Fatty acid variations in symbiotic dinoflagellates from Okinawan corals

The fatty acid composition of polar lipids and triacylglycerols was determined in different morphophysiological types of symbiotic dinoflagellates (SD) isolated from the hydrocoral Millepora intricata and the scleractinian corals Pocillopora damicornis, Seriatopora caliendrum, Seriatopora hystrix and Stylophora pistillata from a fringing reef of Sesoko Island, Okinawa, Japan. The distribution of the fatty acids among the morphophysiologically distinct types of SD reported in these corals makes it possible to readily distinguish one type of SD from the other. Moreover, differences were found both in polar lipids and triacylglycerols. The polar lipids of SD from M. intricata showed a very distinctive fatty acid profile. A combination of large proportions of 18:4 (n-3), 18:5 (n-3), 22:5 (n-6), and 22:6 (n-3) and negligible amounts of 20:4 (n-6), and 20:5 (n-3) in SD from M. intricata was particularly noteworthy. The fatty acid profiles of SD from P. damicornis and SD isolated from S. caliendrum and S. hystrix differed in the proportion of 18:4 (n-3) and 22:6 (n-3). It is suggested that fatty acids might provide useful information on possible taxonomic differences among symbiotic dinoflagellates. It is assumed that biochemical differences can reflect the genetic diversity of the morphophysiological types of SD associated with several species of hermatypic corals from this region.