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Abstract: The African cichlid, Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae is a eurytopic fish that exhibits high levels of developmental plasticity in response to dissolved oxygen availability. In this study, F1 offspring from three sites in the Mpanga River drainage of Western Uganda characterized by different dissolved oxygen (D.O.) regimes were reared under normoxic or hypoxic conditions. After 1year, enzymes were measured to determine the tissue metabolic capacity of four different tissues: muscle, heart, brain and liver. The enzymes measured were pyruvate kinase [PK], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], citrate synthase [CS], and cytochrome C oxidase [CCO], and an additional two, malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), were examined in the liver only. Individuals reared under hypoxia exhibited elevated levels of LDH and CCO in the heart; and depressed activity levels of brain CS and liver CCO and MDH relative to normoxia-reared sibs. Results from this study demonstrate that long-term exposure to hypoxia during development can induce changes in the metabolic capacities of P. multicolor. This flexibility may be important in facilitating persistence in variable and/or novel environments, and in the face of increasing global hypoxia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study describes the metabolic capacities of the African cichlid Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor victoriae from four sites in Uganda, East Africa. Fish were captured during the dry season, from two aquatic systems in different regions (Lake Nabugabo and Mpanga River). Within the Lake Nabugabo region, individuals were sampled from Lake Kayanja (normoxic) and Lwamunda Swamp (hypoxic); within the Mpanga River system, individuals were sampled from Bunoga and Kahunge (characterized by seasonal variation in dissolved oxygen (D.O.)). Enzyme activity levels of pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase, and cytochrome C oxidase were measured in four tissues: white skeletal muscle, heart, brain, and liver. Two additional enzymes were measured in the liver, malate dehydrogenase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase. Regional differences between enzyme activities in most tissues were evident; however, little variation was observed between two sites within a region despite differences in D.O. In general, P. multicolor from the Mpanga River system displayed greater anaerobic enzyme activity in white skeletal muscle, lower gluconeogenic enzyme activity in the liver, and an overall higher enzyme activity in the heart and brain tissues than fish from the Nabugabo region. The latter may reflect a long-term adaptation to low-oxygen conditions at the metapopulation level in the Nabugabo region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]