Metabolism and Functions of Lipids and Fatty Acids in Teleost Fish

TLDR

Fish lipids, rich in omega‑3 long‑chain unsaturated fatty acids, are major energy sources for growth, reproduction, and movement, and constitute a key nutritional resource for humans, driving sustained scientific interest. The review aims to summarize current knowledge of fatty‑acid biochemistry, metabolism, and functions in fish, relating findings to both wild and farmed species. It emphasizes the use of molecular technologies—genomics, proteomics, and other omics—to investigate fish lipid metabolism and identify future research priorities.

Abstract

Lipids and their constituent fatty acids are, along with proteins, the major organic constituents of fish, and they play major roles as sources of metabolic energy for growth including reproduction and movement, including migration. Furthermore, the fatty acids of fish lipids are rich in ω3 long chain, highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA) that have particularly important roles in animal nutrition, including fish and human nutrition, reflecting their roles in critical physiological processes. Indeed, fish are the most important food source of these vital nutrients for man. Thus, the longstanding interest in fish lipids stems from their abundance and their uniqueness. This review attempts to summarize our present state of knowledge of various aspects of the basic biochemistry, metabolism, and functions of fatty acids, and the lipids they constitute part of, in fish, seeking where possible to relate that understanding as much to fish in their natural environment as to farmed fish. In doing so, it highlights the areas that require investigation in greater depth and also the increasing application of molecular technologies in fish lipid metabolism, which will further fascilitate advances through molecular biological and genetic techniques, including genomics and proteomics.