Essential fatty acid deficiency in freshwater fish: the effects of linoleic, alpha-linolenic, gamma-linolenic and stearidonic acids on the metabolism of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in a carp cell culture model

The desaturation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 to 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 is enhanced in an essential fatty acid deficient cell line (EPC-EFAD) in comparison with the parent cell line (EPC) from carp. In the present study, the effects of competing, unlabeled C18 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), linoleic (18:2n-6), α-linolenic (18:3n-3), γ-linolenic (18:3n-6) and stearidonic (18:4n-3) acids, on the metabolism of [1-14C]18:3n-3 were investigated in EPC-EFAD cells in comparison with EPC cells. The incorporation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in both cell lines was significantly reduced by competing C18 PUFA, with the rank order being 18:4n-3 > 18:3n-3 = 18:2n-6 > 18:3n-6. In the absence of competing PUFA, radioactivity from [1-14C]18:3n-3 in EPC cells was predominantly recovered in phosphatidylethanolamine followed by phosphatidylcholine. This pattern was unaffected by competing n-6PUFA, but n-3PUFA reversed this pattern as did essential fatty acid deficiency in the presence of all competing PUFA. The altered lipid class distribution was most pronounced in cells supplementedwith 18:4n-3. Competing C18 PUFA significantly decreased the proportions of radioactivity recovered in 22:6n-3, pentaene and tetraene products, with the proportions of radioactivity recovered in 18:3n-3 and 20:3n-3 increased, in both cell lines. However, the inhibitory effect of competing C18 PUFA on the desaturation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 was significantly greater in EPC-EFAD cells. The magnitude of the inhibitory effects of C18 PUFA on [1-14C]18:3n-3 desaturation was dependent upon the specific fatty acid with the rank order being 18:4n-3 >18:3n-3 >18:2n-6, with 18:3n-6 having little inhibitory effect on the metabolism of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in EPC cells. The differential effects of the C18 PUFA on [1-14C]18:3n-3 metabolism were consistent with mass competition in combination with increased desaturation activity in EPC-EFAD cells and the known substrate fatty acid specificities of desaturase enzymes. However, the mechanism underpinning the greater efficacy with which the unlabeled C18 PUFA competed with [1-14C]18:3n-3 in the desaturation pathway in EPC-EFAD cells was unclear

Polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in a cell culture model of essential fatty acid deficiency in a freshwater fish, carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Proliferation of an essential fatty acid deficient cell line from carp (EPC-EFAD; epithelioma papillosum carp-essential fatty acid deficient) is stimulated by supplementing the cells with C20, but not C18 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). It is hypothesized that the differential ability of the PUFA to stimulate proliferation of the EPC-EFAD cells may be related to the extent of the cells’ ability to desaturate and elongate C18 PUFA. In the present study, the metabolism of 14C-labeled C18 and C20 PUFA was investigated in EPC-EFAD cells in comparison with normal EPC cells. The incorporation of all the PUFA was significantly greater in EPC-EFAD cells but the rank order, 20:5n-3 > 18:3n-3 = 18:2n-6 >20:4n-6 was the same in both cell lines. The proportion of radioactivity from all labeled PUFA recovered in phosphatidylethanolamine and total polar lipids was significantly lower in EPC-EFAD cells compared to EPC cells, whereas the proportion of radioactivity recovered in all the other phospholipid classes and total neutral lipid was greater in EPC-EFAD cells. Both cell lines desaturated[1-14C]18:3n-3 and [1-14C]20:5n-3 to a greater extent than the corresponding (n-6) substrates but the desaturation of all the 14C-labeled PUFA was significantly greater in EPC-EFAD cells compared to EPC cells. The results showed that, although essential fatty acid deficiency had several significant effects on PUFA metabolism in EPC cells, the fatty acid desaturation/elongation pathway was not impaired in EPC-EFAD cells and so they can desaturate 18:3n-3 to 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3, and 18:2n-6 to 20:4n-6. However, 20:4n-3 and 20:3n-6, and not 20:4n-6 and 20:5n-3, were the predominant C20 PUFA produced by the elongation and desaturation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 and [1-14C]18:2n-6, respectively. Therefore, the previously reported inability of 18:3n-3 and 18:2n-6, compared to 20:5n-3 and 20:4n-6, to stimulate proliferation of the cells is apparently not due to a general deficiency in the fatty acid desaturation pathway in EPC-EFAD cells but may be related to potential differences in eicosanoid profiles in cells supplemented with C18 PUFA compared to C20 PUFA

Impact of sustainable feeds on omega-3 long-chain fatty acid levels in farmed Atlantic salmon, 2006–2015

As the global population and its demand for seafood increases more of our fish will come from aquaculture. Farmed Atlantic salmon are a global commodity and, as an oily fish, contain a rich source of the health promoting long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids. Replacing the traditional finite marine ingredients, fishmeal and fish oil, in farmed salmon diets with sustainable alternatives of terrestrial origin, devoid of EPA and DHA, presents a significant challenge for the aquaculture industry. By comparing the fatty acid composition of over 3,000 Scottish Atlantic salmon farmed between 2006 and 2015, we find that terrestrial fatty acids have significantly increased alongside a decrease in EPA and DHA levels. Consequently, the nutritional value of the final product is compromised requiring double portion sizes, as compared to 2006, in order to satisfy recommended EPA + DHA intake levels endorsed by health advisory organisations. Nevertheless, farmed Scottish salmon still delivers more EPA + DHA than most other fish species and all terrestrial livestock. Our findings highlight the global shortfall of EPA and DHA and the implications this has for the human consumer and examines the potential of microalgae and genetically modified crops as future sources of these important fatty acids

Impacts of agricultural research on poverty: findings of an integrated economic and social analysis

Agricultural research, Sustainable livelihoods, Agricultural growth, Gender, Agricultural technology,

Incorporation and metabolism of fatty acids by desaturation and elongation in the nematode, Panagrellus redivivus

The free-living nematode Panagrellus redivivus can be mass produced in monoxenic solid culture on Saccharomyces cerevisiae and therefore could be useful as a live food for marine fish or crustacean larvae in the rapidly expanding aquaculture industry. However, this will depend on their lipid and fatty acid composition and so this was investigated in mass produced P. redivivus grown on S. cerevisiae in three different media. Live nematodes were also incubated with [1-14C]-labelled fatty acids and their desaturation and elongation determined. The combined results from the growth trials on different media and the metabolic studies with labelled fatty acids indicated the presence of Δ9, Δ12, Δ6 and Δ5 fatty acid desaturase activities, and elongase activities active towards C18, C16 and shorter chain fatty acids. The presence of Δ15, and therefore the ability to produce n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, was suggested by the compositional data, but could not be conclusively established from metabolic studies

Dioxin and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Scottish farmed salmon (Salmo salar): effects of replacement of dietary marine fish oil with vegetable oils

Duplicate groups of Atlantic salmon were fed one of four practical-type diets from first feeding to harvest after 115 weeks. The four diets were low fish oil (16% w/w, LFO), high fish oil (35% w/w, HFO), low vegetable oil (17%, linseed oil/rapeseed oil, 1:1 w/w; LVO) and high vegetable oil (35%, linseed oil/rapeseed oil, 1:1 w/w; HVO). Following sample collection of fish around 2 kg weight all groups were switched to the HFO diet for a further 24 weeks. The dioxin concentration in diets was in order, HFO > LFO > LVO > HVO with values ranging from 0.16-1.4 ng TEQ/kg. The dioxin-like PCB (DL-PCB) concentrations were in the same order with values ranging from 0.62-3.68 ng TEQ/kg. Concentrations of dioxins and DL-PCBs in flesh samples were correlated with feed concentrations although values in flesh were always lower than in feed. Flesh dioxin concentrations ranged from 0.10-0.53 ng TEQ/kg and DL-PCBs from 0.58-1.48 ng TEQ/kg. After 24 weeks feeding a fish oil-containing finishing diet (HFO) the flesh dioxin concentrations ranged from 0.20-0.54 ng TEQ/kg and the DL-PCBs from 0.66-1.07 ng TEQ/kg. Feeding the HVO diet resulted in significant reductions in flesh concentrations of 20:5n-3 (EPA) and 22:6n-3 (DHA) to around 25% of the values in fish fed the HFO diet. However, feeding the HFO finishing diet to all groups for 24 weeks resulted in restoration of flesh EPA and DHA concentrations to 80% of the values in fish fed the HFO diet throughout. This study suggests that salmon cultured on diets based on fish meal and oil (HFO) attain flesh dioxin concentrations that ar

Effects of diets containing linseed oil on fatty acid desaturation and oxidation in hepatocytes and intestinal enterocytes in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

We hypothesized that replacing fish oil with 18:3n-3-rich linseed oil may enable salmon to maintain the levels of tissue n-3HUFA levels through a combination of increased desaturation activity and increased substrate fatty acid provision. To this end we investigated desaturation/elongation of [1-14C18:3n-3 in hepatocytes and intestinal enterocytes, and determined the extent to which 18:3n-3 was oxidized and desaturated by measuring both simultaneously in a combined assay. Salmon smolts were stocked randomly into five seawater pens and fed for 40 weeks on diets in which the fish oil was replaced in a graded manner by linseed oil. At the end of the trial, fatty acyl desaturation/elongation and oxidation activities were determined in isolated hepatocytes and intestinal enterocytes using [1-14C]18:3n-3 as substrate, and samples of liver and intestinal tissue were collected for analysis of lipid and fatty acid composition. The results showed that, despite increased desaturation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in hepatocytes, provision of dietary 18:3n-3 did not prevent the decrease in tissue n-3HUFA in fish fed linseed oil. Intestinal enterocytes were a site of significant fatty acid desaturation but, in contrast to hepatocytes, the activity was not increased by feeding linseed oil and was generally lower in fish fed linseed oil compared to fish fed only fish oil. In contrast, oxidation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in enterocytes was generally increased in fish fed linseed oil compared to fish fed the diet containing only fish oil. However, oxidation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in hepatocytes was 4- to 8-fold lower than in enterocytes and was not affected by diet. Furthermore, oxidation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in enterocytes exceeded desaturation irrespective of dietary treatment, whereas similar amounts of [1-14C]18:3n-3 were desaturated and oxidized in hepatocytes from fish fed only fish oil and desaturation exceeded oxidation by 3-fold in fish fed the diet containing 100% linseed oil. The molecular mechanisms underpinning these results were discussed

Low C18 to C20 fatty acid elongase activity and limited conversion of stearidonic acid, 18:4(n-3), to eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5(n-3), in a cell line from the turbot, Scophthalmus maximus

The TF cell line, derived from a top predatory, carnivorous marine teleost, the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), is known to have a limited conversion of C18 to C20 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). To illuminate the underlying processes, we studied the conversions of stearidonic acid, 18:4(n-3), and its elongation product, 20:4(n-3), in TF cells and also in a cell line, AS, derived from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), by adding unlabelled (25 uM), U-14C (1 uM) or deuterated (d5; 25 uM) fatty acids. Stearidonic acid, 18:4(n-3), was metabolised to 20:5(n-3) in both cells lines, but more so in AS than in TF cells. Delta-5 desaturation was more active in TF cells than in AS cells, whereas C18 to C20 elongation was much reduced in TF as compared to AS cells. Only small amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (22:6(n-3)) were produced by both cell lines, although there was significant production of 22:5(n-3) in both cultures, especially when 20:4(n-3) was supplemented. We conclude that limited elongation of C18 to C20 fatty acids rather than limited fatty acyl Delta-5 desaturation accounts for the limited rate of conversion of 18:3(n-3) to 20:5(n-3) in the turbot cell line, as compared to the Atlantic salmon cell line. The results can account for the known differences in conversions of C18 to C20 PUFA by the turbot and the Atlantic salmon in vivo

Polyunsaturated fatty acid metabolism in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) undergoing parr-smolt transformation and the effects of dietary linseed and rapeseed oils

Duplicate groups of Atlantic salmon parr were fed diets containing either fish oil (FO), rapeseed oil (RO), linseed oil (LO) or linseed oil supplemented with arachidonic acid (20:4n-6; AA) (LOA) from October (week 0) to seawater transfer in March (week 19). From March to July (weeks 20-34) all fish were fed a fish oil-containing diet. Fatty acyl desaturation and elongation activity in isolated hepatocytes incubated with [1-14C]18:3n-3 increased in all dietary groups, peaking in early March about one month prior to seawater transfer. Desaturation activities at their peak were significantly greater in fish fed the vegetable oils, particularly RO, compared to fish fed FO. Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3:DHA) and AA in liver and gill polar lipids (PL) increased in all dietary groups during the freshwater phase whereas eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3;EPA) increased greatly in all groups after seawater transfer. The AA/EPA ratio in tissue PL increased up to seawater transfer and then decreased after transfer. AA levels and the AA/EPA ratio in gill PL were generally higher in the LOA group. The levels of 18:3n-3 in muscle total lipid were increased significantly in the LO, LOA and, to a lesser extent, RO groups prior to transfer but were reduced to initial levels by the termination of the experiment (week 34). In contrast, 18:2n-6 in muscle total lipid was significantly increased after 18 weeks in fish fed the diets supplemented with RO and LO, and was significantly greater in the FO and RO groups at the termination of the experiment. Gill PGF production showed a large peak about two months after transfer to seawater. The production of total PGF post-transfer was significantly lower in fish previously fed the LOA diet. However, plasma chloride concentrations in fish subjected to a seawater challenge at 18 weeks were all lower in fish fed the diets with vegetable oils. This effect was significant in the case of fish receiving the diet with LOA, compared to those fed the diet containing FO. The present study showed that during parr-smolt transformation in Atlantic salmon there is a pre-adaptive increase in hepatocyte fatty acyl desaturation/elongation activities that is controlled primarily by environmental factors such as photoperiod and temperature but that can also be significantly modulated by diet. Feeding salmon parr diets supplemented with rapeseed or linseed oils prevented inhibition of the desaturase activities that is induced by feeding parr diets with fish oils and thus influenced the smoltification process by altering tissue PL fatty acid compositions and eicosanoid production. These effect, in turn, had a beneficial effect on the ability of the fish to osmoregulate and thus adapt to salinity changes

Effects of essential fatty acid deficiency and supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) on cellular fatty acid compositions and fatty acyl desaturation in a cell culture model

The desaturation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) is enhanced in an essential fatty acid deficient cell line (EPC-EFAD) in comparison with the parent cell line (EPC) from carp. In the present study, the effects of DHA on lipid and fatty acid compositions, and the metabolism of [1-14C]18:3n-3 were investigated in EPC-EFAD cells in comparison with EPC cells. DHA supplementation had only relatively minor effects on lipid content and lipid class compositions in both EPC and EPC-EFAD cells, but significantly increased the amount of DHA, 22:5n-3, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3), total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), total PUFA and saturated fatty acids in total lipid and total polar lipid in both cell lines. Retroconversion of supplemental DHA to EPA was significantly greater in EPC cells. Monounsaturated fatty acids, n-9 and n-6PUFA were all increased in total lipid and total polar lipid in both cell lines by DHA supplementation. The incorporation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 was greater into EPC-EFAD compared to EPC cells but DHA had no effect on the incorporation of [1-14C]18:3n-3 in either cell line. In contrast, the conversion of [1-14C]18:3n-3 to tetraenes, pentaenes and total desaturation products was similar in the two cell lines and was significantly reduced by DHA supplementation in both cell lines. However, the production of DHA from [1-14C]18:3n-3 was significantly greater in EPC-EFAD cells compared to EPC cells and, whereas DHA supplementation had no effect on the production of DHA from [1-14C]18:3n-3 in EPC cells, DHA supplementation significantly reduced the production of DHA from [1-14C]18:3n-3 in EPC-EFAD cells. Greater production of DHA in EPC-EFAD cells could be a direct result of significantly lower levels of end-product DHA in these cells’ lipids compared to EPC cells. Consistent with this, the suppression of DHA production upon DHA supplementation was associated with increased cellular and membrane DHA concentrations in EPC-EFAD cells. However, an increase in cellular DHA content to similar levels failed to suppress DHA production in DHA-supplemented EPC cells. A possible explanation is that greatly increased levels of EPA, derived from retroconversion of the added DHA, acts to offset the suppression of the pathway by DHA by stimulating conversion of EPA to DHA in DHA-supplemented EPC cells