Freshwater to seawater acclimation of juvenile bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas): plasma osmolytes and Na +/K +-ATPase activity in gill, rectal gland, kidney and intestine

This study examined the osmoregulatory status of the euryhaline elasmobranch Carcharhinus leucas acclimated to freshwater (FW) and seawater ( SW). Juvenile C. leucas captured in FW ( 3 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1)) were acclimated to SW ( 980 - 1,000 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1)) over 16 days. A FW group was maintained in captivity over a similar time period. In FW, bull sharks were hyper-osmotic regulators, having a plasma osmolarity of 595 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1). In SW, bull sharks had significantly higher plasma osmolarities ( 940 mOsm l(-1) kg(-1)) than FW-acclimated animals and were slightly hypoosmotic to the environment. Plasma Na+, Cl-, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, urea and trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) concentrations were all significantly higher in bull sharks acclimated to SW, with urea and TMAO showing the greatest increase. Gill, rectal gland, kidney and intestinal tissue were taken from animals acclimated to FW and SW and analysed for maximal Na+/ K+-ATPase activity. Na+/ K+-ATPase activity in the gills and intestine was less than 1 mmol Pi mg(-1) protein h(-1) and there was no difference in activity between FW- and SW-acclimated animals. In contrast Na+/ K+-ATPase activity in the rectal gland and kidney were significantly higher than gill and intestine and showed significant differences between the FW- and SW-acclimated groups. In FW and SW, rectal gland Na+/ K+-ATPase activity was 5.6 +/- 0.8 and 9.2 +/- 0.6 mmol Pi mg(-1) protein h(-1), respectively. Na+/ K+-ATPase activity in the kidney of FW and SW acclimated animals was 8.4 +/- 1.1 and 3.3 +/- 1.1 Pi mg(-1) protein h(-1), respectively. Thus juvenile bull sharks have the osmoregulatory plasticity to acclimate to SW; their preference for the upper reaches of rivers where salinity is low is therefore likely to be for predator avoidance and/or increased food abundance rather than because of a physiological constraint.

Effect of osmolytes on the interaction of flavin adenine dinucleotide with muscle glycogen phosphorylase b

The effect of three osmolytes, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), betaine and proline, on the interaction of muscle glycogen phosphorylase b with allosteric inhibitor FAD has been examined. In the absence of osmolyte, the interaction is described by a single intrinsic dissociation constant (17.8 muM) for two equivalent and independent binding sites on the dimeric enzyme. However, the addition of osmolytes gives rise to sigmoidal dependencies of fractional enzyme-site saturation upon free inhibitor concentration. The source of this cooperativity has been shown by difference sedimentation velocity to be an osmolyte-mediated isomerization of phosphorylase b to a smaller dimeric state with decreased affinity for FAD. These results thus have substantiated a previous inference that the tendency for osmolyte-enhanced self-association of dimeric glycogen phosphorylase b in the presence of AMP was being countered by the corresponding effect of molecular crowding on an isomerization of dimer to a smaller, nonassociating state. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of freshwater to seawater transfer on circulating levels of angiotensin II, C-type natriuretic peptide and arginine vasotocin in the euryhaline elasmobranch, Carcharhinus leucas

This study examined the effect of transfer to increased environmental salinity on the circulating levels of angiotensin II (ANG II), C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), and arginine vasotocin (AVT) in the euryhaline elasmobranch, Carcharhinus letteas. Plasma levels of ANG 11 and CNP were significantly increased in C. leucas chronically acclimated to seawater (SW) in comparison to freshwater (FW) acclimated fish. There was no difference in plasma AVT levels. Acute transfer of FW fish to 75% SW induced an increase in plasma ANG II levels within 12 h, and subsequent transfer from 75 to 100% SW further increased plasma ANG 11 levels at both 24 and 72 h. No change in plasma CNP was observed during acute transfer to increased salinity. However, a significant increase in plasma AVT levels was observed following 96 h in 75% SW and 24 h in 100% SW. In chronically SW acclimated C leucas plasma osmolality, sodium, chloride, and Urea were all significantly higher than FW acclimated fish but there was no difference in haematocrit. Acute transfer of C letteas to 75% SW induced a significant increase in plasma osmolality, sodium and urea concentrations within 96 h of transfer. Subsequent transfer from 75 to 100% SW induced a further increase in these variables within 24 h in addition to a significant increase in plasma chloride above control levels. Haematocrit did not differ between the experimental and control groups throughout the acute study. Circulating levels of ANG 11 were significantly correlated to plasma, sodium, chloride, and urea concentrations during acclimation to SW. Conversely, circulating levels of CNP and AVT did not correlate to plasma osmolytes, however, CNP was significantly correlated to haematocrit during acclimation to seawater. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.