New and Uncommon Fatty Acids in Lipids of Deep-Sea Foraminifera

AbstractFatty acids (FA) of agglutinating foraminifera of two genera,Bathysiphon andRhabdammina, collected from a depth of 3307 –3377 m in the Kuril Basin, Sea of Okhotsk, and adjacent deep-sea waters of the Pacific Ocean, were analyzed. In lipids of twoBathysiphon species, in addition to common FA typical for marine organisms, the uncommon ∆4 and ∆7 monoenoic acids and ∆4,7-dienoic acid were found in noticeable amounts. FA of twoRhabdammina species included also such uncommon acids as ∆5,8,11,14–21:4, ∆5,8,11,14–22:4, and ∆5,8,11,14–23:4, which are homologues to arachidonic acid. High levels ofcis-vaccenic and arachidonic acids were typical for lipids of all the studied species. At the same time, we observed a substantial difference in FA composition between members of these two genera. Using GC and GC –MS of FAME, pyrrolidide and DMOX derivatives, the structures of 10 new FA were confirmed: ∆4-i-16:1 (1.1 –0.6%), ∆7-i-21:1 (0.4%), ∆7-ai-21:1 (0.3 –0.8%), ∆4,11–18:2 (0.3–0.9%), ∆4,7–20:2 (8.8%), ∆7,12–20:2 (0.4–0.6%), ∆4,7–21:2 (0.6%), ∆7,12–22:2 (6.4–2.1%); ∆5,8,11,14–22:4 (1.2–2.0%), and ∆5,8,11,14–23:4 (1.7–2.3%). The origin of the new FA and the role of foraminifera FA in deep-sea communities are di scussed.

Source: Lipids - February 15, 2017 Category: Lipidology Source Type: research