INVESTIGADORES
Leonardo Castro Cifuentes
Investigador Titular Línea 3
Silvio Pantoja Gutiérrez
Director COPAS Sur-AustralInvestigador Titular Línea 5
We assessed the ontogenetic changes in proteincontent and free amino acids (FAA) in eggs and early larvae of Engraulis ringens (anchoveta) off central Chile on diferent dates during the spawning season. On all samplingdates, a reduction in embryonic yolk-sac volume, proteinsand FAA concentrations occurred during development.Protein electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) of eggs and larvaeshowed at least 22 protein bands: 11 were consumed earlyand not detected after hatching. The proportion of essential FAA (EFAA) was higher than the proportion of non-essen-tial FAA (NEFAA) in early eggs and in 7 day-old larvae (82.5-73% EFAA respectively). During egg development,the FAA pool was dominated by leucine, alanine andlysine, three amino acids contributing 35–44% of the totalFAA in eggs. During larval development, histidine was themost abundant FAA. In July, total FAA constituted 13–18% of the egg dry weight. A similar proportion (45–51%)occurred in July between protein plus FAA and total lipids.The diferences in egg size during the spawning seasonalong with variability in batch composition suggests thatthe female spawning condition is a major factor determin-ing egg quality and early off spring success.
