Lipid characteristics of a seep clam, Mesolinga soliditesta: Comparison with those of two coastal clams, Meretrix lamarckii and Ruditapes philippinarum

Significant levels of various n-4 family (n-4/n-7) PUFA with high levels of 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid, ARA) were observed in the phosphatidylcholines (PC) of all organs of Mes. soliditesta, while high levels of both 20:5n-3 (icosapentaenoic acid, EPA) and 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA) with noticeable levels of ARA were found in PC of Mer. lamarkii and R. philippinarum. This implies Mes. soliditesta mixotrophically utilized both photosynthetic products and seep chemosynthetic nutrition derived from geothermal energy. 136