Plasticity of fish muscle mitochondria with thermal acclimation

Short-horned sculpin Myoxocephalus scorpius were acclimated to 5 and 15 °C to evaluate the impact of thermal acclimation upon maximal rates of substrate oxidation by mitochondria and upon the thermal sensitivity of their ADP affinity. Cold acclimation virtually doubled maximal rates of pyruvate oxidation at all experimental temperatures (2.5, 7.5, 12.5 and 20 °C). Rates of palmitoyl carnitine oxidation were also enhanced by cold acclimation, but to a lesser degree. At their respective acclimation temperatures, the mitochondria attained similar rates of pyruvate oxidation. For warm-acclimated sculpin, the Q10 values for mitochondrial pyruvate and palmitoyl carnitine oxidation were higher between 2.5 and 7.5 °C than between 7.5 and 12.5 °C or between 12.5 and 20 °C. In contrast, for cold-acclimated fish, the Q10 values did not differ over these thermal ranges. The Arrhenius activation energy for pyruvate oxidation was reduced by cold acclimation (from 70 to 55 kJ mol-1), whereas that for palmitoyl carnitine oxidation was unchanged (approximately 75 kJ mol-1). Cold acclimation did not alter the ADP affinity of mitochondria at low temperatures but markedly increased the apparent Km for ADP (Km,app) at 12.5 and 20 °C. At the acclimation temperatures, mitochondrial ADP Km,app values did not differ. The loss of ADP affinity at higher temperatures may represent a cost of the enhanced maximal oxidative capacity achieved during cold acclimation.