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Lipid Extraction Techniques for Stable Isotope Analysis and Ecological Assays

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Lipidomics

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1609))

Abstract

Lipid extraction is an important component of many ecological and ecotoxicological measurements. For instance, percent lipid is often used as a measure of body condition, under the assumption that those individuals with higher lipid reserves are healthier. Likewise, lipids are depleted in 13C compared with protein, and it is consequently a routine to remove lipids prior to measuring carbon isotopes in ecological studies so that variation in lipid content does not obscure variation in diet. We provide detailed methods for two different protocols for lipid extraction: Soxhlet apparatus and manual distillation. We also provide methods for polar and nonpolar solvents. Neutral (nonpolar) solvents remove some lipids but few non-lipid compounds, whereas polar solvents remove most lipids but also many non-lipid compounds. We discuss each of the methods and provide guidelines for best practices. We recommend that, for stable isotope analysis, researchers test for a relationship between the change in carbon stable isotope ratio and the amount of lipid extracted to see if the degree of extraction has an impact on isotope ratios. Stable isotope analysis is widely used by ecologists, and we provide a detailed methodology that minimizes known biases.

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Acknowledgments

The protocol is based on a text developed by I. Burron and D. Mocker. Funding for sample preparation equipment was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Macdonald-Stewart Bldg., MS3-042 21, 111 Lakeshore Road, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada, H9X 3V9

    Kyle H. Elliott

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada, R3T 2N2

    James D. Roth & Kevin Crook

Authors
  1. Kyle H. Elliott
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  2. James D. Roth
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  3. Kevin Crook
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyle H. Elliott .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA

    Sanjoy K. Bhattacharya

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Elliott-Elliot_Figure (DOCX 48 kb)

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Elliott, K.H., Roth, J.D., Crook, K. (2017). Lipid Extraction Techniques for Stable Isotope Analysis and Ecological Assays. In: Bhattacharya, S. (eds) Lipidomics. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1609. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6996-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6996-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6995-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6996-8

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