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MODULATION OF VERY‐LONG CHAIN (C 28 ) HIGHLY UNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS IN PROROCENTRUM MININUM (DINOPHYCEAE) BY SELENIUM
Author(s) -
Place A.,
Adolf J.E.,
Lund E.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8817.1999.00001-165.x
Subject(s) - selenium , dinoflagellate , biology , dinophyceae , fatty acid , biochemistry , food science , botany , phytoplankton , ecology , chemistry , organic chemistry , nutrient
Recently, very‐long‐chain (C28) highly unsaturated fatty acids (VLC‐HUFA) were identified in seven marine dinoflagellate species (Manour et al. , Phytochemistry, 1999, 50: 541–548). In general, the proportion of these fatty acids accounted for less than 2.3% of the total fatty acids in these species. As part of a study investigating the modulation of the hemolytic fatty acid 18:5n3, cultures of Prorocentrum mininum were grown in artificial seawater with varying molarities of sodium selenite (0, 1, 10, and 100 nM). Optimal growth was observed at 1 nM with this media. As expected, the level of 18:5n3 was modulated by the selenium in the culture medium (7.0 ± 0.2, 14.5 ± 0.6, 7.4 ± 0.8, and 3.9 ± 0.8% of total fatty acid, respectively), with the highest percentage found at 1 nM. Unexpectedly the level of VLC‐HUFA (28:8n3) increased to 7.3 ± 2.8% at 0 nM sodium selenite, while at all other selenite concentrations the VLC‐HUFA was less than 1%. A possible biochemical basis for this finding will be discussed.