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Antioxidant potential is positively correlated with mitochondrial enzyme activity in Antarctic and non-Antarctic notothenioid fishes

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Abstract

Antarctic notothenioid fishes possess high oxidative capacities, large amounts of intracellular lipid combined with biological membranes enriched in polyunsaturated fatty acids, all of which could make these animals susceptible to oxidative injury, particularly in the form of lipid peroxidation. The central objective in this study was to examine capacities for oxidative metabolism and total antioxidant defense in Antarctic and non-Antarctic notothenioids in order to test the hypothesis that the cold-bodied Antarctic fishes possess elevated activities of citrate synthase (CS), matched by a more robust antioxidant (AOX) defense, than non-Antarctic species. CS activities and total AOX capacities were measured in brain and heart of 4 Antarctic species and 2 non-Antarctic species collected on the 2004 ICEFISH cruise. While no statistical differences are found among Antarctic and non-Antarctic fishes in either CS or AOX capacities, AOX capacity in both tissues expands with CS activity among individuals measured when all species are combined. There is also a 4.5-fold greater AOX capacity, when normalized to CS activity, in brain than in heart indicating the requirement for extra AOX defense in a tissue well known for its particularly high levels of phospholipids more prone to lipid peroxidation.

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Acknowledgments

I would like, first and foremost, to acknowledge and thank Dr. Bruce Sidell, who kindly collected the samples and provided an inspiration for the author over the last 25 years. My thanks to the crew and personnel of Raytheon Polar Services aboard the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer for their help with collections. I am also grateful for conversations with Dr. Joe Eastman, who helped fill in details about the research cruise and provided comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Thanks also to Dr. Rebecca Holberton for use of her microplate reader. The ICEFISH cruise was supported by National Science Foundation grant OPP 01-32032 to H. William Detrich III of Northeastern University. The research was also supported by a Faculty Fellowship from Ohio University.

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Elizabeth L. Crockett

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  1. Elizabeth L. Crockett
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Correspondence to Elizabeth L. Crockett.

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Crockett, E.L. Antioxidant potential is positively correlated with mitochondrial enzyme activity in Antarctic and non-Antarctic notothenioid fishes. Polar Biol 34, 113–118 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0864-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0864-2

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