(<I>Opsanus Beta</I>) Sonic Muscle Enzyme Activities
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BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, 45(1): 68-75,1989 SCALING AND SEX-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN TOADFISH (OPSANUS BETA) SONIC MUSCLE ENZYME ACTIVITIES Patrick J. Walsh, Cindy Bedolla and Thomas P. Mommsen ABSTRACT Male toadfishes (genus Opsanus) use a sonic muscle on the swim bladder to produce a mating call-the boatwhistle-for extended periods during the mating season. Previously, we noted significant differences in sonic muscle mass and activities of metabolic enzymes of the sonic muscles between male and female gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta, of a limited size range (12-130 grams). Notably, males had larger sonic muscles and elevated aerobic capacity, as indicated by higher mass-specific activities of citrate synthase (CS) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH). The present study examined the patterns of sonic muscle mass and activities of these enzymes (and lactate dehydrogenase) in sonic muscle and skeletal muscle as a function of a larger range of body size (7-400 grams) in an effort to determine the point of growth and development that these mate-female differences occur, and to shed light on the possible functional significances of these differences. Sonic muscle mass differences were apparent in the smallest toadfish, and identical rates of increase in sonic muscle mass in males and females maintained these differences throughout the size range examined. In contrast, mass-specific CS and MDH activities were similar in smaller toadfish and began to diverge when fish were about 2S g, While mass-specific MDH activity increased at different rates in males and females, mass-specific CS activity increased in males and decreased in females. The results are dis- cussed in the context of possible control by steroid sex hormones, size at sexual maturity, and success in mate attraction. The toadfish (genus Opsa nus, family Batrachoididae) swimbladder has a sonic muscle which contracts to produce sound. The sonic muscle is used by both sexes to generate grunts when disturbed, but additionally, males are known to sound a mating call-the "boatwhistle" -intermittantly for many hours during the mating season (Gray and Winn, 1961; Fine et al., 1977). The sonic muscle is characterized by one of the fastest contraction cycles in the animal kingdom (Skoglund, 1959), due in part to several specializations in innervation (Gainer and Klancher, 1965), ultrastructure (Franzini-Armstrong and Nunzi, 1983), and biochemistry of the contractile apparatus (i.e., parvalbumin isozyme proportions and total quantity differ from white skeletal muscle, Hamoir et a1., 1980). In characterizing the metabolic poise of this unique muscle, we discovered that biochemical special- izations are apparent at the level of energy metabolism as well (Walsh et al., 1987). The capacity for anaerobic glycolysis in sonic muscle is similar to white skeletal muscle in Opsanus beta, as judged by high activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LOH) and other enzymes (Walsh et al., 1987). However, sonic muscle possesses a higher potential for aerobic metabolism than toadfish white skeletal muscle as indicated by activities of citrate synthase (CS) and malate dehydrogenase (MOH) (Walsh et al., 1987). Some details of the mechanisms of the sex-related differences in use ofthe sonic muscle in toadfish species are known. Males have larger sonic muscles than females (Fine, 1975; Walsh et al., 1987). There is a polymorphism in the degree of de- velopment of the sonic motor nucleus (SMN) in the posterior medulla and anterior spinal cord; some males have much larger SMN's than other males and females (Fine et al., 1984). At the biochemical level, significant differences in enzyme activities per gram sonic muscle exist for CS, LOH, and MDH between male and females ofa limited body mass range (12-130 grams, Walsh et al., 1987). However, 68 WALSH ET AL.: TOADFISH PHYSIOLOGY 69 in spite of these differences, both males and females can be made to produce the boatwhistle by electrically stimulating the SMN in the laboratory (Demski and Gerald, 1974; Fine, 1979). The current working hypothesis (see Pennypacker et aI., 1985) is that the production of the boatwhistle is produced by differential environmental/hormonal stimulation of similar (but not identical) nerve-muscle complexes in males and females. This hypothesis is supported by several lines of evidence: females do not produce the boatwhistle in nature (Gray and Winn, 1961; Fine et aI., 1977), and males produce it only during the summer months with some apparent dependence on water temperature (Fine et aI., 1977; Fine, 1978); testosterone is taken up by specific areas of the toadfish brain believed to be linked to sound production (Fine et aI., 1982). Finally, testosterone and dihy- drotestosterone administration to ovariectomized females appears to increase the levels of some sonic muscle enzyme activities (Pennypacker et aI., 1985); however, Walsh et al. (1987) have raised methodological concerns about this study. With this background in mind, we decided to examine the manner in which the activities ofLDH, CS, and MDH scale versus body mass in order to determine if the sex-related differences (Walsh et aI., 1987) are apparent at all sizes/ages, or if some critical point in development/maturation exists at which these differences appear. This information would supply clues to the mechanisms maintaining these sexual differences, and would help in evaluating the hypothesis (Walsh et aI., 1987) that elevated CS and MDH activities lead to an enhanced capacity for sustained, aerobic sound production. Furthermore, the scaling of enzyme activities in a non-locomotory muscle may add interesting counterpoint to the discovery of size-scaling in enzyme activities in locomotory muscles (for review see Somero and Childress, 1985). We report significant differences between male and female toadfish in the man- ner in which CS and MDH scale with body mass. These differences are partly due to differences in enzyme activity established at an early developmental stage, as well as through differential accumulation of enzyme activity during later growth. MATERIALS AND METHODS Specimens of the gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta. were captured by local shrimp trawlers in south Biscayne Bay, Florida between June 1986 and July 1987, and were held without feeding in running saltwater aquaria at ambient temperature for no longer than 1 week prior to sacrifice. Fish were anesthetized with 0.5 g per liter tricaine methanesulfonate, weighed, the sonic muscle was dissected from the swimbladder and weighed, and the sex was recorded. Sex is relatively easy to determine in this species in the size range used by simple visual inspection. Ovaries are distinguished by a large ovarian artery and large (0.5 to 4 mm) yellow to orange oocytes. Testis are filled with a clear to off- white material and no cells are visible to the naked eye. Additionally, a sample of white skeletal muscle was taken from the lateral area just behind the anus from a smaller subset of fish. In some cases the intact swimbladder or skeletal muscle sample was frozen at -80·C for I to 2 months before further processing. Control measurements of enzyme activities before and after freezing demonstrated no significant effect of freezing. Muscles were homogenized in 5 volumes of 50 mM NaHEPES, pH 7.5 (adjusted at room temperature) with glass Duall homogenizers on ice. Following sonication with a Heat Systems Ultrasonics Model WI85 for 15 sec at 50 watts, homogenates were centrifuged at 1,600 x g for 5 min. The resulting crude supernatants were used directly (CS) or diluted I: 10 with HEPES buffer (LDH, MDH) immediately prior to the assays. Enzymes were assayed spectrophotometrically with an LKB Ultrospec 4050 by the methods of Walsh et al. (I 987). Assay temperature was 22·C, final reaction volume was 2.0 ml, and assays were buffered with 50 mM HEPES. Oxidation ofNADH was monitored at 340 nm (micromolar extinction coefficient E = 6.22) for LDH and MDH, and change in absorbance of 5,5' dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) was monitored at 412 nm (E = 13.6) for CS. Specific assay conditions were as follows (final concentrations): Citrate synthase (E.C. 4.1.3.7)-0.1 mM DTNB, 0.3 mM Acetyl CoA, 20 Itl supernatant, 0.5 mM oxaloacetate, pH 8.0. Lactate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.27) (LDH)-O.15 mM NADH, 20 Itll: 10 diluted supernatant, 0.5 mM pyrvate, pH 7.5. Malate dehydrogenase (E.C. 1.1.1.37) 70 BULLETIN OF MARINE SCIENCE, VOL. 45, NO.1, 1989 R " VI " E D '" e 4 '"a: ~ " • • 1: • ......• 0 '" • • u '"a: 3 " D 1: • • ='" ......• EI " 13 EC C • 1: U ~'I.••• "• ~ '" m I!I. • •• • Z ·1 =1: 0 ~ • '" z '"0 o ...• '" o o 100 200 300 400 1 2 BODY MRSS (grllms) lOG BODY MRSS Figure I. A. Sonic muscle mass vs. body mass for males (open squares) and females (closed diamonds) of the gulf toad fish, Opsanus beta. Equations for linear regressions are y = 0.137 + O.Ollx, r = 0.95 (males) and y = 0.116 + 0.008x, r = 0.90 (females). B. Log sonic muscle mass vs. log body mass for male (y = -1. 732 + 0.912x, r = 0.99) and female (y = -1.882 + 0.9l3x, r = 0.97) toadfish. Symbols as in Figure IA. (MDH}-O.15 mM NADH, 20111 1:10 diluted supernatant, 0.5 mM oxaloacetate, pH 7.5. The last item for each assay was omitted as a control. In all cases this control activity, which was less than 5%, was subtracted from the activity with substrate. Reactions were initiated with 50 to 100 III of the substrate. Biochemicals were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO) and all other chemicals were reagent grade. One unit is defined as I I1mol product min-I. Results were curve fitted with Cricket Graph ® (Cricket Software, Inc., Philadelphia, PA), and slopes and y-intercepts of linear regressions were compared by two-tailed Student's t-test (Zar, 1974), and P :5 0.05 is considered to indicate significant differences between groups.