Lipid classes and fatty acid composition in female gonads of great scallops - A selective field study

Fatty acid composition was analyzed in neutral lipids (NL), phosphatidyletanolamine (PE) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) of Pecten maximus (L.) ovaries from Western Norway. Individual ovaries were selected based on macroscopic characterization. Two series were compared; (1) ovary development from recovering to half-full ovaries during the autumnal restoration of the gonads and (2) seasonal variation with late filling ovaries from different parts of the year. The relative lipid content and the proportion of triacylglycerols increased during development. Changes in fatty acid composition during ovary development were minor compared with the changes observed with seasonal variation. The samples from June differed from the other samples with a large increase in 20:5n-3 on the expense of 22:6n-3 in neutral lipids (NL) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) and a concomitant increase in 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 in phosphatidyletanolamine (PE). The changes in NL and PC can probably be attributed to a dietary effect from the diatom dominated spring phytoplankton bloom. Only small changes in the degree of unsaturation in PC were seen that may be due to a temperature effect. The differences observed represent large differences in status of broodstock from field prior to conditioning in season independent hatchery production.