Metabolic Adaptations To Environmental Anoxia in the Intertidal Bivalve Mollusc Mytilus Edulis L

Abstract

Many invertebrate species are able to withstand periods with interrupted oxygen supply that may extend over days. These so-called euryoxic organisms show metabolic adaptations different from those found in temporarily anoxic vertebrate tissues. It has been the authors' field of research over more than 15 years to investigate metabolic pathways and their regulation in euryoxic marine and freshwater molluscs, especially of the sea mussel Mytilus edulis L. This paper intends to provide, in a more or less chronological way, a survey of metabolic routes and regulation points through which sufficient metabolic energy is released without exhaustion of the available energy stores. It will be shown that reduction of energy demand and activation of highly efficient fermentation processes are the most important elements for survival. Finally, attention will be paid to the processes involved in the return from anoxic to normoxic conditions.