The effects of environmental changes on the endocrine regulation of feeding in fishes

Effects of fasting and environmental factors on appetite regulators in pond loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

The pond loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) is an important aquaculture freshwater species, used as an ornamental fish, food source for humans and angling bait. Pond loaches are resistant to fasting and extreme environmental conditions, including temperature and low oxygen levels. Little is known about how these factors affect the feeding physiology and the endocrine regulation of feeding of loaches. In this study, we examined the effects of fasting, as well as increased temperature and decreased oxygen levels on food intake and transcript levels of appetite regulators. Fasted fish had lower blood glucose levels, and lower expression levels of intestine CCK and PYY, and brain CART1, but had higher levels of brain orexin and ghrelin than fed fish. Fish held at 30 °C had higher food intake, glucose levels, and mRNA levels of intestine CCK and PYY, and brain CART2, but lower brain orexin levels than fish at 20 °C. Fish held at low oxygen levels had a lower food intake, higher intestine CCKa and ghrelin, and brain orexin, CART2 and ghrelin mRNA expression levels than fish held at high O2 levels. Our results suggest that fasting and high temperatures increase the expression of orexigenic and anorexigenic factors respectively, whereas the increase in expression of both orexigenic and anorexigenic factors in low O2 environments might not be related to their role in feeding, but possibly to protection from tissue damage. The results of our study might shed new light on how pond loaches are able to cope with extreme environmental conditions such as low food availability, extreme temperatures and hypoxia.

The dynamic transcriptomic response of the goldfish brain under chronic hypoxia

Oxygen is essential to fuel aerobic metabolism. Some species evolved mechanisms to tolerate periods of severe hypoxia and even anoxia in their environment. Among them, goldfish (Carassius auratus) are unique, in that they do not enter a comatose state under severely hypoxic conditions. There is thus significant interest in the field of comparative physiology to uncover the mechanistic basis underlying hypoxia tolerance in goldfish, with a particular focus on the brain. Taking advantage of the recently published and annotated goldfish genome, we profile the transcriptomic response of the goldfish brain under normoxic (21 kPa oxygen saturation) and, following gradual reduction, constant hypoxic conditions after 1 and 4 weeks (2.1 kPa oxygen saturation). In addition to analyzing differentially expressed protein-coding genes and enriched pathways, we also profile differentially expressed microRNAs (miRs). Using in silico approaches, we identify possible miR-mRNA relationships. Differentially expressed transcripts compared to normoxia were either common to both timepoints of hypoxia exposure (n = 174 mRNAs; n = 6 miRs), or exclusive to 1-week (n = 441 mRNAs; n = 23 miRs) or 4-week hypoxia exposure (n = 491 mRNAs; n = 34 miRs). Under chronic hypoxia, an increasing number of transcripts, including those of paralogous genes, was downregulated over time, suggesting a decrease in transcription. GO-terms related to the vascular system, oxidative stress, stress signalling, oxidoreductase activity, nucleotide- and intermediary metabolism, and mRNA posttranscriptional regulation were found to be enriched under chronic hypoxia. Known 'hypoxamiRs', such as miR-210-3p/5p, and miRs such as miR-29b-3p likely contribute to posttranscriptional regulation of these pathways under chronic hypoxia in the goldfish brain.

Endocrine responses to environmental variation

Hormones regulate most physiological functions and life history from embryonic development to reproduction. In addition to their roles in growth and development, hormones also mediate responses to the abiotic, social and nutritional environments. Hormone signalling is responsive to environmental changes to adjust phenotypes to prevailing conditions. Both hormone levels and receptor densities can change to provide a flexible system of regulation. Endocrine flexibility connects the environment to organismal function, and it is central to understanding environmental impacts and their effect on individuals and populations. Hormones may also act as a 'sensor' to link environmental signals to epigenetic processes and thereby effect phenotypic plasticity within and across generations. Many environmental parameters are now changing in unprecedented ways as a result of human activity. The knowledge base of organism-environmental interactions was established in environments that differ in many ways from current conditions as a result of ongoing human impacts. It is an urgent contemporary challenge to understand how evolved endocrine responses will modulate phenotypes in response to anthropogenic environmental impacts including climate change, light-at-night and chemical pollution. Endocrine responses play a central role in ecology, and their integration into conservation can lead to more effective outcomes. This article is part of the theme issue 'Endocrine responses to environmental variation: conceptual approaches and recent developments'.