LONG CHAIN-POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACID SYNTHESIS IN THE MUSCLE AND LIVER OF LANDLOCKED AND SAINT JOHN RIVER ATLANTIC SALMON FED A FISH OIL-FREE DIET

Abstract

The first trial compared tissue omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LC-PUFA) content between the landlocked Grand Lake strain (GL) and the farmed Saint John River (SJR) strain. After 16 weeks, GL and SJR salmon fed the fish oil-free diet had a similar n-3 LC-PUFA level in the muscle and liver. The significantly highest muscle DHA level was observed in the GL/control diet, showing that GL strain conserved a higher muscle DHA content than SJR strain when fed the control diet. GL strain had a genetic potential of increased muscle n-3 LC-PUFA storage. In the second trial, fifty Atlantic salmon families of SJR strain were offered a control or a fish oil-free diet. After 16 weeks, the n-3 LC-PUFA level clearly upregulated in tissue when fed the fish oil-free diet. Certain families exhibited an affinity to n-3 fatty acid storage when fed the fish oil-free diet.