Investigation of Changes in Fatty Acid Composition at Early Development Stages of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Changes in fatty acid composition were investigated during the early development stages (egg, embryo, alevin and fry) of rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss). It was found that saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, i.e., 14:0, 16:1n-7 and 18:1n9, were utilized to a greater extent as energy substrates. Quantities of 18:3n-6, 18:4n-3, 20:2n-6 and 22:5n-3 fatty acids were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) during early development. The most significant depletion was observed in monounsaturated fatty acids, which fell from 33.89% to 23.41% during development while n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids fell from 16% to 12.9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]