Oxidative stress responses in the respiratory tree and the body wall of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) to high temperature

Sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicas (Selenka) is one of the important aquaculture species distributed in northern China. In recent years, global warming caused frequent high temperature weather in summer in northern China, resulting in dramatic losses of the sea cucumber aquaculture industry. In the present study, we focused on the effect of oxidative stress in Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) subjected to high temperature stress. Sea cumbers were exposed to the control (16 degrees C), and high temperature treatments (20 degrees C, 24 degrees C, and 28 degrees C) for 7 days. Then, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase (CAT) activity, peroxidase (POD) activity, reduced glutathione (GSH) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and 8-hydroxy-2 '-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) level in the respiratory tree and body wall were detected, respectively. Results showed that 24 degrees C and 28 degrees C acute exposure induced the elevation of ROS level, SOD, CAT, POD activities, GSH content, MDA content and 8-OHdG level in the respiratory tree of sea cucumber. In contrast, no significant changes were observed for ROS and 8-OHdG levels in the body wall of sea cucumber, while the antioxidants including SOD, CAT, POD, and GSH decreased to some extent. Moreover, MDA content exhibited a noticeable increase in the body wall, similarly to that in the respiratory tree, indicating that high temperature could induce severe lipid peroxidation in two tissues. Considering the differences in various biomarkers measured in two tissues, respiratory tree might be more susceptible to the high temperature changes compared to the body wall. Our findings may help understand the oxidative stress response to high temperature in the respiratory tree and the body wall in A. japonicus.

Automated summary

This study investigated the oxidative stress response to high temperature in the respiratory tree and body wall of the sea cucumber. The results showed that high temperature caused an increase in reactive oxygen species levels and antioxidant activities in the respiratory tree, but no significant changes were observed in the body wall. Lipid peroxidation was observed in both tissues. The respiratory tree was found to be more susceptible to high temperature changes compared to the body wall. These findings provide insights into the oxidative stress response of the sea cucumber to high temperature.