The composition and biosynthesis of lipids in Thysanoessa raschi from the Clyde Estuary, Scotland

Abstract

The lipid composition and biosynthesising activity of Thysanoessa raschi collected from the Clyde Estuary, Scotland, in May 1981 were examined. Triacylglycerols were the major lipid class present, although 16.7% of the total lipid were wax esters in which phytol was the dominant fatty alcohol. The thoracic contents (“hepatopancreas”) of the krill were capable of biosynthesising lipids in vitro from various labelled substrates. Radioactivity from [1-14C] palmitic acid was incorporated into lipids in the order phospholipids>triacylglycerols>wax esters; the bulk of the radioactivity was present in all cases in the fatty acyl moieties of the lipids. [U-14C] glucose labelled lipids in the order phospholipids>triacylglycerols>free fatty acids> was esters; in the first two lipids the radioactivity was mainly in the glycerol moieties, whereas in was esters it was solely in the fatty acyl moieties. The extent of labelling of these lipids from [U-14C] alanine was less than that from [U-14C] glucose, but the pattern of labelling was generally similar. More than 90% of the radioactivity incorporated into total lipid from 3H2O was present in free fatty acids from which it was calculated that the “hepatopancreas” of T. raschi can synthesise 2.5 μg of fatty acid per hour at 15°C. This value is approximately three times lower than that previously determined for T. inermis from Balsfjorden, northern Norway. The results are discussed in terms of the sources of the dietary lipids of krill and the role of endogenous biosynthesis in contributing to its lipid reserves.