title: Carotenoids of two freshwater amphipod species (Gammarus pulex and G. roeseli) and their common acanthocephalan parasite Polymorphus minutus.
abstract: Carotenoid compositions of two freshwater Gammarus species (Crustacea: Amphipoda) and of their common acanthocephalan parasite Polymorphus minutus were characterized. The effect of carotenoid uptake by the parasite was addressed by comparing the carotenoid content of uninfected and infected female hosts. Using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), co-chromatography of reference pigments and electron ionization mass spectrometry of collected HPLC fractions (EI-MS), several xanthophylls and non-polar compounds were identified. Seven kinds of carotenoids, mainly xanthophylls, were identified in gammarids. Astaxanthin was predominant, amounting to 40 wt.% of total carotenoid in both uninfected G. pulex and G. roeseli. By contrast, we found only non-polar compounds with a predominance of esterified forms of astaxanthin in P. minutus larvae. No significant effect of infection on carotenoid content was evidenced in G. pulex and G. roeseli females. Our study highlights the use of a Matrix Solid Phase Dispersion as an efficient extraction method of both xanthophylls and non-polar pigments in small samples, including lipid-rich ones as P. minutus parasite. We discuss on the presumptive pathway leading to the formation of free astaxanthin in gammarids via hydroxy compounds, and on the accumulation of esters of astaxanthin in parasites.
authors.affiliation: Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, UMR CNRS 5561 Biogéosciences, Université de Bourgogne, 6 Boulevard Gabriel, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: Cédrik
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Juillet
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cézilly
authors.forename: Marie-Jeanne
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Perrot-Minnot
mesh_terms: D000049:Acanthocephala / Q000737:chemistry*; D033304:Amphipoda / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D000818:Animals; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D005260:Female; D005618:Fresh Water; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010271:Parasites / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D002338:Carotenoids