhnov.

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Mamaev, M.S., Murzina, S.A., Voronin, V.P. et al. Lipid Profile of Tissues of the Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus): on the Relationship of the Composition of Lipids and Their Physiological and Biochemical Role in Maintaining Tissue Function. Oceanology 63, 379–388 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023030104

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437023030104

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