Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms
Global climate change presents a significant challenge to aquatic ecosystems, with ectothermic fish being particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The brain plays a crucial role in perceiving, regulating, and adapting to thermal changes, and its response to heat stress is crucial for surv...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Yingyi Guan Cunyu Duan Xinyu Xie Zhuoying Luo Dayan Zhou Yulei Zhang Guangli Li Yu Liao Changxu Tian |
| author_facet | Yingyi Guan Cunyu Duan Xinyu Xie Zhuoying Luo Dayan Zhou Yulei Zhang Guangli Li Yu Liao Changxu Tian |
| author_sort | Yingyi Guan |
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| description | Global climate change presents a significant challenge to aquatic ecosystems, with ectothermic fish being particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The brain plays a crucial role in perceiving, regulating, and adapting to thermal changes, and its response to heat stress is crucial for survival. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying heat stress and acclimation in fish brains remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the adaptive mechanisms of Hong Kong catfish (<i>Clarias fuscus</i>) brains under heat acclimation and acute heat stress using transcriptome analysis. Fish were divided into two groups: a normal temperature group (NT, 26 °C for 90 days) and a heat-acclimated group (HT, 34 °C for 90 days), followed by acute heat stress (34 °C for 72 h) and recovery (26 °C for 72 h). Heat acclimation improved <i>C. fuscus</i> tolerance to acute heat stress, with faster gene responses and stronger neuroprotection. Key pathways enriched included cell adhesion and ECM-receptor interactions during recovery. Apoptosis regulation was balanced, with the HT group upregulating anti-apoptotic genes to mitigate neuronal cell death. Additionally, the lysosome–phagosome pathway was activated during recovery, facilitating the transport of lysosomal enzymes and the clearance of damaged cellular components, aiding neuronal repair. Ribosome biogenesis was suppressed under heat stress to conserve energy, but this suppression was less pronounced in the HT group. In summary, heat acclimation enhances neural protection in <i>C. fuscus</i> brains by promoting neuronal repair, suppressing apoptosis, and activating lysosomal pathways, thereby improving tolerance to acute heat stress. These findings offer a molecular basis for breeding heat-tolerant fish species in aquaculture, and deepen our understanding of thermal adaptation in aquatic animals amid global climate change. |
| format | Article |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-2019fb0bf85d4cea90c1e69c7c31cca62025-08-20T01:49:20ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-04-01159122010.3390/ani15091220Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation MechanismsYingyi Guan0Cunyu Duan1Xinyu Xie2Zhuoying Luo3Dayan Zhou4Yulei Zhang5Guangli Li6Yu Liao7Changxu Tian8Guangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGuangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGuangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGuangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGuangxi Introduction and Breeding Center of Aquaculture, Nanning 530001, ChinaGuangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGuangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGuangxi Introduction and Breeding Center of Aquaculture, Nanning 530001, ChinaGuangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Mariculture Organism Breeding, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture, Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, ChinaGlobal climate change presents a significant challenge to aquatic ecosystems, with ectothermic fish being particularly sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The brain plays a crucial role in perceiving, regulating, and adapting to thermal changes, and its response to heat stress is crucial for survival. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying heat stress and acclimation in fish brains remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the adaptive mechanisms of Hong Kong catfish (<i>Clarias fuscus</i>) brains under heat acclimation and acute heat stress using transcriptome analysis. Fish were divided into two groups: a normal temperature group (NT, 26 °C for 90 days) and a heat-acclimated group (HT, 34 °C for 90 days), followed by acute heat stress (34 °C for 72 h) and recovery (26 °C for 72 h). Heat acclimation improved <i>C. fuscus</i> tolerance to acute heat stress, with faster gene responses and stronger neuroprotection. Key pathways enriched included cell adhesion and ECM-receptor interactions during recovery. Apoptosis regulation was balanced, with the HT group upregulating anti-apoptotic genes to mitigate neuronal cell death. Additionally, the lysosome–phagosome pathway was activated during recovery, facilitating the transport of lysosomal enzymes and the clearance of damaged cellular components, aiding neuronal repair. Ribosome biogenesis was suppressed under heat stress to conserve energy, but this suppression was less pronounced in the HT group. In summary, heat acclimation enhances neural protection in <i>C. fuscus</i> brains by promoting neuronal repair, suppressing apoptosis, and activating lysosomal pathways, thereby improving tolerance to acute heat stress. These findings offer a molecular basis for breeding heat-tolerant fish species in aquaculture, and deepen our understanding of thermal adaptation in aquatic animals amid global climate change.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/9/1220catfishheat acclimationadaptive regulationbrain transcriptome |
| spellingShingle | Yingyi Guan Cunyu Duan Xinyu Xie Zhuoying Luo Dayan Zhou Yulei Zhang Guangli Li Yu Liao Changxu Tian Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms Animals catfish heat acclimation adaptive regulation brain transcriptome |
| title | Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms |
| title_full | Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms |
| title_fullStr | Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms |
| title_short | Heat Acclimation Enhances Brain Resilience to Acute Thermal Stress in <i>Clarias fuscus</i> by Modulating Cell Adhesion, Anti-Apoptotic Pathways, and Intracellular Degradation Mechanisms |
| title_sort | heat acclimation enhances brain resilience to acute thermal stress in i clarias fuscus i by modulating cell adhesion anti apoptotic pathways and intracellular degradation mechanisms |
| topic | catfish heat acclimation adaptive regulation brain transcriptome |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/9/1220 |
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