Pseudobranch and gill Na +, K +-ATPase activity in juvenile chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha: developmental changes and effects of growth hormone, cortisol and seawater transfer

Abstract

The teleost pseudobranch is a gill-like structure often fused to the anterior of the opercular cavity. Pseudobranch cells are mitochondria rich and have high levels of Na +, K +-ATPase activity. In this study, pseudobranch Na +, K +-ATPase activity in juvenile chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) was compared to gill Na +, K +-ATPase activity, a known marker of parr–smolt transformation, in three experiments. In two stocks of New Zealand chinook salmon, pseudobranch Na +, K +-ATPase activity was found to significantly increase during development. At these times gill Na +, K +-ATPase activity was also elevated. Pseudobranch Na +, K +-ATPase activity did not increase 10 days after transfer from fresh water to 34 ppt seawater, a treatment that resulted in a twofold increase in gill Na +, K +-ATPase activity. Cortisol (50 μg/g) and ovine growth hormone (5 μg/g) implants had no effect on pseudobranch Na +, K +-ATPase activity in underyearling chinook salmon, while gill Na +, K +-ATPase activity was stimulated by each hormone. In yearling chinook salmon, only cortisol stimulated pseudobranch Na +, K +-ATPase activity 14 days post-implantation. It was concluded that the pseudobranch differs from the gill in terms of the regulation of Na +, K +-ATPase activity and a role during adaptation to seawater is likely to be limited.