~ Pergamon 0305-0491(95)00069-0 Comp. Biochem. Physiol. Vol. lI2B, No. 2, pp. 309-313, 1995 Copyright © 1995 Elsevier Science Inc. Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0305-0491/95 $9.50 + 0.00 Carotenoids and their derivatives in organs of the maturing female crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus Amir Sagi, Moshe Rise, Khalaila Isam and Shoshana (Malis) Arad Department of Life Sciences and the Institutes for Applied Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel Carotenoids were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography from organ homogenates of pre-vitellogenic (oocyte diameter -300tim) and late-vitellogenic (oocyte diameter >Imm) Cherax quadricarinatus females. Carotenoids were present predominantly in the cuticle and in the late-vitellogenic ovary. Smaller amounts were present in the hepatopancreas, and almost no carotenoids were found in the muscular tissue. The cuticle contained mostly esterifled astaxanthins. The ovaries contained mostly non-esterified astaxanthin. Pre-viteHogenic ovaries were also relatively rich in lutein, whereas late-vitellogenic ovaries were relatively rich in /~-carotene. The hepatopancreas contained mostly t-carotene. Possible roles for the different carotenoids in the cuticle and ovary of the crayfish are discussed. Key words: Carotenoids; Cherax quadricarinatus; Decapoda; Crustacea; Cuticle; Ovary; Gonad maturation. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 112B, 309-313, 1995. Introduction Cherax quadricarinatus is among the largest of the fresh water Australian crayfish. It has thus attracted considerable interest as a poten- tial aquaculture species, and efforts have been made to culture it on an artificial diet. An un- derstanding of the dietary needs of C. quadri- carinatus is thus essential if this species is to be grown and bred in captivity. Crustaceans cannot synthesize carotenoids, de novo but can alter dietary carotenoids by oxidation and deposit them in their tissues. Carotenoids are distributed in several parts of the crustacean body (see review by Ghidalia, 1985). Carotenoids are among the most widely dis- tributed class of pigments found in nature, be- ing present in microorganisms, plants and ani- mals. Carotenoids are known to serve as Correspondence to: A. Sagi, Department of Life Sci- ences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel. Tel. 972-461364. Fax 972-276201. E-mail sagia@bgumail.bgu.ac.il. Received 24 June 1994; accepted 1 March 1995. colorants and anti-oxidant agents (Yamada et al., 1990; Miki, 1991) and are thought to play a role in crustacean reproduction (Gilchrist and Lee, 1972). Keto carotenoids act as skin and flesh pigments in several classes of animal (Grangaud et al., 1963; Choubert, 1981), in- cluding the decapod crustaceans (Gilchrist and Lee, 1972; Chien and Jeng, 1992). Astax- anthin has been found to be the predominant pigment in the cuticle of the shrimp (Schiedt et al., 1993). Oogenesis in crustaceans is characterized by rapid deposition of yolk in the oocyte, which results in a fast increase in oocyte diam- eter. The yolk contains proteins, lipids and carbohydrates (Adiyodi, 1985). The major li- poglycoprotein in the yolk is vitellin, which is accumulated in the oocyte cytoplasm and is later used as a source of nutrition for the de- veloping embryo. The crustacean vitellin is a high-density lipoprotein frequently associated with carotenoids (Wallace et al., 1967). Re- cently, it has been suggested that the purified vitellin of a number of crustaceans is in fact 309