Lipid composition of gametes and embryos of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius at early stages of development

Males and females gonad fatty acids of the sea urchins Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula (Echinodermata)

“…They suggested that this is probably due to the presence, at stage 4, immediately before the release of gametes, of high levels of gametes with diVerent fatty acid composition. Triglycerides, important for embryos during early development, are the main non-polar lipids in the eggs of sea urchins (Kozhina et al 1978;Sewell 2005;Villinski et al 2002;Yasumasu et al 1984) but are present at very low levels or even absent in spermatozoa where phospholipids clearly predominate (Kozhina et al 1978;Mita et al 1994). Triglycerides and phospholipids have usually distinctive fatty acid proWles and, for example, in the gametes of diVerent sea urchin species, it has been shown that phospholipids have higher levels of 18:0, 20:4n-6 and 20:5n-3 than triglycerides but lower proportions of 14:0, 16:0 and 16:1n-7 (Kozhina et al 1978;Metzman et al 1978;Mita et al 1994).…”

“…During gametogenesis, they can be used as a source of energy (Marsh and Watts 2001) and, additionally, sea urchin spermatozoa obtain energy for swimming through oxidation of fatty acids derived either from phosphatidylcholine or from triglycerides (Mita and Nakamura 2001). In the eggs, triglycerides are important for larval development and survival (Kozhina et al 1978;Sewell 2005;Yasumasu et al 1984). Sea urchins as many other marine animals are able to synthesize most fatty acids but dietary lipids also provide the essential fatty acids linoleic (18:2n-6) and -linolenic (18:3n-3) and some other important long-chain n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as arachidonic (20:4n-6) and eicosapentaenoic (20:5n-3) acids.…”

Utilization of lipids during early development of the sea urchin Evechinus chloroticus

“…The neutral lipids are dominated by TG and ST, and the polar lipids include both PL and glycolipids (AMPL). Direct comparisons to previous studies are difficult due to differences in extraction and separation of lipid classes, but the presence of glycolipids (Chelomin & Svetashev 1978, Kozhina et al 1978 and the dominance of TG as the energy storage lipid has been described in the eggs of other planktotrophic echinoids: Arbacia punctulata (Metzman et al 1978), Strongylocentrotus intermedius (Chelomin & Svetashev 1978, Kozhina et al 1978, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus (Deguchi et al 1979, Yokota et al 1993 and Anthocidaris crassispina (Yasumasu et al 1984). Villinski et al (2002) reported both TG and WE as energy storage lipids in eggs of 4 species of planktotrophic echinoids.…”

“…Ephrussi & Rapkine 1928, Ephrussi 1933, Hayes 1938, Öhman 1944, suggesting that lipids were utilized as an energy source and/or as the precursor of other compounds (Mohri 1964). Later research suggested that total lipid levels did not decrease prior to hatching, but that there was a decrease from the swimming blastula to the pluteus stage (Mohri 1964, Hoshi & Nagai 1970, primarily due to the loss of triglycerides (Kozhina et al 1978, Yasumasu et al 1984, Podolsky et al 1994. Additional information on the role of lipids during sea urchin development has been provided by studies on the change in biochemical composition, including total lipids, during the embryonic or larval stages (Fenaux et al 1985, 1992, George et al 1990, 1997, Shilling & Manahan 1990.…”

Evolution of maternal provisioning in ophiuroid echinoderms: characterisation of egg composition in planktotrophic and lecithotrophic developers

“…More data are needed, however, to determine if this pattern holds across taxonomically diverse echinoderms. Triacylglycerols are the most concentrated and prevalent form of energy storage in animals (Holmer 1989) and are prevalent in the ovaries and eggs of asteroids and echinoids (Kozhina et al 1978, Oudejans & van der Sluis 1979, Yasumasu et al 1984, Broertjes et al 1985, Liyana-Pathirana et al 2002.…”