Pollution by Organic Contaminants (OC) in aquatic environments is a relevant issue at the global scale. Lipids comprised of Fatty Acids (FA) play many important roles in the physiology and life history of fishes. Toxic effects of OC are partly dependent on its bioaccumulation in the lipids of aquatic organisms due its physicochemical properties. Therefore, there is an increasing interest to investigate the gene expression as well as the presence and activity of proteins involved in FA metabolism. The attention on Peroxisome Proliferation Activate Receptors (PPARs) also prevails in fish species exposed to OC and in the transport, biosynthesis and β-oxidation of FA. Several studies have been conducted under controlled conditions to evaluate these biological aspects of fish species exposed to OC, as fibrates, endocrine disrupting compounds, perfluoroalkyl acids, flame retardants, metals and mixtures of organic compounds associated with a polluted area. However, only fibrates, which are agonists of PPARs, induce biological responses suitable to be considered as biomarkers of exposure to these pollutants. According to the documented findings on this topic, it is unlikely that these physiological aspects are suitable to be employed as biomarkers with some noticeable exceptions, which depend on experimental design. This emphasises the need to investigate the responses in fish treated with mixtures of OC and in wild fish species from polluted areas to validate or refute the suitability of these biomarkers for environmental or fish health monitoring.

Size-segregated aerosol samples were collected in New Delhi, India from March 6 to April 6, 2012. Homologous series of n-alkanes (C19C33), n-fatty acids (C12C30) and n-alcohols (C16C32) were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results showed a high-variation in the concentrations and size distributions of these chemicals during non-haze, haze, and dust storm days. In general, n-alkanes, n-fatty acids and n-alcohols presented a bimodal distribution, peaking at 0.7–1.1 μm and 4.7–5.8 μm for fine modes and coarse modes, respectively. Overall, the particulate matter mainly existed in the coarse mode (≥2.1 μm), accounting for 64.8–68.5% of total aerosol mass. During the haze period, large-scale biomass burning emitted substantial fine hydrophilic smoke particles into the atmosphere, which leads to relatively larger GMDs (geometric mean diameter) of n-alkanes in the fine mode than those during the dust storms and non-haze periods. Additionally, the springtime dust storms transported a large quantity of coarse particles from surrounding or local areas into the atmosphere, enhancing organic aerosol concentration and inducing a remarkable size shift towards the coarse mode, which are consistent with the larger GMDs of most organic compounds especially in total and coarse modes. Our results suggest that fossil fuel combustion (e.g., vehicular and industrial exhaust), biomass burning, residential cooking, and microbial activities could be the major sources of lipid compounds in the urban atmosphere in New Delhi.

We performed toxicological study of mice exposed to lead by quantifying fatty acids in brain of the mice. This study suggests that the introduced analytical method had an extremely high tolerance against impurities such as water and extractives; thus, it led to the enhanced resolution in visualizing the spectrum of fatty acid profiles in animal brain. Furthermore, one of the biggest technical advantages achieved in this study was the quantitation of fatty acid methyl ester profiles of mouse brain using a trace amount of sample (e.g., 100 μL mixture). Methanol was screened as the most effective extraction solvent for mouse brain. The behavioral test of the mice before and after lead exposure was conducted to see the effect of lead exposure on fatty acid composition of the mice’ brain. The lead exposure led to changes in disease-related behavior of the mice. Also, the lead exposure induced significant alterations of fatty acid profile (C16:0, C 18:0, and C 18:1) in brain of the mice, implicated in pathology of psychiatric diseases. The alteration of fatty acid profile of brain of the mice suggests that the derivatizing technique can be applicable to most research fields associated with the environmental neurotoxins with better resolution in a short time, as compared to the current protocols for lipid analysis.

1H-HRMAS NMR-based metabolomics was used to better understand the toxic effects on maize root tips of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), namely lindane (γHCH) and chlordecone (CLD). Maize seedlings were exposed to 2.5 μM γHCH (mimicking basic environmental contaminations) for 7 days and compared to 2.5 μM CLD and 25 μM γHCH for 7 days (mimicking hot spot contaminations). The 1H-HRMAS NMR-based metabolomic profiles provided details of the changes in carbohydrates, amino acids, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates and fatty acids with a significant separation between the control and OCP-exposed root tips. First of all, alterations in the balance between glycolysis/gluconeogenesis were observed with sucrose depletion and with dose-dependent fluctuations in glucose content. Secondly, observations indicated that OCPs might inactivate the TCA cycle, with sizeable succinate and fumarate depletion. Thirdly, disturbances in the amino acid composition (GABA, glutamine/glutamate, asparagine, isoleucine) reflected a new distribution of internal nitrogen compounds under OCP stress. Finally, OCP exposure caused an increase in fatty acid content, concomitant with a marked rise in oxidized fatty acids which could indicate failures in cell integrity and vitality. Moreover, the accumulation of asparagine and oxidized fatty acids with the induction of LOX3 transcription levels under OCP exposure highlighted an induction of protein and lipid catabolism. The overall data indicated that the effect of OCPs on primary metabolism could have broader physiological consequences on root development. Therefore, 1H-HRMAS NMR metabolomics is a sensitive tool for understanding molecular disturbances under OCP exposure and can be used to perform a rapid assessment of phytotoxicity.

Sediment samples from a salt marsh habitat in the vicinity of Linden Chemical Plant (LCP) Superfund site in Brunswick Georgia, USA, were analyzed for the composition of total solvent extracts and sources of lipid compounds. Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis infer past multiple sources of organic matter (OM) from aquatic and terrestrial origin, e.g., phytoplankton, bacteria, and land plants, as well as anthropogenic contamination. The n-alkane and n-alkanol distributions in the sediment samples were dominated by long-chain homologues maximizing at C₂₅–C₂₇ for alkanes (carbon preference index (CPI) ∼1) and C₃₂ for n-alkanols indicating inputs from higher plants, but also microbial and petroleum-related sources. Fatty acid distribution was characterized by short-chain (< C₁₈) and branched homologues indicative of bacterial origin. The high abundance of dehydroabietic acid and anthropogenic contaminants, including alkylphenols, are indicative of the effects of past industrial activities in the LCP marsh area in Brunswick, Georgia.

Trimethylamine (TMA) is a volatile organic compound which causes not only unpleasant odor but also health concerns to humans. The average emission of TMA from food and fishery industries is 20.60 parts per billion (ppb) and emission from the gas exhausters is even higher which reaches 370 parts per million (ppm). In order to select the best plant TMA removal agent, in this study, 13 plants were exposed to 100 ppm of TMA and the remaining TMA concentration in their system was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC). Furthermore, plant metabolites from the selected plant were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The result showed that Euphorbia milii was the most superior plant for TMA removal and could absorb up to 90 % of TMA within 12 h. E. milii absorbed TMA via leaf and stem with 55 and 45 % uptake efficiency, respectively. Based on its stomatal movement during the exposure to TMA, it was implied that the plant switched the photosynthetic mode from crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM)-cycling to CAM and CAM-idling. The switching of photosynthetic mode might reduce the stomata role in TMA absorption. Fatty acids, alkanes, and fatty alcohols in the plant leaf wax were also found to contribute to TMA adsorption. Leaf wax, stomata, and other leaf constituents contributed 58, 6, and 36 %, respectively, of the total TMA absorption by the leaf. The analysis and identification of plant metabolites confirmed that TMA was degraded and mineralized by E. milii.

The oxygenated non-hydrocarbon compounds are widely distributed in soil. To investigate the distribution and origin of these compounds in topsoil of Beijing, their contents and compositions were measured in topsoil from 62 sites in Beijing. The research results showed that oxygenated non-hydrocarbons were composed primarily of C₆∼C₂₈ n-fatty acids, C₁₂∼C₂₈ n-fatty alcohols, n-fatty acid methyl esters, phthalates, sterols, and dehydroabietic acid in the topsoil of Beijing. The contents and compositions of these compounds varied with the sampling site. The concentrations of n-fatty acids and phthalate esters were the highest at all sites, followed by sterols, n-fatty acid methyl esters, fatty alcohols, and dehydroabietic acid in order. The n-fatty acids had a main peak of C₁₆, followed by C₁₈. An odd or even carbon number predominance was not observed in the low-molecular-weight n-fatty acids, indicating a fossil fuel or organic matter source. However, some high-molecular-weight n-fatty acids with an even carbon predominance may derive from a biomass. The n-fatty alcohols showed a main peak of C₂₂ and were predominated by an even carbon number, suggesting plant, microbial, or other natural origins. Phthalates, including diethyl phthalate (DEP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), and dimethylphthalate (DMP), were detected. The content of phthalate esters was higher in the samples collected from dense human activity areas. The concentrations of DBP, DEHP, and DIBP were relatively high, indicating an anthropogenic source. The sterols (predominantly β-sitosterol) originated from biological sources, especially plants. The n-fatty acid methyl esters and dehydroabietic acid in topsoil showed apparent even carbon predominance with the former mainly derived from microorganisms or plants and the latter from cork combustion products.

In a present study, nutrient removal from municipal wastewater by Chlorella vulgaris and Nannochloropsis oculata was investigated by using mixotrophic cultivation with glycerol (0 to 5 g/L). Performance parameters were assessed by estimating the removal of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biomass growth, chlorophyll content, lipid yield, and fatty acids. With the addition of 2 g/L glycerol, a maximum biomass productivity of 56 mg/L/day was achieved in the mixotrophic culture of C. vulgaris within 12 days. The mixotrophic culture showed a 30-fold increase in biomass productivity compared to the wastewater without any glycerol. However, the highest total nitrogen removal (80.62 %), total phosphate removal (60.72 %), and COD removal (96.3 %) was observed in the N. oculata culture supplemented with 3, 5, and 1 g/L glycerol, respectively. These results suggest that mixotrophic cultivation using glycerol offers great potential in the production of renewable biomass, waste water treatment, and consequent production of high-value microalgal oil. Graphical Abstract Simultaneous biomass production and nutrient removal using microalgae cultivated in wastewater supplemented with glycerol

In this study, separation and concentration of fatty acids (FA) from the synthetic food processing wastewater containing low concentration of FA (250 mg/L) were investigated using expanded graphite (EG) as a novel adsorbent at different temperatures (298~318 K). The adsorption results were further analyzed to verify adsorption mechanisms and thermodynamics of FA onto EG. Results show that the adsorption of FA onto EG was explained well by the Langmuir model with the maximum adsorption capacity up to 8.01 g FA/g EG at 298 K, and considerably affected by temperature. The adsorption kinetics fitted with pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the adsorption mechanism analysis showed that the intraparticle diffusion was not the rate-limiting step, but the coalescence of FA droplets played the significant role for novel adsorption of FA onto EG. The calculated activation energy and thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy change (ΔG⁰), enthalpy change (ΔH⁰), and entropy change (ΔS⁰) indicated that the adsorption of FA onto EG was very feasible, was highly spontaneous, occurred physically, was exothermic in nature, and was stable in aquatic environmental changes. Overall, FA can be effectively harvested and concentrated from the food processing wastewater by EG even at low concentration.

Biodiesel has received widespread attention as a sustainable, environment-friendly, and alternative source of energy. It can be derived from plant, animal, and microbial organisms in the form of vegetable oil, fats, and lipids, respectively. However, biodiesel production from such sources is not economically feasible due to extensive downstream processes, such as trans-esterification and purification. To obtain cost-effective biodiesel, these bottlenecks need to be overcome. Escherichia coli, a model microorganism, has the potential to produce biodiesel directly from ligno-cellulosic sugars, bypassing trans-esterification. In this process, E. coli is engineered to produce biodiesel using metabolic engineering technology. The entire process of biodiesel production is carried out in a single microbial cell, bypassing the expensive downstream processing steps. This review focuses mainly on production of fatty acid and biodiesel in E. coli using metabolic engineering approaches. In the first part, we describe fatty acid biosynthesis in E. coli. In the second half, we discuss bottlenecks and strategies to enhance the production yield. A complete understanding of current developments in E. coli-based biodiesel production and pathway optimization strategies would reduce production costs for biofuels and plant-derived chemicals.