A Lipidomic Profile of a Sustainable Source of Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Greenshell Mussels™, Perna canaliculus

Abstract

Greenshell mussel (GSM- Perna canaliculus) is the most important aquaculture species in New Zealand and produces one of the most expensive bioactive lipid extracts on the nutraceutical market. There have been numerous studies on the composition of GSM as well as pre-clinical and clinical studies on the efficacy of GSM extracts and foods. With increases in analytical capabilities, lipidomic studies using advanced mass spectral data may provide new insight into the content and activity of the lipidome, the totality of all lipids, of GSM. This study is the first reported characterisation of the GSM lipidome which may disclose important novel information regarding its nutrition, biology, physiology, and epidemiology. This study adds to the traditional lipid analytical outputs with new lipidomic capabilities to interrogate the lipid species differences between tissues rich in oil. We have identified 16 different lipid species in GSM including ceramide aminoethyl phosphonate (CAEP). Many lipid species are differentially expressed between tissues and correlation analysis demonstrates lipid species associated with the digestive gland that may be obtained from food sources, whilst other lipid species are dominant in the mantle or gonad. Linking this new information to the GSM breeding programmes may deliver functional breeding attributes to deliver premium strains for enhanced nutrition and/or extract production.