Expression of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids biosynthesis genes during the early life-cycle stages of the tropical gar Atractosteus tropicus

Long-chain (>= C-20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3), arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4n-6) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), are essential in multiple physiological processes, especially during early development of vertebrates. LC-PUFA biosynthesis is achieved by two key families of enzymes, fatty acyl desaturases (Fads) and elongation of very long-chain fatty acid (Elovl). The present study determined the expression patterns of genes encoding desaturases (fads1 and fads2) and elongases (elovl2 and elovl5) involved in the LC-PUFA biosynthesis during early life-stages of the tropical gar Atractosteus tropicus. We further analyzed the fatty acid profiles during early development of A. tropicus to evaluate the impact of Fads and Elovl enzymatic activities. Specific oligonucleotides were designed from A. tropicus transcriptome to perform qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) on embryonic and larval stages, along with several organs (intestine, white muscle, brain, liver, heart, mesenteric adipose, kidney, gill, swim bladder, stomach, and spleen) collected from juvenile specimens. Fatty acid content of feeds and embryonic and larval stages were analyzed. Results show that fads1, fads2, elovl2 and elovl5 expression was detected from embryonic stages with expression peaks from day 15 post hatching, which could be related to transcriptional and dietary factors. Moreover, fads1, fads2 and elovl2 showed a higher expression in intestine, while elovl5 showed a higher expression in liver, suggesting that the tropical gar activates its LC-PUFA biosynthetic machinery to produce ARA, EPA and DHA to satisfy physiological demands at crucial developmental milestones during early development.