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Comparison of hematological traits and oxygenation properties of hemoglobins from highland and lowland Asiatic toad (Bufo gargarizans)

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Abstract

The Asiatic toad (Bufo gargarizans) belonging to the family of Bufonidae (Anura: Amphibia) is successfully residing on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP). To investigate whether the oxygen delivery undergoes adaptive adjustments to high-altitude environments in Asian toads inhabiting the QTP (Zoige County, 3446 m), choosing low-altitude populations (Chengdu City, 500 m) as control, we measured hematological traits, O2 affinities of whole blood, Hb-O2 affinities of purified Hbs, their sensitivities to temperature, and allosteric effectors (H+, Cl− and ATP). Our results showed that high-altitude Asiatic toads possessed significantly increased hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, and red blood cell count, but significantly decreased erythrocyte volume compared with low-altitude toads. The whole blood and purified Hbs of high-altitude Asiatic toads both exhibited significantly higher O2 affinities compared with low-altitude toads. Substantially increased intrinsic Hb-O2 affinities of high-altitude Asiatic toads Hbs are likely to be the main reason for its elevated Hb-O2 affinities given the anionic cofactor sensitivities of high- and low-altitude toads were similar. The Hbs of high-altitude toads were also characterized by distinctly strong Bohr effects at the low temperature and low-temperature sensitivities. The adaptive adjustments of hematological traits could enhance the blood–O2 carrying capacity of high-altitude Asiatic toads. The increased Hb-O2 affinities could safeguard the pulmonary O2 uploading under hypoxia. The strong Bohr effects at the low temperature could help the release of O2 in metabolic tissues and cold limbs, while low-temperature sensitivity could minimize the effect of temperature fluctuation on the Hb–O2 affinity.

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Abbreviations

Hbs:

Hemoglobins

QTP:

Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

DPG:

2,3-Diphosphoglycerate

IP5:

Inositol pentaphosphate

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

[Hb]:

Hemoglobin concentration

RBC:

Red blood cell

Hct:

Hematocrit

MCHC:

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

MCH:

Mean cell hemoglobin

MCV:

Mean corpuscular volume

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Acknowledgements

We thank Yaofeng Zhao for his assistance in the acquisition of experimental animals. We thank the Core Facility of School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, for technical assistance.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31971416 to Qiang Chen) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2019-it16 to Peng Pu).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal and Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu, China

    Peng Pu, Yao Zhao, Zhiyi Niu, Wangjie Cao, Tao Zhang, Jie He, Jinzhou Wang, Xiaolong Tang & Qiang Chen

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  1. Peng Pu
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  2. Yao Zhao
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Contributions

Conceptualization: QC and PP; methodology: PP, YZ, and ZN; software: PP, YZ, and JH; formal analysis: PP, JW, WC, and TZ; investigation: PP, YZ, and TZ; resources: QC, XT, and PP; data curation: QC, YZ, and PP; writing—original draft: PP and QC; writing review and editing: QC, PP, XT, YZ, ZN, JH, WC, and TZ; visualization: PP, ZN, and JW; supervision: QC and PP; project administration: QC; funding acquisition: QC and PP.

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Correspondence to Qiang Chen.

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Pu, P., Zhao, Y., Niu, Z. et al. Comparison of hematological traits and oxygenation properties of hemoglobins from highland and lowland Asiatic toad (Bufo gargarizans). J Comp Physiol B 191, 1019–1029 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-021-01368-8

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