Sphingophosphonolipids, phospholipids, and fatty acids from aegean jellyfish Aurelia aurita

Abstract

The goal of this study is to elucidate and identify several sphingophosphonolipids from Aurelia aurita, an abundant but harmless Aegean jellyfish, in which they have not previously been described. Total lipids of A. aurita were 0.031-0.036% of fresh tissue, and the lipid phosphorus content was 1.3-1.7% of total lipids. Phosphonolipids were 21.7% of phospholipids and consisted of a major ceramide aminoethylphosphonate (CAEP-I; 18.3%), as well as three minor CAEP (II, III, IV) methyl analogs at 1.3, 1.1, and 1.0%, respectively. The remaining phospholipid composition was: phosphatidylcholine, 44.5%, including 36.2% glycerylethers; phosphatidylethanolamine, 18.6%, including 4.5% glycerylethers; cardiolipin, 5.6%; phosphatidylinositol, 2.6%; and lysophosphatidylcholine, 5.0%. In CAEP-I, saturated fatty acids of 14-18 carbon chain length were 70.8% and were combined with 57.3% dihydroxy bases and 23.4% trihydroxy bases. The suite of the three minor CAEP methyl analogs were of the same lipid class based on the head group, but they separated into three different components because of their polarity as follows: CAEP-II and CAEP-III differentiation from the major CAEP-I was mainly due to the increased fatty acid unsaturation and not to a different long-chain base, but the CAEP-IV differentiation from CAEP-I, apart from fatty acid unsaturation, was due to the increased content of hydroxyl groups originated from both hydroxy fatty acids and trihydroxy long-chain bases. Saturated fatty acids were predominant in total (76.7%), polar (83.0%), and neutral lipids (67.6%) of A. aurita. The major phospholipid components of A. aurita were comparable to those previously found in a related organism (Pelagia noctiluca), which can injure humans.

Mediterranean Jellyfish Venoms: A Review on Scyphomedusae

“…Total lipids were reported to amount to 0.02% of the fresh tissue; this low total lipid content of Aurelia aurita, compared to that of the stinging species Pelagia noctiluca , induced the Authors [104] to correlate the lipid armature of tentacles to the intensity of the bioactions exerted by the jellyfish and, on this basis, to define Aurelia aurita a “non-stinging scyphozoan species”. Subsequent studies identified several sphingophosphonolipids in Aurelia aurita and indicated that total lipids range between 0.031 and 0.036% of fresh tissue [105]. …”

“…Aurelia aurita is commonly considered innocuous for man and it has been defined as “harmless jellyfish” [105], but it can be anyhow a trouble for bathers when it occurs in great numbers [107]. It was reported that the nematocysts of the moon jellyfish give weak and not irritable stinging, but could anyhow irritate thin or sensitive skin, eyes and lips [108] and produce a modest itchiness [109]; therefore, Aurelia cannot be considered harmless [108].…”

Coordinated Regulation of Cold-Induced Changes in Fatty Acids with Cardiolipin and Phosphatidylglycerol Composition among Phospholipid Species for the Food Pathogen Listeria monocytogenes

“…Each iodine-visualized band was scraped into a digestion tube, and the total phosphorus content was determined (27). A 25-g phosphorus sample of the TLCextracted CL band (cells of 30°C) was dry acid methanolysed (51) by 400 l of 3 N methanolic HCl, and the molecular ratios (structural data) were determined in hydrolysis aliquots as described previously (28).…”

“…For each culture CL, PG, phosphoaminolipids (PhAL), and PI FA were methylated by scraping the 1D-TLC bands into digestion tubes, and a 1-mg PL sample was also methylated as previously described (28,35). FA methyl esters were separated by using a Hewlett-Packard 6890 gas chromatograph with split/ splitless injector, flame ionization detector (30 m by 0.251 mm, capillary column DB-5ms; J&W Scientific).…”

The 2-Aminoethylphosphonate-Specific Transaminase of the 2-Aminoethylphosphonate Degradation Pathway

“…These are typically found as conjugates of glycans (7), lipids (3,19,31), and proteins (15), which in turn perform essential biochemical functions in specialized lower organisms. In pathogens, AEP conjugates are used for host infection and persistence.…”