Acronym LONGFA
Category
Marine Biotechnology
Title Biosynthesis of very long-chain fatty acids in fish: Molecular and biochemical basis and implications in aquaculture Programme FP7
Instrument (FP6)
Contact Type (FP7)
Strand (Interreg)
FP7 - European Re-Integration Grants (ERG)
Theme (FP7)
Activity Area (FP6)
Regional Area (Interreg)
Action (COST)
PEOPLE – Marie Curie Actions
Specific Programme (FP7)
People
Funding source European Coordinator Eusebio Jiménez Arroyo Coordinator email ger@csic.es
Coordinator institution
CSIC - Spanish National Research Council (Spain)
Institutions involved
NA
Start year 2011 End year 2014 Funding (€) € 45,000 Website https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/276916 Summary Recent investigations in mammals have suggest that very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs) can play pivotal roles in physiological processes including phototransduction in retina, fertility and spermatogenesis in testis, and brain functioning. In fish, however, VLC-PUFAs and their biosynthesis have escaped investigation despite many of the above functions have obvious interest in finfish aquaculture, where altered visual acuity (critical in visual predators such as most cultured fish species), fertility issues of broodstock, and disruptions of brain functioning can hinder normal development, and jeopardise the economical profit of the farm. The biosynthesis of VLC-PUFAs in mammals has been proposed to proceed through consecutive elongation reactions that enzymes called elongases of very long-chain fatty acids (Elovl) catalyse from PUFA substrates. Two members of the Elovl protein family, Elovl2 and Elovl4, have been found to mediate the production of VLC-PUFAs in target tissues. The objective of this proposal is to investigate the biosynthesis of VLC-PUFAs in finfish. Initially, the project will deal with objectives investigating basic molecular and biochemical aspects of the VLC- PUFA biosynthetic pathway. Then the project will proceed through more applied grounds exploring the potential impact that some aquaculture dietary strategies could have on VLC-PUFA biosynthesis. We plan to undertake this research using gilthead seabream Sparus aurata as a model, a teleost in which fatty acid metabolism has been previously investigated, and whose physiology is one of the best known among marine finfish species. Outcomes of the present project will be then transferred to other fish species and used to improve their production.
Keywords
Fish;
Seabream;
Diets;
Fish biology;
Marine Region
76
Not associated to marine areas
0
Marine Region Map
