A contribution to lipid digestion of Odobenidae family: Computational analysis of gastric and pancreatic lipases from walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)

  • Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Aug;275(Pt 2):132985. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132985.
Ana María Bojórquez-Sánchez  1 ,  Tania Diaz-Vidal  2 ,  Luis Carlos Rosales-Rivera  2 ,  Luis Alonso Leyva-Soto  3 ,  Diana Martínez-Alarcón  4 ,  Lourdes Mariana Díaz-Tenorio  1 ,  Raúl Balam Martínez-Pérez  5
Affiliations
  • 1. Department of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, 85137 Ciudad Obregón, Mexico.
  • 2. Department of Chemical Engineering, CUCEI, Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara 44430, Mexico.
  • 3. Department of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, 85137 Ciudad Obregón, Mexico; CONAHCYT Chair Program, Researchers for México, Av. Insurgentes Sur 1582, Col Crédito Constructor Demarcación Territorial Benito Juárez, 03940 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
  • 4. UMR-MARBEC, Université de Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Place Eugène Bataillon, Montpellier 34095, France.
  • 5. Department of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, 85137 Ciudad Obregón, Mexico. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 38871103 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.132985
Abstract

Triacylglycerols (TAGs) are a primary energy source for marine mammals during lipid digestion. Walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) consume prey with a high content of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; however, their digestive physiology and lipid digestion remain poorly studied. The present study aims to model and characterize the gastric (PWGL) and pancreatic (PWPL) lipases of Pacific walruses using an in-silico approach. The confident 3D models of PWGL and PWPL were obtained via homology modeling and protein threading and displayed the structural features of lipases. Molecular docking analysis demonstrated substrate selectivity for long-chain TAG (Trieicosapentaenoin; TC20:5n-3) in PWGL and short-chain TAG (Trioctanoin; TC8:0) in PWPL. Molecular dynamics simulations demonstrate that PWGL bound to tridocosahexaenoin (TC22:6n-3), the protein is considerably stable at all three salinity conditions, but fluctuations are observed in the regions associated with catalytic sites and the lid, indicating the potential hydrolysis of the substrate. This is the first study to report on the digestion of TAGs in walruses, including modeling and lipases characterization and proposing a digestive tract for pinnipeds.

Keywords
Gastric lipase; In-silico analysis; Odobenus rosmarus divergens; Pacific walrus; Pancreatic lipase; Triacylglycerol digestion.
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