Fish and cydostome migrations between fresh water and sea water: Osmoregulatory modifications

Post-settlement migratory behaviour and growth-related costs in two diadromous fish species, Galaxias maculatus and Galaxias brevipinnis

The physiological challenges incurred during the transition from sea to fresh water and the constraints they place on the rate at which the common galaxiid Galaxias maculatus and the climbing galaxiid Galaxias brevipinnis can migrate from marine to freshwater habitats were examined. The duration of the marine to freshwater transition, the relationship between post-settlement age (PSA) and standard length (L(S)) as a proxy for energetic costs incurred during settlement and the potential effects of estuary geomorphology on migratory behaviour was investigated. Rate of upstream migration after settlement was not uniform. Upstream migration rate was slowest directly after settlement and increased with increasing PSA and distance from the river mouth, indicating a delay in upstream migration by newly recruited galaxiids. L(s) did not increase with age, at least within the first 21 days post settlement. These patterns were consistent for both species, in spite of differences in their life histories, across the recruitment season, despite seasonal variation in recruit size, and among estuaries with different properties. The results suggest that the timing and speed of migratory behaviour primarily reflect physiological constraints. Given the duration of residency of these species in estuaries, this study indicates that estuaries are critical transitional habitats for diadromous fishes during their migration from marine to freshwater habitats.

Molecular biology of major components of chloride cells

Current understanding of chloride cells (CCs) is briefly reviewed with emphasis on molecular aspects of their channels, transporters and regulators. Seawater-type and freshwater-type CCs have been identified based on their shape, location and response to different ionic conditions. Among the freshwater-type CCs, subpopulations are emerging that are implicated in the uptake of Na(+), Cl(-) and Ca(2+), respectively, and can be distinguished by their shape of apical crypt and affinity for lectins. The major function of the seawater CC is transcellular secretion of Cl(-), which is accomplished by four major channels and transporters: (1). CFTR Cl(-) channel, (2). Na(+),K(+)-ATPase, (3). Na(+)/K(+)/2Cl(-) cotransporter and (4). a K(+) channel. The first three components have been cloned and characterized, but concerning the K(+) channel that is essential for the continued generation of the driving force by Na(+),K(+)-ATPase, only one candidate is identified. Although controversial, freshwater CCs seem to perform the uptake of Na(+), Cl(-) and Ca(2+) in a manner analogous to but slightly different from that seen in the absorptive epithelia of mammalian kidney and intestine since freshwater CCs face larger concentration gradients than ordinary epithelial cells. The components involved in these processes are beginning to be cloned, but their CC localization remains to be established definitively. The most important yet controversial issue is the mechanism of Na(+) uptake. Two models have been postulated: (i). the original one involves amiloride-sensitive electroneutral Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE) with the driving force generated by Na(+),K(+)-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase (CA) and (ii). the current model suggests that Na(+) uptake occurs through an amiloride-sensitive epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) electrogenically coupled to H(+)-ATPase. While fish ENaC remains to be identified by molecular cloning and database mining, fish NHE has been cloned and shown to be highly expressed on the apical membrane of CCs, reviving the original model. The CC is also involved in acid-base regulation. Analysis using Osorezan dace (Tribolodon hakonensis) living in a pH 3.5 lake demonstrated marked inductions of Na(+),K(+)-ATPase, CA-II, NHE3, Na(+)/HCO(3)(-) cotransporter-1 and aquaporin-3 in the CCs on acidification, leading to a working hypothesis for the mechanism of Na(+) retention and acid-base regulation.

Transport mechanisms of seawater teleost chloride cells: an inclusive model of a multifunctional cell

This review assembles recent information on seawater-type chloride cells of marine teleost fish and evaluates the secretion of Na+, Cl-, K+, H+ and NH4+ and the absorption of Ca2+. The evidence for the distribution (apical vs basolateral) and the abundance of the various ion pumps, cotransporters, channels and exchangers is assessed and an inclusive model is constructed. Relationships among the transport systems are presented to suggest that many, if not all, of these systems may be operating simultaneously in individual, multifunctional chloride cells.