The proteome of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L.) larvae is resistant to elevated pCO2

Elevated anthropogenic pCO(2) can delay growth and impair otolith structure and function in the larvae of some fishes. These effects may concurrently alter the larva's proteome expression pattern. To test this hypothesis, Atlantic herring larvae were exposed to ambient (370 mu atm) and elevated (1800 mu atm) pCO(2) for one-month. The proteome structure of the larvae was examined using a 2-DE and mass spectrometry. The length of herring larvae was marginally less in the elevated pCO(2) treatment compared to the control. The proteome structure was also different between the control and treatment, but only slightly: the expression of a small number of proteins was altered by a factor of less than 2-fold at elevated pCO(2). This comparative proteome analysis suggests that the proteome of herring larvae is resilient to elevated pCO(2). These observations suggest that herring larvae can cope with levels of CO2 projected for near future without significant proteome-wide changes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.