J. Appl. Ichthyol.

19 (2003), 397398 Received: April 7, 2003

2003 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin Accepted: May 10, 2003
ISSN 01758659

Short communication
Lipid content and fatty acid composition during early and late embryonic
development of redclaw craysh, Cherax quadricarinatus (Crustacea, decapoda)
By A. R. Alimon1, P. Roustaian2, C. R. Saad3 and M. S. Kamarudin3
1
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia; 2Department
of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Faculty of Agrotechnology and Food Science, Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia
(KUSTEM), Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia; 3Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Cherax quadricarinatus, commonly known as redclaw craysh,

Percentage total fatty acid composition

(a)
belongs to the family Parastacidae, a group of freshwater
craysh entirely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere (Jones, Early embryonic stages Late embryonic stages
1990). In recent years, the species has emerged as an 40
aquaculture candidate because of its avor and texture, 35
relatively large size, physiological tolerance to environmental 30
extremes, non-aggressive nature and a high market value, all 25
20
which compare well with the most sought-after crustacea
15
(Jones, 1990). The species was recently introduced into
10
Malaysia and there is currently some culturing of C. quadri- 5
carinatus in the southern part of the Malaysian peninsula on a 0
commercial scale. However, not much related literature is
18 9
7

20 6

22 3

3
0

n-
n-

n-

n-

n-

n-

n-

n-
:0

:0

:0

available as compared with other farmed crustacea. The

14

16

:1
:1

:2

:3

:4

:5

:5

:6
1

18
16

18

20

22
objective of this communication is to provide some baseline
7&
n-

information on the lipid concentration and fatty acid prole of

:1
18

redclaw craysh eggs. The information can be applied in

Fatty acids
further studies pertaining to fatty acid metabolism during
embryonic development as well as for feed formulation for
broodstock and newly hatched juveniles. (b)
Samples from early (no eyes or pereiopods visible) and
Percentage fatty acid class

80 Early embryonic stages Late embryonic stages

late (eyes and/or pereiopods visible) stages of redclaw
craysh egg development were obtained from broodstock 70
collected from Johore, Malaysia. The early and late stages 60
used in this work closely resemble stages 13 and 56, 50
respectively, as described by Jones (1995). Total lipid was 40
determined according to Holland and Hannant (1973) by 30
subsampling (n 3) of 35 mg of freeze-dried samples for 20
both early and late stages. Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME)
10
were prepared according to the direct methylation technique
0
of Divakaran and Ostrowski (1989). The FAME samples
ed

ed

d
d
d

-6
3

were subsequently analyzed (n 3) using a gasliquid

te
te
te

n-

n-

n
at

at

ra
ra
ra

3/
ur

ur

chromatograph (Shimadzu GC-8A) equipped with ame

tu
tu
tu

n-
at

at

sa
a
Sa

ns
ns

d/

ionization detector and Supleco 2330 capillary column as

un
ou
U

te

ly
ra

on

Po

described by Roustaian et al. (1999). Fatty acid structures

u

M
at

are represented as (L : BnX) where L chain length,

ns
U

B number of ethylenic bond, and nX position of the

double bond closest to the terminal methyl group. The
weight percentages of total lipid for early and late embryonic
stages were arcsine transformed to ensure a normal distri-
bution (Zar, 1984) and tested for statistical signicance
(P < 0.05) by independent t-test using SPSS Release 7.5
software (SPSS Inc., USA).
Total lipid concentration (expressed as percent dry weight)
diered signicantly (P < 0.05) between early and late
Fatty acid classes
Fig. 1. The fatty acid composition for early (no eyes or pereiopods
visible) and late (eyes and/or pereiopods visible) stages of Cherax
quadricarinatus embryonic development. (a) selected fatty acids
[expressed as percent fatty acid methyl esters (FAME); mean values,
n 3]; (b) fatty acid classes (mean value, n 3)

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398
embryonic stages. The level of the egg total lipid during early
stages of development ranged from 31.9 to 33.2% (mean
SD 32.5 0.6), which dropped signicantly to 16.6%
1.3 (range from 15.6 to 17.5%) at late stages of develop-
ment. The fatty acid (expressed as percent FAME) prole for
early and late embryonic development of C. quadricarinatus is
shown in Fig. 1. Major fatty acids during embryonic develop-
ment of redclaw craysh were oleic/vaccenic (18 : 1), palmitic
(16 : 0), linoleic (18 : 2n-6) and palmitoleic (16 : 1n-7). Mono-
unsaturated fatty acids constituted the major moiety of the
fatty acid prole. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were dominated
by n-6 series.
Lipid concentration decline from the early to late embryonic
stage is indicative of lipid utilization for developing embryos of
redclaw craysh, C. quadricarinatus. The number of lipid
characteristics, including high energy content, precursors of
prostaglandins and their vital role as phospholipids as a
structural part of cellular membranes, may contribute to their
importance during embryonic as well as larval development.
The importance of lipids for crustacean embryonic (Clarke,
1977; Clarke et al., 1990; Noblitt and Payne, 1995) and larval
(Ward et al., 1979; Roustaian et al., 1999) development has
been established.
The fatty acid prole of the C. quadricarinatus early
embryo can be considered as a reection of what is required
for transfer to the developing embryos after fertilization.
The eects of the dietary fatty acids in maturation and
spawning of decapode crustaceans have already been shown
(Millamena and Pascul, 1990). Likewise, the formulation of
dietary fatty acid prole for the juvenile C. quadricarinatus
can greatly benet from the fatty acid composition of the
late embryonic stages. The major fatty acids of early
embryonic stages (16 : 0, 16 : 1n-7, 18 : 1, and 18 : 2n-6),
which remain the major fatty acids of the later stages,
appear to be required in larger quantities than are other
fatty acids.
A low ratio of n-3 to n-6 found during C. quadricarinatus
embryonic development may suggest the nutritional superi-
ority of n-6 over n-3 for the developing embryo. It may also
reect some possible terrestrial ancestral origin of this
species. However, further studies are needed to elucidate
A. R. Alimon et al.
the fatty acid metabolism and possible eects of the dietary
fatty acids on embryonic growth and development in
C. quadricarinatus.
References
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Authors address: Paymon Roustaian, Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture, Faculty of Agrotechnology and Food
Science, Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi
Malaysia (KUSTEM), 21030 Kuala Terengganu,
Malaysia.
E-mail: paymon62@yahoo.com