Lipid characteristics of a seep clam,Mesolinga soliditesta: Comparison with those of two coastal clams,Meretrix lamarckii and Ruditapes philippinarum

The lipids and fatty acids of two coastal clams, Meretrix lamarckii and Ruditapes philippinarum, collected at 5 and 1 m of depth, and a seep clam, Mesolinga soliditesta, collected at 331 m of depth, were examined to assess their lipid physiology and trophic relationship with their diets. The major fatty acids of lipids in Mer. lamarckii and R. philippinarum were 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 16:1n-7, 18:1n-9, 18:1n-7, 20:4n-6, 20:5n-3, and 22:6n-3, while those of Mes. soliditesta were 16:0, 18:0, 16:1n-7, 18:1n-7, 20:1n-7, 20:1n-13, 20:2n-7, 15 (Δ5,13-20:2), and 22:2n-7,15 (Δ7,15-22:2). The major polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the Mer. lamarckii and R. philippinarum lipids consisted of various n-3 and n-6 long-chain (LC) PUFAs, such as 20:4n-6, 22:4n-6, 20:5n-3, 22:5n-3, and 22:6n-3, while those in Mes. soliditesta muscle and viscera included various n-4 family PUFAs (18:3n-7, 18:4n-4, 20:2n-7, and 20:3n-7) with limited kinds of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs (20:4n-6 and 20:5n-3). These findings indicate that, like other common shallow-water clams, Mer. lamarckii and R. philippinarum ingest phytoplanktonic n-3 and n-6 LC-PUFAs, whereas Mes. soliditesta utilizes limited kinds of n-3 and n-6 LC-PUFAs. In contrast to the other two bivalves species, Mes. soliditesta yielded various n-4 and n-7 (n-4/n-7) PUFAs, which were assimilated from the chemosynthetic symbionts. The high diversity of PUFAs contained in the Mes. soliditesta lipids (n-3, n-4 family, and n-6 PUFAs) suggests that this species mixotrophically utilized both photosynthetic products and vent chemosynthetic nutrition derived from geothermal energy.