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

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 microg/g) and ovine growth hormone (5 microg/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.