Quantitative Determination of the Nutritional Status of Detrital Microbiota and the Grazing Fauna by Triglyceride Glycerol Analysis

摘要

Endogenous lipid storage components are accumulated or utilized by both microorganisms and marine invertebrates, depending upon their nutritional status. Triglycerides are commonly the lipid endogenous storage materials utilized by fungi, marine vertebrates and many invertebrates, and can be quantitatively estimated by gas chromatographic assay of triacyl glycerol from lipid extraction. Deprivation from a food source can be detected by loss of triglyceride glycerol and estimated as the ratio of triglyceride glycerol to phospholipid measured as extractable lipid phosphate. In several estuarine animals, deprivation from food sources resulted in decline of both neutral lipid glycerol and triglyceride glycerol. Amphipods, feeding on estuarine detritus in the laboratory, showed the same nutritional state as those taken from detrital baskets in the field and were considerably better nourished than control amphipods deprived of food for a week.