A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Variation in temperature tolerance among families of atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is associated with hypoxia tolerance, ventricle size and myoglobin level
Authors: Anttila K, Dhillon R, Boulding E, Farrell A, Glebe B, Elliott J, Wolters W, Schulte P
Publication year: 2013
Journal: Journal of Experimental Biology
Journal name in source: Journal of Experimental Biology
Number in series: 7
Volume: 216
Issue: 7
First page : 1183
Last page: 1190
Number of pages: 8
ISSN: 0022-0949
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.080556
Web address : http://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id:84876131109
Abstract
In fishes, performance failure at high temperature is thought to be due to a limitation on oxygen delivery (the theory of oxygen and capacity limited thermal tolerance, OCLTT), which suggests that thermal tolerance and hypoxia tolerance might be functionally associated. Here we examined variation in temperature and hypoxia tolerance among 41 families of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), which allowed us to evaluate the association between these two traits. Both temperature and hypoxia tolerance varied significantly among families and there was a significant positive correlation between critical maximum temperature (CT) and hypoxia tolerance, supporting the OCLTT concept. At the organ and cellular levels, we also discovered support for the OCLTT concept as relative ventricle mass (RVM) and cardiac myoglobin (Mb) levels both correlated positively with CT (R=0.21, P<0.001 and R=0.17, P=0.003, respectively). A large RVM has previously been shown to be associated with high cardiac output, which might facilitate tissue oxygen supply during elevated oxygen demand at high temperatures, while Mb facilitates the oxygen transfer from the blood to tissues, especially during hypoxia. The data presented here demonstrate for the first time that RVM and Mb are correlated with increased upper temperature tolerance in fish. High phenotypic variation between families and greater similarity among full- and half-siblings suggests that there is substantial standing genetic variation in thermal and hypoxia tolerance, which could respond to selection either in aquaculture or in response to anthropogenic stressors such as global climate change. © 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
In fishes, performance failure at high temperature is thought to be due to a limitation on oxygen delivery (the theory of oxygen and capacity limited thermal tolerance, OCLTT), which suggests that thermal tolerance and hypoxia tolerance might be functionally associated. Here we examined variation in temperature and hypoxia tolerance among 41 families of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), which allowed us to evaluate the association between these two traits. Both temperature and hypoxia tolerance varied significantly among families and there was a significant positive correlation between critical maximum temperature (CT) and hypoxia tolerance, supporting the OCLTT concept. At the organ and cellular levels, we also discovered support for the OCLTT concept as relative ventricle mass (RVM) and cardiac myoglobin (Mb) levels both correlated positively with CT (R=0.21, P<0.001 and R=0.17, P=0.003, respectively). A large RVM has previously been shown to be associated with high cardiac output, which might facilitate tissue oxygen supply during elevated oxygen demand at high temperatures, while Mb facilitates the oxygen transfer from the blood to tissues, especially during hypoxia. The data presented here demonstrate for the first time that RVM and Mb are correlated with increased upper temperature tolerance in fish. High phenotypic variation between families and greater similarity among full- and half-siblings suggests that there is substantial standing genetic variation in thermal and hypoxia tolerance, which could respond to selection either in aquaculture or in response to anthropogenic stressors such as global climate change. © 2013. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.
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