ABSTRACT
Hypothesis: DHA/EPA-enriched membranes of chloroplasts enhance photosynthetic electron transport and increase primary productivity of the oceanic food web.
Harvesting light in frigid ocean water such as Antarctica requires specialized chloroplast membranes not found in terrestrial plants. We suggest this is why marine phytoplankton are the major producers of DHA/EPA in the biosphere. DHA and EPA produced by marine phytoplankton and cycled throughout the marine food web are the major source of these molecules nding their way into the human diet. Whereas the term “sh oils” is generally applied to this class of fatty acids, many of these chains are made by marine plants for the purpose of photosynthesis.
