Today I want to share with you an article from Developmental and Comparative Immunology: the effect of seawater acidification on immune related fatty acids in shrimp.

From the beginning of the industrial revolution, human exploitation of coal, oil and natural gas and other fossil fuels, and cut down a lot of forest, to the early twenty-first Century, has been discharged more than 5000 tons of carbon dioxide, and human activities, the release of CO2 has more than 1/3 is absorbed by the oceans, making the water PH drop, change the chemical balance of the sea. Since the industrial revolution, the surface PH has fallen from 8.1 to 8, and it is expected to fall faster to 7.7 at the end of the century. Does such a huge change have an impact on marine life? Because of its rich protein and fat, it is the main source of nourishment for the breeding industry. As an important component of lipid, fatty acids are the main source of energy in the marine food cycle. In addition, most studies have shown that fatty acids can regulate the immune response process. In this study, the effect of acidification of sea water on its fatty acid composition was analyzed.

This study used different CO2 concentrations to set up 3 gradient PH, which were 7.6, 7.8 and 8.2 (control group), 26 degrees C, and 28 7 salinity respectively. They were sampled on 1 days, 7 days and 14 days respectively, and their fatty acid composition was detected by gas chromatography.

The results showed that the fatty acid composition of Artemia has 7 kinds of saturated fatty acids (saturated, fatty, acids, SFAs) 4 kinds of mono unsaturated fatty acids (monounsaturated fatty, acids, MUFAs) and 5 polyunsaturated fatty acids (polyunsaturated fatty, acid, PUFAs), and their relative content in the growth process of changing (as shown below), and in PH=7.6, the ratio of Artemia SFA showed a significant downward trend within a week, especially the content of stearic acid. When seawater acidification (PH=7.8 and PH=7.6), PUFAs and linoleic acid (linoleic acid, LNA) had similar trends, and their contents increased significantly. EPA showed a trend of first increase and then decrease.

This study shows that seawater acidification has a great influence on the composition of fatty acids. As an important nutritional link in marine food chain, it will affect the further transformation of energy in marine ecosystems. And according to previous reports, stearic acid can stimulate the synthesis and secretion of inflammatory factors (IL-8, IL-6 and TNF- alpha). In addition, the degree of phosphorylation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the phospholipid bimolecular layer affects the membrane fluidity, thus affecting the cell signaling pathway. Therefore, seawater acidification may affect the growth, metabolism and immune processes of various marine organisms. The direct effects and the extent of their impacts need more experimental evaluation.

Comment: 2003, the term "acidification" first appeared in the journal "nature", then, people gradually realize the harm, such as ocean acidification caused by algae, coral reef calcification, the growth and reproduction of fish is blocked, slow growth, some marine organisms gradually disappeared. The "reshuffling" of the marine environment caused by the acidification of sea water may cause the whole marine ecosystem to be impacted. The earth has contributed a lot of resources to the human being. Please be a little better to her when you keep asking for it.