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Warming and freshening activate the transcription of genes involved in the cellular stress response in Harpagifer antarcticus

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Abstract

Thermal and saline variations of the Southern Ocean are important signs of climate change which can alter the physiological responses of stenotic species residing at high latitudes. Our study aimed to evaluate the cellular stress response (CSR) of Harpagifer antarcticus subjected to increased ambient temperature and decreased salinity. The fish were distributed in different thermal (2, 5, 8, 11, and 14 °C) and saline (23, 28, and 33 psu) combinations for 10 days. We used qPCR analysis to evaluate the transcription of genes involved in the thermal shock response (HSP70, HSC70, HSP90, and GRP78), ubiquitination (E2, E3, ubiquitin, and CHIP), 26S proteasome complex (PSMA2, PSMB7, and PSMC1), and apoptosis (SMAC/Diablo and BAX) in the liver and gill. The expression profiles were tissue-specific and mainly dependent on temperature rather than salinity in the gill; meanwhile, in the liver, both conditions modulated the expression of these genes. Transcription of markers involved in the heat shock response was much higher in the liver than in the gill and was higher when salinity decreased and the temperature increased. Similarly, the genes involved in the ubiquitination pathway, 26S complex of the proteasome, and the apoptotic pathway showed the same pattern, being mainly induced in the liver rather than in the gill. This is the first study to show that this Antarctic fish can induce the cellular stress response in their tissues when subjected to these thermal/saline combinations.

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All relevant data are within the paper and are available with the corresponding author.

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Funding

This investigation was financed by Fondap-Ideal Grant No. 15150003 and Fondecyt Regular Grant No. 1160877. D. Martínez was funded by the Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID) through a national Postdoctoral scholarship No. 3200418. The Instituto Antártico Chileno (INACH) for logistic support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Danixa Martínez, Catalina Moncada-Kopp, Jorge M. Navarro & Luis Vargas-Chacoff

  2. Centro FONDAP de Investigación de Altas Latitudes (FONDAP IDEAL), Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    Catalina Moncada-Kopp, Kurt Paschke, Jorge M. Navarro & Luis Vargas-Chacoff

  3. Instituto de Acuicultura, Universidad Austral de Chile, Puerto Montt, Chile

    Kurt Paschke

Authors
  1. Danixa Martínez
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  2. Catalina Moncada-Kopp
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  3. Kurt Paschke
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  4. Jorge M. Navarro
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  5. Luis Vargas-Chacoff
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Contributions

Conceptualization, L.V.CH., K.P., and J.N.; methodology, C.M.K., D.M., and L.V.CH.; investigation, L.V.CH., C.M.K., and D.M.; resources, L.V.CH., J.N., and K.P.; writing-original draft, D.M. and C.M.K.; writing-review and editing, C.M.K. and D.M.; supervision, L.V.CH.; funding acquisition, L.V.CH., K.P., and J.N.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Danixa Martínez or Luis Vargas-Chacoff.

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Ethics approval

The experiment was performed following the standards of the Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Commission of Science and Technology (CONICYT, Chile) and the Universidad Austral de Chile.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Martínez, D., Moncada-Kopp, C., Paschke, K. et al. Warming and freshening activate the transcription of genes involved in the cellular stress response in Harpagifer antarcticus. Fish Physiol Biochem 47, 533–546 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-021-00931-y

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