Lipid and Fatty Acid Status of the Liver and Gonads of the Three-Spined Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (Gastrosteidae) from Different Spawning Grounds in the White Sea

Abstract

The content of the total lipids, including structural and storage, and fatty acids (FAs) was evaluated in the liver and gonads of females of the three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from different spawning grounds of the White Sea: in Sel’dyanaya Inlet and Kolyushkovaya Lagoon (Kandalaksha Bay), and in Konyukhov Bay (Onega Bay). The content of total lipids in the gonads was high (from 14.25 to 20.05% of dry weight); while significant differences in their content, as well as in the quantitative profile of the main lipid classes, may indicate differences in the spawning peculiarities. In the gonads, the amount of the structural phospholipids was different, but the most pronounced variations were registered in the content of the reserve triacylglycerols and their components, in particular, two essential polyunsaturated FAs (22:6n-3, docosahexaenoic, and 20:5n-3, eicosapentaenoic), and a monounsaturated FA (16:1n-7, palmitoleic). In the gonads of the fish sampled in Konyukhov Inlet, the highest level of reserve triacylglycerols and palmitoleic acid was registered; this can positively affect the body weight and viability of the coming embryos. The increased content of physiologically significant n-3 polyenic FA (22:6n-3 and 20:5n-3) in the gonads of the stickleback females at this stage of the reproductive cycle may be associated with increased need for these acids by the coming embryos.