On the Ecosystem and Indicator Significance of Fatty Acids in the Low Molecular Weight Metabolome of Water Macrophytes

The hypothesis that aquatic macrophytes produce and incorporate into their low molecular weight metabolome (LM) fewer fatty acids (in composition and content) under anthropogenic impact (eutrophication and pollution) than in clean, undisturbed, or slightly disturbed aquatic habitats (oligotrophic and mesotrophic conditions) has been tested for the first time. The available data indicate a decrease in the specific production of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids by macrophytes per unit of their biomass with an increase in the processes of eutrophication and pollution in aquatic ecosystems. The use of this pattern for the indicator assessment of anthropogenic influence on aquatic ecosystems is a significant practical application of this regularity.