New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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Seasonal effect on lactate dehydrogenase and citrate synthase in snapper (Pagrus auratus)

S. A. Majed

R. M. G. Wells

School of Biological Sciences
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92  019
Auckland, New Zealand
email: s.majed@auckland.ac.nz

B. H. McArdle

Department of Statistics
The University of Auckland
Private Bag 92  019
Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract   The activities of two enzymes involved in metabolic energy production, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and citrate synthase (CS), were determined in the white trunk musculature of snapper, Pagrus auratus (Bloch & Schneider 1801), to determine whether the metabolic capacity reflects seasonal variations. LDH and CS activities for a population of wild fish were monitored on a monthly basis over a period of 1 year and correlated with body length and seasonal variation. Significant correlations were observed between enzyme activity and body length. Increased LDH activity may reflect energy demand for anaerobic burst swimming. In contrast, declining CS activity with increasing body length may indicate a reduction in energy generation. The seasonal variation of CS activity coincided with the somatic growth cycle, increasing from 1.18 U g^–1 white muscle in winter to 1.79 in spring and 1.78 in late summer, whereas LDH activity did not show a clear seasonal pattern. This information could be useful for tracking metabolic capacity in field specimens using simple biochemical analysis.

Keywords   citrate synthase; lactate dehydrogenase; metabolic enzymes; seasonal variation; snapper; Pagrus auratus

M01019 Received 15 February 2001; accepted 21 August 2001
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 2002, Vol. 36 : 233–239
0028–8330/02/3601–0233 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2002

PDF file of entire paper: Print-quality

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