Osmoregulatory plasticity of the glass eel ofAnguilla anguilla: freshwater entry and changes in branchial ion-transport protein expression

Abstract

The glass-eel stage of the life history of Anguillid eels (Anguilla spp.) makes the important physiological transition from seawater (SW) to freshwater (FW) osmoregulation. Central to successful adaptation to fresh water is the switch from active hypoosmoregulation (ion excretion) to active hyperosmoregulation (ion uptake) to counter passive fluxes imposed by concentration gradients. Anguilla anguilla (L.) glass eels, captured from the lower Minho River estuary and maintained in brackish water (BW; 24‰), were fully capable of adapting to FW following acute transfer. In a comparison between SW- (34‰) and FW-adapted glass eels, gill Na+/K+-ATPase and Na+:K+:2Cl–cotransporter (NKCC) expression were both markedly reduced in the FW group. Branchial mitochondria-rich chloride cells (MRCs) were also significantly larger in SW-adapted glass eels. Apical CFTR Cl–channel immunoreactivity associated with branchial MRCs was also only present in SW-adapted glass eels. The expression of these three ion-transport proteins is strongly associated with active ion excretion in SW teleost fishes. In FW-adapted glass eels, cortisol treatment increased branchial Na+/K+-ATPase expression but was without effect on NKCC expression. Glucocorticoid receptor blockade by RU-486 had no effect on Na+/K+-ATPase or NKCC expression.