Air sac and gill vasotocin receptor gene expression in the air-breathing catfish Heteropneustes fossilis exposed to water and air deprivation conditions.

Heteropneustes fossilis is a facultative air-breathing freshwater catfish and inhabits ponds, ditches, swamps, marshes and rivers that dry up in summers. It possesses a pair of unique tubular accessory respiratory organ (air sac), which is a modification of the gill chamber and enables it to live in water-air transition zones. In the catfish, three vasotocin (Vt) receptor gene paralogs viz., v1a1, v1a2 and v2a were identified for Vt actions. In the present study, the receptor gene transcripts were localized in the gill and air sac by in situ hybridization, and their expression levels in relation to water and air deprivation conditions were investigated by quantitative RT-PCR. The catfish were exposed to 1 h and 2 h in gonad inactive (resting) and gonad active (prespawning) phases. The gene paralogs showed overlapping distribution in the respiratory epithelium of primary and secondary lamellae of gills and reduced lamellae of the air sacs. In water deprivation (forced aerial mode of respiration) experiment, v2a expression showed a high fold increase in the air sac, which was unchanged or inhibited in the gill. Both v1a1 and v1a2 expression was significantly upregulated in the air sac but showed varied responses in the gill. The gill v1a1 expression was unchanged in the resting phase and modestly upregulated in the prespawning phase. The gill v1a2 expression was modestly upregulated at 1 h in both phases but unchanged at 2 h. In the air deprivation experiment (forced aquatic respiration), the v2a expression in the air sac was inhibited except for a mild stimulation at 1 h in the prespawning phase. In the gill, the v2a expression was stimulated with a steep upregulation at 2 h in the prespawning phase. Both v1a1 and v1a2 expression was significantly high in the gill but only modestly increased or unchanged in the air sac. The expression patterns point to a functional distinction; the V2 type receptor expression was higher in the air sac during forced aerial respiration, and the V1 type receptor expression was highly prominent in the gill during forced aquatic respiration. Water and air deprivation treatments caused a significant increase in plasma cortisol level, and the stimulation was higher in the water deprivation fish in the resting phase but equally prominent in the water and air deprivation groups in the prespawning phase. The results indicate that the changes in the expression patterns of Vt receptor genes may be a sequel to stress (hypoxic, metabolic and osmotic), and both Vt and cortisol may interact to counter the stress responses. This study shows that Vt has a new role in the control of air sac functions.