The effect of heterogeneous copper micro-supplementation on fatty acid profiles in the tissues of snails Helix pomatia (Gastropoda Pulmonata)

- PUFA increase in snail tissues exposed to Cu microdoses.
- Biomarker of FA varied depending on dose and form of Cu.
- Cu doses lower than 0.001 mg/ml do not induce FA saturation.
- Fatty acid profile can be used as a marker in ecotoxicology.

We analyzed the interesting phenomenon of the increase in the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the foot tissues and hepatopancreas of Helix pomatia L. snails resulting from administration of five microdoses of copper (0.0001, 0.00025, 0.0005, 0.00075, or 0.001 mg/ml) in three forms: pure salt solution, EDTA, or lysine chelates. The snails received the copper solution per os in the dose of 10 μl twice a week. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. The content of PUFAs increased as the supplementation with copper increased up to 0.001 mg/ml. This trend was observed in both analyzed tissue types − foot and hepatopancreas. The greatest accumulation of copper was observed in the groups receiving the lysine chelate. Copper added to the diet of the snails significantly increased the individual (C18:2 n-6, C18:3 n-3, C20:2, C20:4 n-6, C20:5 n-3, C22:4 n-6, and C22:5 n-3) and total share of PUFAs. In all treatments, very strong (r ∼ 1) negative correlations (p ≤ 0.01) were found between Cu contained in the diet and the individual saturated FA or their sums in the tissues. The results proved that determination of FA profile in snails can be used in ecotoxicological research as a reliable test of the effect of trace doses of stressors. The results analyzed indicate that the micro addition of copper induced an evidently positive stimulation of metabolic transformations of fatty acids in the snails.

226