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Effects of acclimation to high environmental temperatures on intermediary metabolism and osmoregulation in the sub-Antarctic notothenioid Eleginops maclovinus

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Abstract

Eleginops maclovinus is a sub-Antarctic fish endemic to the South American coast and is a monotypic species of the Eleginopidae family. A scarce amount of scientific information exists regarding the effects of temperature on E. maclovinus physiology. In this study, E. maclovinus specimens were acclimated for 2 weeks at 10 °C (control), 14, and 18 °C. Posterior assessments were performed for the intermediary metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids (in the plasma, liver, gills, and kidney) and on the osmoregulatory capacity [plasma osmolality and gill, kidney, and foregut Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) activities]. In the plasma, only lactate and total amino acid levels were affected by the temperature. NKA activity presented a linear relationship with the increased temperatures. The liver exhibited no change in the carbohydrates metabolism, but the glycogen/glucose metabolite levels did differ. Amino acid metabolism showed a direct relationship between temperature and GDH and Asp-AT activities, and an inverse relationship between temperature and Ala-AT activity. Lipid metabolism was similar to Ala-AT. In the gills, carbohydrate metabolism (G6PDH and HK activities) presented a direct relationship with the increased temperatures. In the kidney, carbohydrate metabolism (only G6PDH activity) was greater at higher temperatures, and amino acid metabolism (GDH activity) showed a direct relationship with temperature. Lipid metabolism (G3PDH activity) was greatest at 14 °C, presenting significant differences compared to 10 °C. The obtained results suggest that E. maclovinus can acclimate to the projected thermal increase of climate change, with a reorganization of the intermediary metabolism components being tissue-dependent and osmoregulatory effects being affected by NKA activity and greater rates of nitrogenous waste extrusion.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the Dirección de Investigación y Desarrollo (DID) and the Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias de la Acuicultura (both entities belonging to the Universidad Austral de Chile) for their support. The authors also want to thank the anonymous reviewers and Ashley VanCott for their comments that helped greatly improve this manuscript. R. Oyarzún is funded by the Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica through a national doctoral scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Ricardo Oyarzún, Juan Pablo Pontigo & Luis Vargas-Chacoff

  2. Escuela de Graduados, Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias de la Acuicultura, Universidad Austral de Chile, Av. Los Pinos s/n Balneario Pelluco, Puerto Montt, Chile

    Ricardo Oyarzún

  3. Centro Fondap de Investigación de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL), Universidad Austral de Chile, Casilla 567, Valdivia, Chile

    Ricardo Oyarzún & Luis Vargas-Chacoff

  4. Centro i-mar, Universidad de los Lagos, Puerto Montt, Chile

    José Luis P. Muñoz

  5. Instituto de Farmacología y Morfofisiología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Francisco J. Morera

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  1. Ricardo Oyarzún
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  2. José Luis P. Muñoz
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  3. Juan Pablo Pontigo
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  4. Francisco J. Morera
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  5. Luis Vargas-Chacoff
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Correspondence to Ricardo Oyarzún or Luis Vargas-Chacoff.

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This study was funded by Fondap-Ideal Grant No. 15150003, Fondecyt Regular No. 1160877 and the Office of Research (Dirección de Investigación) of the Universidad Austral de Chile.

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All the applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed as mentioned at the beginning of the Materials and Methods section.

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Oyarzún, R., Muñoz, J.L.P., Pontigo, J.P. et al. Effects of acclimation to high environmental temperatures on intermediary metabolism and osmoregulation in the sub-Antarctic notothenioid Eleginops maclovinus . Mar Biol 165, 22 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-017-3277-8

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