Response of fish membranes to environmental temperature

The effect of temperature on fluidity, fatty acid and molecular species composition of liver and brain phospholipids in fish adapted or exposed to extreme temperatures was investigated. Membranes from cold-adapted fish were more fluid than those from warm-adapted fish. Ability to control membrane fluidity according to temperature appears in early ontogenesis and is first evident in swim-up fry of carp. Red blood cells as well as neurons of adult carp can continuously adjust the fluidity of their external membranes to changing temperatures. Segregation of choline and ethanolamine phosphoglycerides from livers of fish adapted to a cold/warm environment showed an accumulation of molecular species containing a monoenic fatty acid in position sn-1 and a polyenic fatty acid in position sn-2 of the molecule in cold conditions. Model experiments using mixtures of synthetic 18:1/22:6 phoshatidylethanolamines and 16:0/18:1 phosphatidylcholines demonstrated the involvement of these molecular species in rendering the membranes less packed (more fluid) during adaptation to reduced temperatures.