Marine worms capable of producing omega 3 fatty acids

The most abundant marine worms can produce omega 3 with high nutritional value, according to a recent study.

The study is the work of researchers from the Torre de la Sal Aquaculture Institute (IATS) in Ribera de Cabanes, Castellón, a centre affiliated with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Florian Raible’s team from the University of Vienna in Austria also participated in the study.

The team led by Óscar Monroig, from the IATS Auxiliary Species in Aquaculture, Larviculture and Ecotoxicology group, focused on the polychaete Platynereis dumerilii, investigating the presence of a type of enzyme crucial for the production of omega 3, the so-called elongases. “When it comes to omega 3, we can say that size matters,” explains Monroig. “While there are short-chain omega 3s with little nutritional value that can be found in many foods we consume, long-chain omega 3s are those that provide benefits for our health and are included in our diet through the consumption of marine products. Elongases are responsible for their production,” he explains.

Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids play important roles in human health, being a critical component of both the prevention and treatment of many conditions, particularly those related to age. “Our study has demonstrated the existence in polychaetes of enzymes called elongases, which allow the production of essential fatty acids,” summarises Marc Ramos, a CSIC researcher at the IATS who participated in the work. This study complements other previous works in which this research team had shown the existence of other important enzymes in the production of long-chain omega-3: desaturases.

Specimen of the marine polychaete Platynereis dumerilii. (Photo: Florian Raible / University of Vienna)

Omega 3-rich flours for aquaculture

“We can now confirm that polychaetes have complementary enzymatic equipment that enables them to carry out the biochemical reactions necessary for the production of omega-3 with high nutritional value,” says Juan Carlos Navarro, a researcher at IATS. Their diet based on detritus or decomposing organic matter, the possibility of intensive breeding and the capacity to produce healthy omega-3 make polychaete worms ideal candidates for the sustainable production of omega-3-rich flours for aquaculture feed, say the researchers.

Global production of these compounds is finite and, with the expansion of aquaculture, there is an increasingly growing demand for new sources rich in omega 3. Estimates for aquaculture production to 2050 from the United Nations Agricultural Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expect this to more than double by then, which will mean that aquaculture feed production must at least double by then as well.

The results of this study demonstrate that marine polychaetes represent alternative sources of omega 3. Specifically, the species used in this work, Platynereis dumerilii, “offers many advantages since, as it is a study model widely used in Evolutionary Biology and Development, has methodological tools that allow us to study the basic mechanisms in which omega 3 participate, ensuring health and correct development,” explains Marc Ramos.

“In addition, we have discovered an elongase with unique characteristics in the animal kingdom. This elongase is very active in the photoreceptor cells located in the head of the polychaete Platynereis dumerilii, which suggests its essential role in the vision process,” maintain the CSIC researchers. This fact is particularly relevant in an animal that, for its success as a species, needs to synchronize with the lunar cycles for its reproduction.

The study is titled “Elongation capacity of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the annelid Platynereis dumerilii.” And it has been published in the academic journal Open Biology of the oldest scientific society in the world of all those still in force, the Royal Society of the United Kingdom. (Source: Isidoro García / CSIC)