Abstract
Neutral lipid and phospholipid fractions and their component lipid classes in the digestive gland, abdominal muscle, epidermis and cuticle ofPenaeus esculentus Haswell were analysed and compared during the moulting cycle and during starvation. The prawns were collected from Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, by trawling during 1985–1987, and were fed on a standard, semi-purified diet. The digestive gland appears to be a major site of lipid synthesis, storage and mobilisation in preparation for moulting. Neutral lipid, 59 to 80% of which was triacylglycerol, was the larger fraction. It accumulated during early premoult, mainly due to the increase in triacylglycerol. The digestive gland contained only 18% of the total body lipid, or 8% of body lipid as triacylglycerol. Thus, the reserve lipid available for energy production is very small. Digestive gland triacylglycerol was markedly depleted after 4 d starvation and was almost completely absent after 8 d. In the other tissues, the major fraction was phospholipid, of which over 50% was phosphatidylcholine and up to 20% phoshatidylethanolamine; cholesterol was the major class in the neutral lipid fraction and appeared to be very stable. Most of this lipid was probably a component of cellular membranes. The lipid composition of muscle changed very little during the moulting cycle: total lipid levels in the epidermis were high in late premoult and early postmoult, when new cuticle is being secreted, but the proportions of the component lipids were closely similar. Cuticle lipid, together with other major components, was resorbed from the old cuticle prior to ecdysis, but the cuticle phospholipids appeared to be labile at all moult stages. The total of all lipids in fedP. esculentus was about 3.6% dry weight, of which about 70% was phospholipid. Earlier research had shown that when digestive gland lipid is exhausted after a short period of starvation, muscle is metabolised for energy. The present research showed that in the remaining muscle only about 13% of lipid was lost after 21 d starvation, mostly as phosphatidylcholine. This is in keeping with the need to maintain this tissue in a functional state. In contrast, epidermal lipid levels were markedly reduced after only 4 d starvation and the proportions of phospholipids changed significantly. This sensitivity of the cuticle lipids to starvation may be the cause of delayed moulting, which is characteristic of poor nutrition.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature cited
Ando, T., Kanazawa, A., Teshima, S. (1977). Variation in the lipids of tissues during the moulting cycle of prawn. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 43: 1445–1449
Barclay, M. C., Dall, W., Smith, D. M. (1983). Changes in lipid and protein during starvation and the moulting cycle in the tiger prawn,Penaeus esculentus Haswell. J. exp. mar. Biol. Ecol. 68: 229–244
Castell, J. D., Mason, E. G., Covey, J. F. (1975). Cholesterol requirements of juvenile American lobster (Homarus americanus). J. Fish. Res. Bd Can. 32: 1431–1435
Clarke, A., Wickins, J. F. (1980). Lipid content and composition of culturedPenaeus merguiensis fed with animal food. Aquaculture, Amsterdam 20: 17–27
D'Abramo, L. R., Bordner, C. E., Conklin, D. E. (1982). Relationship between dietary phosphatidylcholine and serum cholesterol in the lobsterHomarus sp. Mar. Biol. 67: 231–235
Dall, W. (1965). Studies on the physiology of a shrimp,Metapenaeus sp. (Crustacea: Decapoda: Penaeidae). III. Composition and structure of the integument. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 16: 13–23
Dall, W., Smith, D. M. (1986). Oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion in fed and starved tiger prawns,Penaeus esculentus Haswell. Aquaculture, Amsterdam 55: 23–33
Dall, W., Smith, D. M. (1987). Changes in protein-bound and free amino acids in the muscle of the tiger prawnPenaeus esculentus during starvation. Mar. Biol. 95: 509–520
Deshimaru, O., Kuroki, J. (1974). Studies on a purified diet for prawn — I. Basal composition of the diet. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 40: 413–419
Folch, J., Lees, M., Sloane-Stanley, G. H. (1957). A simple method for the isolation and purification of total lipids from animal tissues. J. biol. Chem. 226: 497–509
GENSTAT 5 Committee (1988). GENSTAT 5. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Green, J. P., Neff, M. R. (1972). A survey of the fine structure of the integument of the fiddler crab. Tissue Cell 4: 137–171
Joseph, S. K., Thomas, A. P., Williams, R. J., Irvine, R. J. Williamson, J. R. (1984). Myo-inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate. A second messenger for the hormonal mobilization of intracellular Ca2+ in liver. J. biol. Chem. 259: 3077–3081
Kanazawa, A., Tanaka, N., Teshima, S., Kashiwada, K. (1971a). Nutritional requirements of prawn — II: Requirements for sterols. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 37: 211–215
Kanazawa, A., Tanaka, N., Teshima, S., Kashiwada, K. (1971b). Nutritional requirements of prawn — III: Utilization of the dietary sterols. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 37: 1015–1019
Kanazawa, A., Teshima, S., Sakamoto, Y., Guary, J. B. (1976). The variation of lipids and cholesterol contents in the tissues of prawn,Penaeus japonicus, during the moulting cycle. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 42: 1003–1007
Lautier, J., Lagarrigue, J. G. (1987). Lipid metabolism of the female crabPachygrapsus marmoratus during the moulting cycle. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 15: 611–619
Macara, I. G. (1985). Oncogens, ions and phospholipids. Am. J. Physiol. 248: C3-C11
Moriarty, D. J. W., Barclay, M. C. (1981). Carbon and nitrogen content of food and the assimilation efficiencies of penaeid prawns in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 32: 245–251
New, M. B. (1976). A review of dietary studies with shrimp and prawns. Aquaculture, Amsterdam 9: 101–144
New, M. B. (1980). A bibliography of shrimp and prawn nutrition. Aquaculture, Amsterdam 21: 101–128
O'Connor, J. D., Gilbert, L. I. (1969). Alteration in lipid metabolism associated with premoult activity in a crab and freshwater crayfish. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 29: 889–904
Scheer, B. T. (1960). Aspects of the intermoult cycle in natantians. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 1: 3–18
Shudo, K., Nakamura, K., Ishikawa, S., Kitabayashi, K. (1971). Studies on formula feed for kuruma prawn. IV. On the growthpromoting effects of both squid liver oil and cholesterol. Bull. Tokai reg. Fish. Res. Lab. 65: 129–137
Simon, G., Rouser, G. (1969). Species variations in phospholipid class distribution of organs: II. Heart and skeleton muscle. Lipids 4: 599–606
Skinner, D. M. (1962). The structure and metabolism of a crustacean integumentary tissue during a molt cycle. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 123: 635–637
Smith, D. M., Dall, W. (1985). Moult staging in the tiger prawnPenaeus esculentus. In: Rothlisberg, P. C., Hill, B. J., Staples, D. J. (eds.) Second National Prawn Seminar, NPS2, Cleveland, Queensland, p. 85–93
Stevenson, J. R. (1985). Dynamics of the integument. In: Bliss, D. E., Mantel, L. H. (eds.) The biology of Crustacea. Vol. 9. Integument, pigments and hormonal processes. Academic Press, New York, p. 1–42
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A. (1971). Biosynthesis of sterols in the lobster,Panulirus japonicus, the prawn,Penaeus japonicus, and the crab,Portunus trituberculatus. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 38B: 597–602
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A. (1973). Metabolism of desmosterol in the prawn,Penaeus japonicus. Mem. Fac. Fish. Kagoshima Univ. 22: 15–19
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A. (1987). Turnover of dietary cholesterol andβ-sitosterol in the prawn. Nippon Suisan Gakk. 53: 601–607
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A., Kakuta, Y. (1986a). Effects of dietary phospholipids on growth and body composition of the juvenile prawn. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 52: 155–158
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A., Kakuta, Y. (1986b). Role of dietary phospholipids in the transport of [14C] tripalmitin in the prawn. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 52: 519–524
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A., Kakuta, Y. (1986c). Role of dietary phospholipids in the transport of [14C] cholesterol in the prawn. Bull. Jap. Soc. scient. Fish. 52: 719–723
Teshima, S., Kanazawa, A., Okamoto, H. (1977). Variation in lipid classes during the molting cycle of the prawnPenaeus japonicus. Mar. Biol. 39: 129–136
Wassenberg, T. J., Hill, B. J. (1987). Natural diet of the tiger prawnsPenaeus esculentus Haswell andP. semisulcatus de Haan. Aust. J. mar. Freshwat. Res. 38: 169–182
Zandee, D. I. (1967). Absence of cholesterol synthesis as contrasted with the presence of fatty acid synthesis in some arthropods. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 20: 811–822
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by G. F. Humphrey, Sydney
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00356300.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chandumpai, A., Dall, W. & Smith, D.M. Lipid-class composition of organs and tissues of the tiger prawnPanaeus esculentus during the moulting cycle and during starvation. Mar. Biol. 108, 235–245 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01344338
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01344338