Is fluid-phase endocytosis conserved in hepatocytes of species acclimated and adapted to different temperatures?

Using a metabolomics approach to investigate the sensitivity of a potential Arctic-invader and its Arctic sister-species to marine heatwaves and traditional harvesting disturbances

Coastal species are threatened by fishing practices and changing environmental conditions, such as marine heatwaves (MHW). The mechanisms that confer tolerance to such stressors in marine invertebrates are poorly understood. However, differences in tolerance among different species may be attributed to their geographical distribution. To test the tolerance of species occupying different thermal ranges, we used two closely related bivalves the softshell clam Mya arenaria (Linnaeus, 1758), a cold-temperate invader with demonstrated potential for establishment in the Arctic, and the blunt gaper Mya truncata (Linnaeus, 1758), a native polar species. Clams were subjected to a thermal stress, mimicking a MHW, and harvesting stress in a controlled environment. Seven acute temperature changes (2, 7, 12, 17, 22, 27, and 32 °C) were tested at two harvesting disturbance intensities (with, without). Survival was measured after 12 days and three tissues (gills, mantle, and posterior adductor muscle) collected from surviving individuals for targeted metabolomic profiling. MHW tolerance differed significantly between species: 26.9 °C for M. arenaria and 17.8 °C for M. truncata, with a negligeable effect of harvesting. At the upper thermal limit, M. arenaria displayed a more profound metabolomic remodelling when compared to M. truncata, and this varied greatly between tissue types. Network analysis revealed differences in pathway utilization at the upper MHW limit, with M. arenaria displaying a greater reliance on multiple DNA repair and expression and cell signalling pathways, while M. truncata was limited to fewer pathways. This suggests that M. truncata is ill equipped to cope with warming environments. MHW patterning in the Northwest Atlantic may be a strong predictor of population survival and future range shifts in these two clam species. As polar environments undergo faster rates of warming compared to the global average, M. truncata may be outcompeted by M. arenaria expanding into its native range.

Analysis of differential gene expression under low-temperature stress in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) using digital gene expression

Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) do not survive well at low temperatures. Therefore, improvement of the low-temperature resistance has become an important issue for aquaculture development of tilapia. The objective of this study was to construct a digital gene expression tag profile to identify genes potentially related to low temperature in tilapia. In this study, tilapia was treated at 30°C to lethal temperature 10°C in decrement of 1°CD(-1). Digital gene expression analysis was performed using the Illumina technique to investigate differentially expressed genes in tilapia cultured at different temperatures (30°C, 26°C, 20°C, 16°C, and 10°C). A total of 206,861, 188,082, 185,827, 188,067, and 214,171 distinct tags were obtained by sequencing these five libraries, respectively. Compared with the 30°C library, there were 304, 407, 709, and 772 upregulated genes and 342, 793, 771, and 1466 downregulated genes in 26°C, 20°C, 16°C, and 10°C libraries, respectively. Trend analysis of these differentially expressed genes identified six statistically significant trends. Functional annotation analysis of the differentially expressed genes identified various functions associated with the response to low-temperature stress. When tilapia are subjected to low-temperature stress, expression changes were observed in genes associated with nucleic acid synthesis and metabolism, amino acid metabolism and protein synthesis, lipid and carbohydrate content and types, material transport, apoptosis, and immunity. The differentially expressed genes obtained in this study may provide useful insights to help further understand the effects of low temperature on tilapia.

Differences in IgY gut absorption in gastric rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and agastric common carp (Cyprinus carpio) assessed in vivo and in vitro

Oral IgY antibodies offer promising potential for passive immunization strategies. To evaluate barriers for successful IgY plasma recovery after oral application in vivo, gastric rainbow trout and agastric common carp were comparatively assessed. A positive control that received a low dose of unspecific IgY antibodies by intraperitoneal injection (0.0076 mg IgY g BW(-1) d(-1); BW=body mass) was compared with an oral administration of 75 and 150 fold in rainbow trout (corresponding to 0.57 and 1.14 mg g BW(-1)) and in carp (0.57 mg g BW(-1)). Dietary antibodies were delivered with the antacid sodium bicarbonate and three different putative uptake enhancers (Tween 20, vitamin E TPGS, sodium deoxycholate). IgY concentrations in the plasma were determined 1d (rainbow trout) or 5d after last feeding (both species). Irrespective of the enhancer used, ELISA revealed IgY absorption after feeding in carp, whereas IgY concentration in rainbow trout remained below the detection threshold. Intraperitoneal injections revealed IgY in plasma of both species. In vitro Ussing chamber experiments with posterior intestine tissue of carp and trout were carried out to determine whether species-specific differences in IgY translocation were due to acidic stomach passage or species-specific differences in transepithelial IgY passage. Significantly higher IgY translocation was measured in carp at high application dosage compared to all other groups, indicating that species-specific differences in IgY uptake after oral administration are not only related to peptic IgY degradation in the stomach, but also likely a result of differences in IgY transcytosis in the posterior intestine.

Bath vaccination of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum) against Yersinia ruckeri: effects of temperature on protection and gene expression

Protection of rainbow trout fry following bath vaccination with a bacterin of Y. ruckeri O1, the bacterial pathogen causing enteric red mouth disease (ERM), was investigated at 5, 15 and 25 degrees C. Rainbow trout fry were acclimatised for 8 weeks at the three temperatures before vaccination. They were subsequently challenged with Y. ruckeri 4 and 8 weeks post-vaccination which demonstrated a significant protection of vaccinated fish kept at 15 degrees C. No protective effect of vaccination in rainbow trout reared at 5 and 25 degrees C could be recorded. Spleen tissue was sampled from vaccinated and control fish at 0, 8, 24 and 72 h post-vaccination in order to analyse gene transcript profiles using quantitative real-time RT-PCR (q-PCR). Gene expression in fish vaccinated at 15 degrees C (the protected fish) was up-regulated with regard to the pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-6 and the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-10 and TGF-beta, the cell receptors TcR, CD8alpha, CD4, C5aR and the teleost specific immunoglobulin IgT. Passive immunisation using transfer of plasma from vaccinated fish to naïve fish conferred no protection. This indicates that humoral factors such as Ig and complement are less important in the protection induced by bath vaccination. Expression of cellular factors such as CD8alpha was significantly increased in the protected trout and this suggests that cellular factors including cytotoxic T-cells could play a role in immunity against Y. ruckeri.

Live-cell imaging of endocytosis during conidial germination in the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea

Although there is growing evidence that endocytosis is important in hyphal tip growth, it has not previously been shown to occur during fungal spore germination. We have analysed and characterized endocytosis during the germination of living conidia of the rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. Conidia treated with the endocytic markers Lucifer Yellow carbohydrazide, FITC-dextran, and FM4-64 were imaged by confocal microscopy. Internalization of these fluorescent marker dyes by conidia was blocked by chemical and temperature treatments that inhibit endocytosis, and the sequential staining of organelles by the membrane-selective dye FM4-64 was consistent with dye internalization by endocytosis. FM4-64 uptake occurred within 2-3 min of conidial hydration, more than 40 min before the emergence of the germ tube. The times at which each of the three conidial cells initiated dye internalization were different as were the rates of dye uptake by each cell. Using these techniques we have demonstrated for the first time that ungerminated and germinated spores of filamentous fungi undergo endocytosis. Furthermore, internalization of FITC-dextran and Lucifer Yellow carbohydrazide by germinating conidia provides the first direct evidence for fluid-phase endocytosis in a filamentous fungus. FM4-64 was internalized by both ungerminated conidia and conidial germlings on the rice leaf suggesting that endocytosis might play a significant role in spore germination and germ tube growth during the pre-penetration phase of infection.

The effect of acclimation temperature on the fusion kinetics of lipid vesicles derived from endoplasmic reticulum membranes of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver

Membrane fusion is an obligatory step in many vital cellular processes. The well-established enrichment of bilayer-destabilizing lipids in membranes of poikilotherms subjected to growth at low temperatures leads to the prediction that such membranes will possess a greater propensity to undergo fusion. This hypothesis was explicitly tested in the present study by determining the kinetics of fusion between small unilamellar vesicles (SUVs) prepared from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes of thermally-acclimated (to 5 and 20 degrees C) rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver and bovine brain phosphatidylserine (BBPS). At temperatures above 10 degrees C, ER vesicles from 5 degrees C-acclimated trout, fused more rapidly and to a greater extent with BBPS vesicles (by average factors of 1.25- and 1.45-fold, respectively) than ER vesicles of 20 degrees C-acclimated trout. At temperatures >35 degrees C, apparent fusion rates declined while the extent of fusion increased in both acclimation groups. Fusion kinetics were found to be well correlated with and limited by the physical properties and phase state of the BBPS vesicles. These results indicate that dynamic attributes of biological membranes, such as the propensity to undergo fusion, are of potential regulatory significance and are partially conserved when growth or environmental temperature changes.

The effect of cold stress on ganglioside fatty acid composition and ganglioside-bound sialic acid content of rat brain subcellular fractions

The effect of cold stress on the ganglioside fatty acid composition and sialic acid content of brain subcellular fractions and homogenate of rats was studied, the animals were kept in a cold room with 12h light-dark cycles at 3 and 10 degrees C for 2 weeks. (1) The rat brain homogenate, synaptosomes and myelin of rats exposed to 3 degrees C contained significantly higher amounts of ganglioside-bound sialic acid per mg of protein than these fractions of control rats kept at 23 degrees C; the differences were less pronounced in rats exposed to 10 degrees C. (2) A small, but significant, diminution of relative palmitic acid content and an increase of stearic acid content was found to take place in gangliosides from rat brain synaptosomes, synaptosomal plasma membranes and homogenate as a result of the exposure of animals to 3 degrees C and to a lesser extent to 10 degrees C. (3) The content of unsaturated fatty acids in gangliosides from brain subcellular fractions was approximately the same in cold exposed and control rats.