Comprehensive analysis of genes contributing to euryhalinity in the bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas; Na+-Cl− co-transporter is one of the key renal factors up-regulated in acclimation to low-salinity environment in bull sharks, but not in houndsharks, Triakis scyllium
2019
ABSTRACT Most
cartilaginous fisheslive principally in seawater (SW) environments, but a limited number of species including the
bull shark,
Carcharhinus
leucas, inhabit both SW and freshwater (FW) environments during their life cycle.
Euryhalineelasmobranchs maintain high internal urea and ion levels even in FW environments, but little is known about the osmoregulatory mechanisms that enable them to maintain internal homeostasis in hypoosmotic environments. In the present study, we focused on the kidney because this is the only organ that can excrete excess water from the body in a hypoosmotic environment. We conducted a transfer experiment of
bull sharksfrom SW to FW and performed differential gene expression analysis between the two conditions using RNA-sequencing. A search for genes upregulated in the FW-acclimated
bull sharkkidney indicated that the expression of the Na + -Cl −
cotransporter(NCC; Slc12a3) was 10 times higher in the FW-acclimated sharks compared with that in SW sharks. In the kidney, apically located NCC was observed in the late distal tubule and in the anterior half of the collecting tubule, where basolateral Na + /K + -ATPase was also expressed, implying that these segments contribute to NaCl reabsorption from the filtrate for diluting the urine. This expression pattern was not observed in the
houndshark,
Triakis scyllium, which had been transferred to 30% SW; this species cannot survive in FW environments. The salinity transfer experiment combined with a comprehensive gene screening approach demonstrates that NCC is a key renal protein that contributes to the remarkable
euryhalineability of the
bull shark.
Keywords:
-
Correction
-
Source
-
Cite
-
Save
54
References
6
Citations
NaN
KQI