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Analysis of fatty acid composition of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus using multivariate statistics

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Abstract

Fatty acids (FAs) provide energy and also can be used to trace trophic relationships among organisms. Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus goes into a state of aestivation during warm summer months. We examined fatty acid profiles in aestivated and non-aestivated A. japonicus using multivariate analyses (PERMANOVA, MDS, ANOSIM, and SIMPER). The results indicate that the fatty acid profiles of aestivated and non-aestivated sea cucumbers differed significantly. The FAs that were produced by bacteria and brown kelp contributed the most to the differences in the fatty acid composition of aestivated and nonaestivated sea cucumbers. Aestivated sea cucumbers may synthesize FAs from heterotrophic bacteria during early aestivation, and long chain FAs such as eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that produced from intestinal degradation, are digested during deep aestivation. Specific changes in the fatty acid composition of A. japonicus during aestivation needs more detailed study in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Qinzeng Xu  (徐勤增), Qiang Xu  (许强) & Hongsheng Yang  (杨红生)

  2. Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Fei Gao  (高菲)

Authors
  1. Qinzeng Xu  (徐勤增)
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  2. Fei Gao  (高菲)
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  3. Qiang Xu  (许强)
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  4. Hongsheng Yang  (杨红生)
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hongsheng Yang  (杨红生).

Additional information

Supported by the National Marine Public Welfare Research Project (No. 201305043), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41106134), and the National Key Technology R&D Program of China (Nos. 2011BAD13B02, 2010BAC68B01)

XU Qinzeng and GAO Fei contributed equally to this work.

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Xu, Q., Gao, F., Xu, Q. et al. Analysis of fatty acid composition of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus using multivariate statistics. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 32, 1314–1319 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-015-3328-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-015-3328-2

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