Metabolic organization of the spotted ratfish, Hydrolagus colliei (Holocephali: Chimaeriformes): insight into the evolution of energy metabolism in the chondrichthyan fishes.

The metabolic organization of a holocephalan, the spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei), was assessed using measurements of key enzymes of several metabolic pathways in four tissues and plasma concentrations of free amino acids (FAA) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) to ascertain if the Holocephali differ metabolically from the Elasmobranchii since these groups diverged ca. 400 Mya. Activities of carnitine palmitoyl transferase indicate that fatty acid oxidation occurs in liver and kidney but not in heart or white muscle. This result mirrors the well-established absence of lipid oxidation in elasmobranch muscle, and more recent studies showing that elasmobranch kidney possesses a capacity for lipid oxidation. High activities in oxidative tissues of enzymes of ketone body metabolism, including D-beta-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, indicate that, like elasmobranchs, ketone bodies are of central importance in spotted ratfish. Like many carnivorous fishes, enzyme activities demonstrate that amino acids are metabolically important, although the concentration of plasma FAA was relatively low. NEFA concentrations are lower than in teleosts, but higher than in most elasmobranchs and similar to that in some "primitive" ray-finned fishes. NEFA composition is comparable to other marine temperate fishes, including high levels of n-6 and especially n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The metabolic organization of the spotted ratfish is similar to that of elasmobranchs: a reduced capacity for lipid oxidation in muscle, lower plasma NEFA levels, and an emphasis on ketone bodies as oxidative fuel. This metabolic strategy was likely present in the common chondrichthyan ancestor, and may be similar to the ancestral metabolic state of fishes. Copyright 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.