Plasticity of the properties of mitochondria from rainbow trout red muscle with seasonal acclimatization

Cold-acclimation of rainbow trout brings only limited changes in muscle metabolic capacities, but marked modifications in membrane composition. Thus, we examined whether the functional properties of mitochondria from trout red muscle were modified by seasonal temperature acclimatization. Mitochondria from fall-acclimatized trout had higher maximal capacities (state 3 rates) for the oxidation of pyruvate and acyl carnitines at 12 and 20 °C than mitochondria isolated from summer-acclimatized trout. For these substrates, the increased oxidative capacity completely compensated for the seasonal drop in temperature. Pyruvate and palmitoyl carnitine were consistently the preferred substrates, while decanoyl and octanoyl carnitine were oxidized at higher rates than glutamine, particularly in fall trout. State 4 rates of oxygen uptake (obtained when all ADP has been converted to ATP) differed less among substrates, but varied seasonally. State 4 rates at 12 and 20 °C were higher in mitochondria isolated from fall than summer trout. At low temperatures, the Q10 of both maximal and state 4 rates of substrate oxidation tended to be higher for mitochondria from fall trout. The apparent Arrhenius activation energy (Ea) for mitochondrial pyruvate oxidation was higher in fall than summer trout whereas the Ea’s for palmitoyl carnitine and decanoyl carnitine oxidation did not change. The fatty acids of mitochondrial phospholipids from fall trout were more polyunsaturated than those from summer trout, with 12% more double bonds occurring than in summer trout, suggesting that membrane restructuring may be involved in the observed compensatory responses.