The fatty acids in the salmon lipid stores reflects the feed fatty acid composition. Accordingly, when the salmon is fed vegetable oils as a substitute for fish oils, the fatty acid profile changes in the fish. Vegetable oils may also affect the salmon’s lipid metabolism.
“We have found 10 genes coding for proteins which are known to be important for the uptake, transport and metabolism of fatty acids in the cells. This can help us to understand how the lipid metabolism is regulated by the salmon, thus telling us what happens when we change the composition of fatty acids in the feed”, says Dr. Bente E. Torstensen, senior researcher in the Aquaculture Nutrition Research Programme at NIFES.
“These genes may prove to be an important tool in helping us understand why inclusion of vegetable oil affect the fish metabolism and thereby being able to determine the quantity and type of vegetable oils to be used in the feed in order to achieve the optimal growth and wellbeing of the salmon”, says Torstensen.
