Temperature acclimation in respiratory and cytochrome c oxidase activity in common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

• 1.1. Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to experimental temperatures of 12, 18, 24, 30 or 36°C for a 4-week period were used to investigate the effect of temperature acclimation on the frequency of opercular movement (FOM), growth and cytochrome c oxidase (CCO) activity in heart, liver and muscle.
• 2.2. An exponential relationship between FOM and temperature after the first week (10₁₀ =1.76) disappeared after the second week.
• 3.3. The initially high FOM at temperatures of 30 or 36°C and the low FOM at 18 or 12°C changed over 4 weeks to approach the FOM of fish at 24°C.
• 4.4. This change in the relationship of FOM to temperature from highly dependent to independent appeared to be thermal compensation.
• 5.5. Heart and liver CCO activities were significantly affected by temperature, with the lowest activity at the approximate optimum temperature for growth, 24°C.
• 6.6. Highest CCO activities for heart and liver occurred at both the highest and lowest temperatures.
• 7.7. Among the three tissues, heart CCO activity was generally the highest and most affected by acclimation temperature.
• 8.8. Muscle tissue had the lowest CCO activity and was unaffected by temperature.
• 9.9. The high CCO activity at a cold acclimation of temperature 12°C was probably due to thermal compensation and the high activity at 36°C may have been a result of thermal stress.

     

The biomechanics and evolutionary significance of thermal acclimation in the common carp Cyprinus carpio

The effects of thermal acclimation were investigated in the common carp Cyprinus carpio L. Acclimation and acute temperature effects were tested during ontogeny from larval [9.5 mm total length (L)] to juvenile (69.0 mm L) stages and between 8 and 21 degrees C. The myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition, myofibrillar Mg(2+)-Ca(2+)-ATPase activity, and muscle strains showed significant thermal acclimation effects. MHCs were only expressed in an acclimation temperature-dependent fashion in fish longer than 37 mm. During fast starts, the temperature had a significant effect on the white muscle strain (33% increase and 50% decrease with increasing acclimation and acute temperature, respectively) and contraction duration (25% decrease with increasing acute temperature). Increases in hydrodynamic efficiency (0.19 to 0.38) and hydrodynamic power requirements (Q(10) = 3.2) occurred with increasing acute temperature (10 to 20 degrees C). Competing hypotheses about the evolutionary significance of the temperature acclimation response were tested. Acclimation extended the temperature range for fast-start behavior, but no improvements in performance at the whole animal level were found between 8 and 21 degrees C.     

Molecular cloning of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) rhodopsin cDNA

A recombinant phage clone containing a 1584 nucleotides rhodopsin cDNA was screened from a carp retinal cDNA library. The inserted DNA consisting of a single open reading frame of 1062 nucleotides at positions 72 to 1133 encodes a 354 amino acid polypeptide. The deduced amino acid sequence of carp rhodopsin showed 95.7, 85.5 and 74.4% identity with that of goldfish, sand goby and lamprey, respectively. The sites of palmitoylation, glycosylation, disulfide bond formation and Schiff base formation in the putative rhodopsin are all conserved.     

Phenotypic changes in germ cells during gonadal development of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

A procedure is described in which large early spermatogonia were isolated from carp testes and purified from an initial 4–5% recovery up to 60–70% using equilibrium density centrifugation on a continuous Percoll gradient. Mice were immunized with the spermatogonia via the intrasplenic route. Six hybridoma cultures, producing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) reacting selectively with germ cells, were selected and further analysed. Reactivity with five of these MAbs was observed on primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the developing indifferent gonads at the onset of proliferation, i.e. the age of 7 weeks. One MAb, encoded WCG 6, appeared to define a new surface marker on PGCs being gradually expressed on the surface membrane between the age of 2 and 4 weeks, concomitantly with an increase in size of these mitotically silent cells. The reactivity of germ cells with five of the MAbs disappeared completely (WCG 7, 12, 15, 21) or nearly completely (WCG 6) during spermatogenesis, providing a striking difference from patterns obtained with MAbs raised previously against carp spermatozoa. Differences between male and female germ cells were not observed with the WCG-MAbs during gonad development, indicating that a common set of surface antigens is shared between germ cells of both sexes up to and including spermatogonia and oogonia.Abbreviation WCG Wageningen carp spermatogonia antibody     

Regulation of AMP-deaminase activity from white muscle of common carp Cyprinus carpio

AMP-deaminase was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity from white skeletal muscle of a teleost fish, the common carp, Cyprinus carpio. The purified enzyme was highly stable and showed non-Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a S(0.5) value for AMP of 2.52+/-0.16 mM (SEM) and a Hill coefficient of 1.19+/-0.11. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was 1000-1200 U/mg protein. The pH optimum was 6.3 and the enzyme was activated by ADP and ATP, but inhibited by phosphate and fluoride. Low concentrations of NaCl and KCl (100-150 mM) activated, whereas higher concentrations were inhibitory. Free radicals inactivated the enzyme, decreasing V(max) by one-half but not affecting S(0.5) or Hill coefficient. Possible regulatory mechanisms of AMP-deaminase activity in fish muscle are discussed.     

Predicting muscle force generation during fast-starts for the common carp Cyprinus carpio

Muscle contractile properties have been characterised for white myotomal muscle from the common carp Cyprinus carpio at 10, 15, and 20 °C. The time course of muscle force development was measured when one, two, or three stimuli were delivered at the onset of constant velocity shortening. As the shortening velocity increased several parameters decreased including the maximum force, the time course for the contraction and the relative duration of the deactivation compared to the activation. The maximum force and the relative rates of activation to deactivation for the contraction were relatively independent of temperature, whereas the duration of the contraction decreased with increasing temperature. A predictive model was developed which was based on fitting a modified Weibull distribution to these observations. The model was used to interpolate the expected contractile forces during cyclic length-changes. Measured and predicted values for force and power during such cyclic work-loop experiments showed an excellent agreement over the range of shortening regimes typically found during swimming behaviours. However, the predicted force was overestimated during the deactivation phase of the contractions when the shortening velocities exceeded those found during swimming. Accepted: 25 May 1999     

Microsatellite markers in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Microsatellite markers of the poly (CA) type in common carp ( Cyprinus carpio L.) are described. Clones containing a (CA) repeat were isolated from a common carp genomic library and sequenced. The number of repeats found was high compared to mammals but comparable with other teleost fishes. Classification of the repeats (perfect, imperfect and compound) are compared with the Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua L.), rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), and Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.). A total of 41 primer sets were designed and tested for polymorphism on a test panel of eight animals (derived from outbred lines, inbred lines and gynogenetic clones). Thirty-two markers were found to be polymorphic. The heterozygosity in the outbred animals was 60·4%, 51·1% in the inbred animals and 0% in the gynogenetic clones. The average number of alleles among the eight animals was 4·7 per marker. Six markers (18·8%) gave an additional polymorphic amplification product besides the polymorphic amplification product in the expected size range. The possibility that these loci are tetraploid is discussed. The polymorphic loci described for common carp will be valuable as genetic markers for use in population, breeding, and evolutionary studies.     

Factors influencing fatty acid composition of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) muscle

There is evidence that n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (n-3 HUFA), especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are beneficial for human health, especially for the cardiovascular system. The sources of n-3 HUFA, including EPA and DHA, are scarce in diet consumed by the Czech population. Thus, it would be beneficial to generally increase fish consumption and also to increase the content of the beneficial fatty acids (FA) in locally produced fish and other products. Therefore the overall aim of this paper was to review factors influencing lipid content and composition in common carp, which is the major cultured fish in the Czech Republic, and to identify long term sustainable ways for increasing the beneficial fatty acids in the carp flesh. We conclude that there are several ways to improve the FA composition of common carp in the traditional pond production. High amount of natural food, good supplemental diet containing high level of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and suitable processing and cooking were identified as the most important ones.     

Differential macrophage polarisation during parasitic infections in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

In many parasitic infections both classically activated macrophages (caMF) and alternatively activated macrophages (aaMF) play a pivotal role. To investigate if both types of macrophages also play an important role during parasitic infections in fish, we infected carp with either Trypanoplasma borreli or Trypanosoma carassii and determined the activation state of the head kidney leukocytes (HKL). Nitrite production was used as read-out for caMF and arginase activity as read-out for aaMF. Basal nitrite production and arginase activity of HKL were moderately different between the two infections. Differences were observed, however, after ex vivo re-stimulation of HKL. Re-stimulation with LPS and T. borreli lysates increased nitrite production by HKL of T. borreli-infected fish. Re-stimulation with cAMP increased arginase activity in HKL of T. carassii-infected fish. Our results indicate that T. borreli-infected carp are more prone to increase nitrite production by caMF while T. carassii-infected fish are more prone to increase arginase activity by aaMF.     

Plasticity of myosin heavy chain expression with temperature acclimation is gradually acquired during ontogeny in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) were reared from hatching until 61 mm total length (TL) at 21 degrees C. At 14 weeks and 20 weeks post-hatch, corresponding to initial lengths of 30 mm and 44 mm respectively, fish were acclimated to 10 degrees C using a rate of cooling of 1 degrees C per day. A statistical model was used to compare the time course in the change of white muscle myofibrillar ATPase activity with temperature acclimation. The myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition of white muscle myofibrils was investigated using peptide mapping. A significant increase in myofibrillar ATPase activity was observed after 2-3 weeks in the 44 mm group, but not until 4-5 weeks in the 30 mm group. when they had reached 37 mm TL. The MHC banding pattern of 120 mm TL fish acclimated to 10 degrees C or 21 degrees C for a minimum of 6 weeks were distinct from each other. The MHC peptide map characteristic of 10-degrees C-acclimated fish was not observed in individuals less than 37 mm length. We therefore conclude that the capacity to alter the composition and properties of myofibrils with cold acclimation is acquired in juvenile carp at around 37 mm TL.     

Purification of the sex steroid-binding protein from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) plasma.

1. Sex steroid-binding protein was purified from common carp plasma. 2. Testosterone- and estradiol-binding activity existed at the same fraction eluted from gel Sepharose CL-2B, DEAE-Sephacel, hydroxylapatite and HPLC. 3. The molecular weight of the sex steroid-binding protein was 194,000. 4. At 50% displacement the order in which the steroids displaced [3H]testosterone bound to the binding protein was as follows: androstenedione greater than estradiol-17 beta greater than 11-deoxy-17-hydroxycorticosterone greater than 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone greater than progesterone greater than deoxycorticosterone greater than estrone greater than 11-ketotestosterone greater than 17 alpha, 20 beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one greater than androstenedione greater than pregnenolone greater than cortisone greater than cortisol.     

Fillet yield and fat content in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) produced in three Austrian carp farms with different culture methodologies

The fat content and fillet yield of common carp ( Cyprinus carpio ) from three carp farms were investigated with respect to pond management and overall climatic conditions. The mean fat content of the trimmed fillet varied from 2.7 to 6.9% and differed significantly among the three facilities (P < 0.001). It is suggested that differences in the fillet fat content may be based on the climatic conditions as well as the different management strategies (feeding, stocking biomass). The mean fillet yield was calculated as 34.0–39.0%. No significant correlation between fish weight and fillet yield (ρ = −0.16) was found. Results suggest that producing smaller fish for fillets of serving size may lead to a higher production and conclude with lower production risks and costs.