Salinity can change the lipid composition of adult Chinese mitten crab after long-term salinity adaptation

Xiaowen Long; Xugan Wu; Shaicheng Zhu; Haihui Ye; Yongxu Cheng; Chaoshu Zeng

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0219260

Salinity can change the lipid composition of adult Chinese mitten crab after long-term salinity adaptation

PLoS One. 2019 Jul 3;14(7):e0219260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219260. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Xiaowen Long^{1

2}, Xugan Wu^{1

3

4}, Shaicheng Zhu¹, Haihui Ye², Yongxu Cheng^{1

3

4}, Chaoshu Zeng^{2

5}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Research on Environmental Ecology and Fish Nutrition of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China.
² College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
³ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Aquaculture, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China.
⁴ National Demonstration Centre for Experimental Fisheries Science Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China.
⁵ College of Science & Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Abstract

The Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) is an euryhaline crustacean, whose adults migrate downstream to estuaries for reproduction. Lipids are believed to be involved in salinity adaptation during migration. This study investigated the effects of different salinities (0, 6, 12, and 18‰) on the total lipids, neutral lipids, and polar lipids contents, and fatty acid profiles in the gonads, hepatopancreas, and muscles of adult E. sinensis after 40 days of salinity adaptation. The results showed that the males and females from 12‰ treatment had the highest contents of total lipids and neutral lipids in their hepatopancreas and total lipids in the muscles. Notably, salinity had a greater effect on the fatty acid profiles in the hepatopancreas compared to that in the gonads and muscles. The male hepatopancreas treated with 18‰ salinity had the highest percentage of total n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (∑n-6PUFA) in both neutral lipids and polar lipids, while the percentage of total n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (∑n-3PUFA) in neutral lipids and polar lipids decreased significantly with increasing salinity in males. In females, the 0‰ treatment had the highest percentages of total saturated fatty acids in neutral lipids and polar lipids in the hepatopancreas, while the highest ∑n-3PUFA and ∑n-6PUFA in neutral lipids and polar lipids were detected in the 12‰ treatment group. In conclusion, brackish water could promote the accumulations of total lipids and neutral lipids in the hepatopancreas and change the fatty acid profiles of adult E. sinensis, particularly in the hepatopancreas after long-term salinity adaptation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Physiological*
Animals
Brachyura / physiology*
Female
Gonads / metabolism
Hepatopancreas / metabolism
Lipids / chemistry*
Male
Muscles / metabolism
Principal Component Analysis
Salinity*

Substances

Lipids

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a general project (no. 41876190) from the Natural Science Foundation of China to YXC, the Special Fund (CARS-48) of Chinese Agriculture Research System from Ministry of Agriculture of China to YXC, the capacity promoting Project of Shanghai Engineering and Technology Center from Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission (No. 19DZ2284300) to YXC. Infrastructure costs were supported by the Supported by Research project for high level university in Shanghai (no. A1-2801-18-1003) from Shanghai Education Commission to YXC, the project (A1-2041-18-0003) of Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Aquatic Animal Genetics and Breeding to YXC.