Effects of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Supplementation on Growth, Survival and Fatty Acid Composition of Anadara tuberculosa Spat

ABSTRACT This research assessed the feasibility of using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a complementary feed for the mangrove cockle Anadara tuberculosa spat. The nutritional impact of five mix diets was tested: (1) Tisochrysis lutea + Chaetoceros gracilis , (2) C. gracilis + S. cerevisiae , (3) S. cerevisiae , (4) T. lutea + S. cerevisiae and (5) T. lutea + C. gracilis + S. cerevisiae . In addition, fatty acid (FA) profiles of the diets and of spat tissues were analysed. Saturated FAs were the predominant fraction in both microalgal diets ( T. lutea and C. gracilis ), whereas saturated FAs represented 40.26% ± 2.01% and 46.34% ± 2.32%, respectively. After 3 months, Diet (1) produced spat with high proportions of PUFAs, particularly EPA and DHA, resulting in the highest survival (93.70% ± 2.08%) and growth (13.20 ± 1.07 mm). Diet (2) resulted in the second‐best growth (12.57 ± 1.22 mm). Diet (5) showed the second‐highest survival (87.43% ± 3.56%) and the third highest growth (10.85 ± 0.98 mm). Diets (3) and (4) produced statistically similar survival and growth (78.30%–81.23% and 11.17–12.57 mm, respectively). The heat map strengthened the results by showing differentiated responses, highlighting C. gracilis + S. cerevisiae and T. lutea + C. gracilis for their favourable growth and biomass profiles. In contrast, the yeast diet showed the lowest survival and growth of the trial, inducing a profile dominated by saturated FAs, with extreme accumulations of 14:0, 17:0, and the complete disappearance of PUFAs. Scatter plot analysis revealed a possible non‐linear relationship between availability and incorporation. Principal component analysis (PCA) explained 47.0% of the total variance. Our results suggest that S. cerevisiae can be used as a partial substitute for microalgae in diets for A. tuberculosa , provided that at least a fraction of the diet consists of LC‐PUFA‐rich microalgae.