Urea production capacity in the wood frog (Rana sylvatica) varies with season and experimentally induced hyperuremia

Comparative transcriptomic analysis delineates adaptation strategies of Rana kukunoris toward cold stress on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

BACKGROUND

Cold hardiness is fundamental for amphibians to survive during the extremely cold winter on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Exploring the gene regulation mechanism of freezing-tolerant Rana kukunoris could help us to understand how the frogs survive in winter.

RESULTS

Transcriptome of liver and muscle of R. kukunoris collected in hibernation and spring were assisted by single molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology. A total of 10,062 unigenes of R. kukunoris were obtained, and 9,924 coding sequences (CDS) were successfully annotated. Our examination of the mRNA response to whole body freezing and recover in the frogs revealed key genes concerning underlying antifreeze proteins and cryoprotectants (glucose and urea). Functional pathway analyses revealed differential regulated pathways of ribosome, energy supply, and protein metabolism which displayed a freeze-induced response and damage recover. Genes related to energy supply in the muscle of winter frogs were up-regulated compared with the muscle of spring frogs. The liver of hibernating frogs maintained modest levels of protein synthesis in the winter. In contrast, the liver underwent intensive high levels of protein synthesis and lipid catabolism to produce substantial quantity of fresh proteins and energy in spring. Differences between hibernation and spring were smaller than that between tissues, yet the physiological traits of hibernation were nevertheless passed down to active state in spring.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our comparative transcriptomic analyses, we revealed the likely adaptive mechanisms of R. kukunoris. Ultimately, our study expands genetic resources for the freezing-tolerant frogs.

Early onset of urea synthesis and ammonia detoxification pathways in three terrestrially developing frogs

Frogs evolved terrestrial development multiple times, necessitating mechanisms to avoid ammonia toxicity at early stages. Urea synthesis from ammonia is a key adaptation that reduces water dependence after metamorphosis. We tested for early expression and plasticity of enzymatic mechanisms of ammonia detoxification in three terrestrial-breeding frogs: foam-nest-dwelling larvae of Leptodactylus fragilis (Lf) and arboreal embryos of Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni (Hf) and Agalychnis callidryas (Ac). Activity of two ornithine-urea cycle (OUC) enzymes, arginase and CPSase, and levels of their products urea and CP in tissues were high in Lf regardless of nest hydration, but reduced in experimental low- vs. high-ammonia environments. High OUC activity in wet and dry nests, comparable to that under experimental high ammonia, suggests terrestrial Lf larvae maintain high capacity for urea excretion regardless of their immediate risk of ammonia toxicity. This may aid survival through unpredictably long waiting periods before rain enables their transition to water. Moderate levels of urea and CP were present in Hf and Ac tissues and enzymatic activities were lower than in Lf. In both species, embryos in drying clutches can hatch and enter the water early, behaviorally avoiding ammonia toxicity. Moreover, glutamine synthetase was active in early stages of all three species, condensing ammonia and glutamate to glutamine as another mechanism of detoxification. Enzyme activity appeared highest in Lf, although substrate and product levels were higher in Ac and Lf. Our results reveal that multiple biochemical mechanisms of ammonia detoxification occur in early life stages of anuran lineages that evolved terrestrial development.

Freeze tolerance and the underlying metabolite responses in the Xizang plateau frog, Nanorana parkeri

The frog Nanorana parkeri (Dicroglossidae) is endemic to the Tibetan Plateau, and overwinters shallow pond within damp caves for up to 6 months. Herein, we investigate the freeze tolerance of this species and profile changes in liver and skeletal muscle metabolite levels using an untargeted LC-MS-based metabolomic approach to investigate molecular mechanisms that may contribute to freezing survival. We found that three of seven specimens of N. parkeri could survive after being frozen for 12 h at - 2.0 °C with 39.91% ± 5.4% (n = 7) of total body water converted to ice. Freezing exposure induced partial dehydration of the muscle, which contributed to decreasing the amount of freezable water within the muscle and could be protective for the myocytes themselves. A comparative metabolomic analysis showed that freezing elicited significant responses, and a total of 33 and 36 differentially expressed metabolites were identified in the liver and muscle, respectively. These metabolites mainly participate in alanine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, and D-glutamine and D-glutamate metabolism. After freezing exposure, the contents of ornithine, melezitose, and maltotriose rose significantly; these may act as cryoprotectants. Additionally, the content of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanine, 7-Ketocholesterol and hypoxanthine showed a marked increase, suggesting that freezing induced oxidative stress in the frogs. In summary, N. parkeri can tolerate a brief and partial freezing of their body, which was accompanied by substantial changes in metabolomic profiles after freezing exposure.

Glucose and urea metabolic enzymes are differentially phosphorylated during freezing, anoxia, and dehydration exposures in a freeze tolerant frog

Vertebrate freeze tolerance requires multiple adaptations underpinned by specialized biochemistry. Freezing of extracellular water leads to intracellular dehydration as pure water is incorporated into growing ice crystals and also results in the cessation of blood supply to tissues, creating an anoxic cellular environment. Hence, the freeze tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica, must endure both dehydration and anoxia stresses in addition to freezing. The metabolic responses to freezing, dehydration and anoxia involve both protein/enzyme adaptations and the production of metabolites with metabolic or osmotic functions, particularly glucose and urea. The present study uses a phosphoproteome analysis to examine the differential phosphorylation of metabolic enzymes involved in the production of these two metabolites in liver in response to freezing, anoxia, or dehydration exposures. Our results show stress-specific responses in the abundance of phosphopeptides retrieved from nine glycolytic enzymes and three urea cycle enzymes in liver of wood frogs exposed to 24 h freezing, 24 h anoxia, or dehydration to 40% of total body water loss, as compared with 5 °C acclimated controls. Data show changes in the abundance of phosphopeptides belonging to glycogen phosphorylase (GP) and phosphofructokinase 2 (PFK2) that were consistent with differential phosphorylation control of glycogenolysis and a metabolic block at PFK1 that can facilitate glucose synthesis as the cryoprotectant during freezing. Anoxia-exposed animals showed similar changes in GP phosphorylation but no changes to PFK2; changes that would facilitate mobilization of glycogen as a fermentative fuel for anaerobic glycolysis. Urea is commonly produced as a compatible osmolyte in response to amphibian dehydration. Selected urea cycle enzymes showed small changes in phosphopeptide abundance in response to dehydration, but during freezing differential phosphorylation occurred that may facilitate this ATP expensive process when energy resources are sparse. These results add to the growing body of literature demonstrating the importance and efficiency of reversible protein phosphorylation as a regulatory mechanism allowing animals to rapidly respond to environmental stress.

Purification of carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) from wood frog (Rana sylvatica) liver and its regulation in response to ice-nucleation and subsequent whole-body freezing

Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I (CPS1) represents an important regulatory enzyme of the urea cycle that mediates the ATP-driven reaction ligating ammonium, carbonate, and phosphate to form carbamoyl phosphate. The freeze-tolerant wood frog (Rana sylvatica or Lithobates sylvaticus) accumulates high concentrations of urea during bouts of freezing to detoxify any ammonia generated and to contribute as a cryoprotectant thereby helping to avoid freeze damage to cells. Purification of CPS1 to homogeneity from wood frog liver was performed in control and frozen wood frogs by a three-step chromatographic process. The affinity of CPS1 for its three substrates was tested in the purified control and freeze-exposed enzyme under a variety of conditions including the presence and absence of the natural cryoprotectants urea and glucose. The results demonstrated that affinity for ammonium was higher in the freeze-exposed CPS1 (1.26-fold) and that with the addition of 400 mM glucose it displayed higher affinity for ATP (1.30-fold) and the obligate activator N-acetylglutamate (1.24-fold). Denaturation studies demonstrated the freeze-exposed enzyme was less thermally stable than the control with an unfolding temperature approximately 1.5 °C lower (52.9 °C for frozen and 54.4 °C for control). The control form of CPS1 had a significantly higher degree of glutarylated lysine residues (1.42-fold increase) relative to the frozen. The results suggest that CPS1 activation and maintenance of urea cycle activity despite the hypometabolic conditions associated with freezing are important aspects in the metabolic survival strategies of the wood frog.

Overwintering adaptations and extreme freeze tolerance in a subarctic population of the wood frog, Rana sylvatica

The terrestrially hibernating wood frog (Rana sylvatica) is well-known for its iconic freeze tolerance, an overwintering adaptation that has received considerable investigation over the past 35 years. Virtually, all of this research has concerned frogs indigenous to the temperate regions of its broad range within North America. However, recent investigations have shown that frogs of subarctic populations are extremely cold hardy, being capable of surviving freezing for longer periods and at much lower temperatures as compared to conspecifics from temperate regions. Their exceptional freeze tolerance is partly supported by an enhanced cryoprotectant system that uses very high levels of urea and glucose to limit ice formation, regulate metabolism, and protect macromolecules and cellular structures from freezing/thawing stresses. In the weeks before they begin hibernating, northern frogs undertake radical physiological transitions, such as depletion of fat stores and catabolism of muscle protein, that prime the cryoprotectant system by accruing urea and stockpiling glycogen from which glucose is mobilized during freezing. Concentrations of cryoprotectants ultimately achieved in Alaskan frogs when freezing occurs vary among tissues but generally are higher than those of frogs inhabiting milder climates. This review summarizes the molecular, biochemical, and physiological adaptations permitting this northern phenotype to survive the long and harsh winters of the region.

Urea and plasma ice-nucleating proteins promoted the modest freeze tolerance in Pleske's high altitude frog Nanorana pleskei

The frog Nanorana pleskei (Dicroglossidae) is indigenous to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. To identify its strategies in coping with the cold climate, we measured the hibernacula microhabitat temperature during winter. We also examined the freezing-induced and seasonal variation of several putative cryoprotectants in the heart, liver, brain, kidney and muscle, as well as ice-nucleating protein in plasma. Our results showed that N. pleskei survived exposure to temperatures as low as - 2.5 ± 0.40 °C during hibernation, which was lower than the body fluid freezing point (- 0.43 ± 0.01 °C). Experimental freezing results indicated that four of six specimens could survive 12 h of freezing at - 2 °C with 27.5 ± 2.5% of total body water as ice. Concomitantly, the water contents of all examined organs decreased after being frozen for 24 h at - 2 °C. The levels of urea in heart significantly increased from 71.05 ± 7.19 to 104.59 ± 10.11 µmol g^-1, and in muscle increased from 72.23 ± 3.40 to 102.42 ± 6.24 µmol g^-1 when exposed to freezing; other cryoprotectants (glucose, glycerol, and lactate) showed no significant increase in all examined tissues. In addition, urea levels were significantly higher in fall-collected frogs than summer-collected frogs in the tissues of heart, brain, kidney, and muscle. The results of differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the ice-nucleating protein was present only in cold-acclimated and fall-collected frogs' plasma. We concluded that the urea serves as a primary cryoprotectant and accumulates in anticipation of freezing in N. pleskei, coupling with the seasonal production of plasma ice-nucleating protein.

Molecular Physiology of Freeze Tolerance in Vertebrates

Freeze tolerance is an amazing winter survival strategy used by various amphibians and reptiles living in seasonally cold environments. These animals may spend weeks or months with up to ∼65% of their total body water frozen as extracellular ice and no physiological vital signs, and yet after thawing they return to normal life within a few hours. Two main principles of animal freeze tolerance have received much attention: the production of high concentrations of organic osmolytes (glucose, glycerol, urea among amphibians) that protect the intracellular environment, and the control of ice within the body (the first putative ice-binding protein in a frog was recently identified), but many other strategies of biochemical adaptation also contribute to freezing survival. Discussed herein are recent advances in our understanding of amphibian and reptile freeze tolerance with a focus on cell preservation strategies (chaperones, antioxidants, damage defense mechanisms), membrane transporters for water and cryoprotectants, energy metabolism, gene/protein adaptations, and the regulatory control of freeze-responsive hypometabolism at multiple levels (epigenetic regulation of DNA, microRNA action, cell signaling and transcription factor regulation, cell cycle control, and anti-apoptosis). All are providing a much more complete picture of life in the frozen state.

Passive regeneration of glutathione: Glutathione reductase regulation from the freeze-tolerant North American wood frog, Rana sylvatica

Wood frogs inhabit a broad range across North America, extending from the southern tip of the Appalachian Mountains to the northern boreal forest. Remarkably they can survive the winter in a frozen state, where as much as 70% of their body water is converted into ice. During the frozen state, their hearts cease to pump blood, causing their cells to experience ischemia which can dramatically increase the production of reactive oxygen species produced within the cell. To overcome this, wood frogs have elevated levels of glutathione, a primary antioxidant. We examined the regulation of glutathione reductase, the enzyme involved in recycling glutathione, in both the frozen and unfrozen state (control). Glutathione reductase activity from both the control and frozen state showed dramatic reduction in substrate specificity (Km) for oxidized glutathione (50%) when measured in the presence of glucose (300mM) and a increase (157%) when measured in the presence of levels of urea (75mM) encountered in the frozen state. However, when we tested the synergistic effect of urea and glucose simultaneously, we observed a substantial reduction in the Km for oxidized glutathione (43%) to a value similar to that of glucose alone. In fact, we found no observable differences in the kinetic and structural properties of glutathione reductase between the two states. Therefore, a significant increase in the affinity for oxidized glutathione in the presence of endogenous levels of glucose, suggests that increased glutathione recycling may result due to passive regulation of glutathione reductase by rising levels of glucose during freezing.

Evolution of urea transporters in vertebrates: adaptation to urea's multiple roles and metabolic sources

In the two decades since the first cloning of the mammalian kidney urea transporter (UT-A), UT genes have been identified in a plethora of organisms, ranging from single-celled bacteria to metazoans. In this review, focusing mainly on vertebrates, we first reiterate the multiple catabolic and anabolic pathways that produce urea, then we reconstruct the phylogenetic history of UTs, and finally we examine the tissue distribution of UTs in selected vertebrate species. Our analysis reveals that from an ancestral UT, three homologues evolved in piscine lineages (UT-A, UT-C and UT-D), followed by a subsequent reduction to a single UT-A in lobe-finned fish and amphibians. A later internal tandem duplication of UT-A occurred in the amniote lineage (UT-A1), followed by a second tandem duplication in mammals to give rise to UT-B. While the expected UT expression is evident in excretory and osmoregulatory tissues in ureotelic taxa, UTs are also expressed ubiquitously in non-ureotelic taxa, and in tissues without a complete ornithine-urea cycle (OUC). We posit that non-OUC production of urea from arginine by arginase, an important pathway to generate ornithine for synthesis of molecules such as polyamines for highly proliferative tissues (e.g. testis, embryos), and neurotransmitters such as glutamate for neural tissues, is an important evolutionary driving force for the expression of UTs in these taxa and tissues.

Cryoprotectants and extreme freeze tolerance in a subarctic population of the wood frog

Wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) exhibit marked geographic variation in freeze tolerance, with subarctic populations tolerating experimental freezing to temperatures at least 10-13 degrees Celsius below the lethal limits for conspecifics from more temperate locales. We determined how seasonal responses enhance the cryoprotectant system in these northern frogs, and also investigated their physiological responses to somatic freezing at extreme temperatures. Alaskan frogs collected in late summer had plasma urea levels near 10 μmol ml-1, but this level rose during preparation for winter to 85.5 ± 2.9 μmol ml-1 (mean ± SEM) in frogs that remained fully hydrated, and to 186.9 ± 12.4 μmol ml-1 in frogs held under a restricted moisture regime. An osmolality gap indicated that the plasma of winter-conditioned frogs contained an as yet unidentified osmolyte(s) that contributed about 75 mOsmol kg-1 to total osmotic pressure. Experimental freezing to -8°C, either directly or following three cycles of freezing/thawing between -4 and 0°C, or -16°C increased the liver's synthesis of glucose and, to a lesser extent, urea. Concomitantly, organs shed up to one-half (skeletal muscle) or two-thirds (liver) of their water, with cryoprotectant in the remaining fluid reaching concentrations as high as 0.2 and 2.1 M, respectively. Freeze/thaw cycling, which was readily survived by winter-conditioned frogs, greatly increased hepatic glycogenolysis and delivery of glucose (but not urea) to skeletal muscle. We conclude that cryoprotectant accrual in anticipation of and in response to freezing have been greatly enhanced and contribute to extreme freeze tolerance in northern R. sylvatica.

Hibernation physiology, freezing adaptation and extreme freeze tolerance in a northern population of the wood frog

We investigated hibernation physiology and freeze tolerance in a population of the wood frog, Rana sylvatica, indigenous to Interior Alaska, USA, near the northernmost limit of the species' range. Winter acclimatization responses included a 233% increase in the hepatic glycogen depot that was subsidized by fat body and skeletal muscle catabolism, and a rise in plasma osmolality that reflected accrual of urea (to 106±10 μmol ml−1) and an unidentified solute (to ~73 μmol ml−1). In contrast, frogs from a cool-temperate population (southern Ohio, USA) amassed much less glycogen, had a lower uremia (28±5 μmol ml−1) and apparently lacked the unidentified solute. Alaskan frogs survived freezing at temperatures as low as −16°C, some 10–13°C below those tolerated by southern conspecifics, and endured a 2-month bout of freezing at −4°C. The profound freeze tolerance is presumably due to their high levels of organic osmolytes and bound water, which limits ice formation. Adaptive responses to freezing (−2.5°C for 48 h) and subsequent thawing (4°C) included synthesis of the cryoprotectants urea and glucose, and dehydration of certain tissues. Alaskan frogs differed from Ohioan frogs in retaining a substantial reserve capacity for glucose synthesis, accumulating high levels of cryoprotectants in brain tissue, and remaining hyperglycemic long after thawing. The northern phenotype also incurred less stress during freezing/thawing, as indicated by limited cryohemolysis and lactate accumulation. Post-glacial colonization of high latitudes by R. sylvatica required a substantial increase in freeze tolerance that was at least partly achieved by enhancing their cryoprotectant system.

Avoidance and tolerance of freezing in ectothermic vertebrates

Ectothermic vertebrates have colonized regions that are seasonally or perpetually cold, and some species, particularly terrestrial hibernators, must cope with temperatures that fall substantially below 0°C. Survival of such excursions depends on either freeze avoidance through supercooling or freeze tolerance. Supercooling, a metastable state in which body fluids remain liquid below the equilibrium freezing/melting point, is promoted by physiological responses that protect against chilling injury and by anatomical and behavioral traits that limit risk of inoculative freezing by environmental ice and ice-nucleating agents. Freeze tolerance evolved from responses to fundamental stresses to permit survival of the freezing of a substantial amount of body water under thermal and temporal conditions of ecological relevance. Survival of freezing is promoted by a complex suite of molecular, biochemical and physiological responses that limit cell death from excessive shrinkage, damage to macromolecules and membranes, metabolic perturbation and oxidative stress. Although freeze avoidance and freeze tolerance generally are mutually exclusive strategies, a few species can switch between them, the mode used in a particular instance of chilling depending on prevailing physiological and environmental conditions.

Urea is not a universal cryoprotectant among hibernating anurans: evidence from the freeze-tolerant boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata)

Freeze-tolerant organisms accumulate a diversity of low molecular weight compounds to combat negative effects of ice formation. Previous studies of anuran freeze tolerance have implicated urea as a cryoprotectant in the wood frog (Lithobates sylvatica). However, a cryoprotective role for urea has been identified only for wood frogs, though urea accumulation is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for coping with osmotic stress in amphibians. To identify whether multiple solutes are involved in freezing tolerance in the boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata), we examined seasonal and freezing-induced variation in several potential cryoprotectants. We further tested for a cryoprotective role for urea by comparing survival and recovery from freezing in control and urea-loaded chorus frogs. Tissue levels of glucose, urea, and glycerol did not vary significantly among seasons for heart, liver, or leg muscle. Furthermore, no changes in urea or glycerol levels were detected with exposure to freezing temperatures in these tissues. Urea-loading increased tissue urea concentrations, but failed to enhance freezing survival or facilitate recovery from freezing in chorus frogs in this study, suggesting little role for urea as a natural cryoprotectant in this species. These data suggest that urea may not universally serve as a primary cryoprotectant among freeze-tolerant, terrestrially hibernating anurans.

Seasonal variation and response to osmotic challenge in urea transporter expression in the dehydration- and freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica

Urea accumulation is a universal response to osmotic challenge in anuran amphibians, and facilitative urea transporters (UTs) seem to play an important role in this process by acting in the osmoregulatory organs to mediate urea retention. Although UTs have been implicated in urea reabsorption in anurans, little is known about the physiological regulation of UT protein abundance. We examined seasonal variation in and effects of osmotic challenge on UT protein and mRNA levels in kidney and urinary bladder of the wood frog (Rana sylvatica), a terrestrial species that tolerates both dehydration and tissue freezing. Using immunoblotting techniques to measure relative UT abundance, we found that UT numbers varied seasonally, with a low abundance prevailing in the fall and winter, and higher levels occurring in the spring. Experimental dehydration of frogs increased UT protein abundance in the urinary bladder, whereas experimental urea loading decreased the abundance of UTs in kidney and bladder. Experimental freezing, whether or not followed by thawing, had no effect on UT numbers. UT mRNA levels, assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, did not change seasonally nor in response to any of our experimental treatments. These findings suggest that regulation of UTs depends on the nature and severity of the osmotic stress and apparently occurs posttranscriptionally in response to multiple physiological factors. Additionally, UTs seem to be regulated to meet the physiological need to accumulate urea, with UT numbers increasing to facilitate urea reabsorption and decreasing to prevent retention of excess urea.

Seasonal variation in the hepatoproteome of the dehydration and freeze-tolerant wood frog, Rana sylvatica

Winter’s advent invokes physiological adjustments that permit temperate ectotherms to cope with stresses such as food shortage, water deprivation, hypoxia, and hypothermia. We used liquid chromatography (LC) in combination with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) quantitative isobaric (iTRAQ™) peptide mapping to assess variation in the abundance of hepatic proteins in summer- and winter-acclimatized wood frogs (Rana sylvatica), a northerly-distributed species that tolerates extreme dehydration and tissue freezing during hibernation. Thirty-three unique proteins exhibited strong seasonal lability. Livers of winter frogs had relatively high levels of proteins involved in cytoprotection, including heat-shock proteins and an antioxidant, and a reduced abundance of proteins involved in cell proliferation, protein synthesis, and mitochondrial function. They also exhibited altered levels of certain metabolic enzymes that participate in the biochemical reorganization associated with aphagia and reliance on energy reserves, as well as the freezing mobilization and post-thaw recovery of glucose, an important cryoprotective solute in freezing adaptation.