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Effects of growth temperature on the fatty acid composition of the free‐living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Author(s) -
Tanaka Tamotsu,
Ikita Kouji,
Ashida Tetsuji,
Motoyama Yoshiaki,
Yamaguchi Yasunori,
Satouchi Kiyoshi
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
lipids
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.601
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1558-9307
pISSN - 0024-4201
DOI - 10.1007/bf02524292
Subject(s) - polyunsaturated fatty acid , phospholipid , phosphatidylcholine , phosphatidylethanolamine , fatty acid , caenorhabditis elegans , clinical chemistry , biochemistry , arachidonic acid , lipidology , chemistry , eicosapentaenoic acid , biology , food science , enzyme , membrane , gene
Abstract The effects of growth temperature on the fatty acid compositions of the phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and total lipid (TL) fractions of the free‐living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans were investigated. A reduction in growth temperature from 25 to 15°C caused the proportions of eicosapentaenoic acid (20∶5n‐3) to increase from 23.6 to 32.5% in the PC, from 7.4 to 10.8% in the PE, and from 12.9 to 19.9% in the TL fractions. Conversely, the levels of dihomo‐γ‐linolenic acid (20∶3n‐6) and arachidonic acid (20∶4n‐6) in these phospholipid fractions and the TL fraction both decreased with decreasing growth temperature. Analysis of the positional distribution of fatty acids in the PC fraction revealed that the change in the composition of C 20 polyunsaturated fatty acid was obvious in position sn ‐2. Lowering the growth temperature induced an increase in the level of the diacyl subclass of PE from 58% at 25°C to 71% at 15°C, with a concomitant decrease in the levels of the alkylacyl and alkenylacyl subclass of PE of C. elegans . These changes observed in the phospholipids of C. elegans might be one mechanism for adaptation to low temperature. Lipids 31, 1173–1178 (1996).