Lipid transport mechanism in the prawn.

The distribution of radioactive lipid classes in the tissues of prawn, Penaeus japonicus, was investigated after oral administration of linolenic acid-1-14C in order to clarify the mechanism of lipid transport in crustaceans. Also, the movement of linolenic acid to the serous membrane site across the hin-dgut was examined by using the everted hind-gut of prawn. Dietary free fatty acid was presumed to be mainly absorbed at the region of the hepatopancreas and mid-gut rather than at the hind-gut. The absorbed linolenic acid was resynthesized to phospholipids (PL) in the hepatopancreas and hind-gut, and then released into the hemolymph as a form of PL. From this data, PL were conceived to be the most important mediators of lipid mobilization through the hemolymph in the prawn, P. japonicus.