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Osmoregulation in juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray) during brackish water adaptation

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Abstract

The osmoregulation capabilities of 7-month-old juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray) (128.8 ± 15 g) transferred directly from fresh water (0‰, 46 mOsmol kg−1) to brackish water (10‰, 273 mOsmol kg−1) were studied over a 20-day period. Changes in serum osmolarity, chloride (Cl−), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+) and calcium (Ca2+) ion concentrations, as well as gill and spiral valve Na+,K+-ATPase activities were measured at 3, 12, 24, 72, 216 and 480 h after transfer to BW. The serum osmolarity and ion concentrations (Na+, Cl− and Ca2+) increased immediately after the transference to BW, reaching maximum at 24 h and returned to a new steady state at 216 h, while the FW control group maintained basal levels which showed lower (P < 0.05) than the BW group. Gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity of BW group exhibited an abrupt decrease in the first 3 h after transfer, but began to increase at 3 h, reaching a peak value at 24 h, and returned to a new steady state at 216 h. The differences between gill Na+,K+-ATPase activity of BW and FW fish were significant (P < 0.05) after 12 h. In contrast, Na+,K+-ATPase activity of the spiral valve showed transient increase after transference from FW to BW, and then decreased rapidly at 3 h, reaching the lowest at 24 h after transference. At 216 h after exposure to BW, Na+,K+-ATPase activities of the spiral valve increased slowly to the levels of FW control. The results of our study indicate the existence of hyposmoregulatory adaptive mechanisms in 7-month-old juvenile Chinese sturgeon which enable this fish to acclimate itself successfully to brackish water.

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Acknowledgements

This study is based on part of the thesis by Xugang He in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor at Huazhong Agricultural University. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project no. 30490230 WP4-003). We thank the Chinese Sturgeon Research Institute, Denghong Liu for help with obtaining juveniles. The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Hongjie Tian, Jing Ma and Xiaorong Huang with tissue sampling and technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fisheries College, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Xugang He & Congxin Xie

  2. East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, 300 Jun Gong Road, Shanghai, 200090, China

    Ping Zhuang & Longzhen Zhang

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  1. Xugang He
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  2. Ping Zhuang
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  3. Longzhen Zhang
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  4. Congxin Xie
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Correspondence to Congxin Xie.

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He, X., Zhuang, P., Zhang, L. et al. Osmoregulation in juvenile Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray) during brackish water adaptation. Fish Physiol Biochem 35, 223–230 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-008-9230-5

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