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Relation between growth rate and metabolic organization of white muscle, liver and digestive tract in cod, Gadus morhua

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Abstract

To determine whether the aerobic capacity of tissues required for growth specifically reflects growth rates, we monitored the activities of key enzymes of oxidative, glycolytic and amino acid metabolism in muscle, liver and intestine of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) growing at different rates. Fish were maintained individually in small tanks at 10°C and fed on rations that allowed growth rates ranging from-0.6 to 1.6% per day. The correlation between growth rate and muscle enzyme activity was pronounced for the glycolytic enzymes (LDH, PFK and PK). The activities of glycolytic enzymes were more than four times higher for fish having higher growth rates compared to those that did not grow. Mitochondrial enzyme (cytochrome c oxidase, citrate synthase and β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase) activities remained unchanged in fish with positive growth. The liver seems to respond to requirements of growth by an increase in size. In the liver, the activities of the enzymes of amino acid metabolism expressed as units · μg DNA-1 specifically increases with growth rate. In contrast to the two other tissues, the specific activities of mitochondrial enzymes in the intestine increased with growth rate while the relative mass of the intestine remained constant. Intestinal cytochrome c oxidase activity increased from a minimum of about 2 to more than 8 units · g intestine-1. Cytochrome c oxidase activity increased in parallel with the food conversion efficiency. This suggests that the aerobic capacity of the intestine may initially limit the rates of digestion and growth in this species.

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Abbreviations

AA:

amino acid(s)

BM:

body mass

CCO:

cytochrome c oxydase

CS:

citrate synthase

DTNB:

5,5′ dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid

GDH:

glutamate dehydrogenase

GOT:

glutamate oxalacetate transaminase

GPT:

glutamate pyruvate transaminase

GR:

growth rate(s)

HOAD:

β-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase

HSI:

hepatosomatic index

LDH:

lactate dehydrogenase

MR:

metabolic rate(s)

PCA:

perchloric acid

PFK:

phosphofructokinase

PK:

pyruvate kinase

PMSF:

phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride; TRIS

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department de Biologie, Faculté des Sciences et de Génie, Université Laval, G1K 7P4, Québec, Canada

    D. Pelletier, P. Blier & H. Guderley

  2. Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Ministère des Pêches et des Océans, 850 route de la Mer, G5H 3Z4, Mont-Joli, Québec, Canada

    J. -D. Dutil

  3. Department de Biologie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, G5L 3A1, Rimouski, Québec, Canada

    D. Pelletier & P. Blier

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  1. D. Pelletier
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  3. P. Blier
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  4. H. Guderley
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Pelletier, D., Dutil, J.D., Blier, P. et al. Relation between growth rate and metabolic organization of white muscle, liver and digestive tract in cod, Gadus morhua . J Comp Physiol B 164, 179–190 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00354078

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