HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions

High-alkalinity water bodies can disrupt normal ammonia metabolism in fish, leading to ammonia poisoning. In China, there exists a highly tolerant group of Amur ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) that can survive in extreme alkaline lakes with alkalinity up to 53.57 mM (pH 9.6), making it a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xuefei Zhao, Yu Zhang, Shuqi Li, Suying Bai, Wei Zhang, Yanchun Xu, Yumei Chang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/498
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849327722112745472
author Xuefei Zhao
Yu Zhang
Shuqi Li
Suying Bai
Wei Zhang
Yanchun Xu
Yumei Chang
author_facet Xuefei Zhao
Yu Zhang
Shuqi Li
Suying Bai
Wei Zhang
Yanchun Xu
Yumei Chang
author_sort Xuefei Zhao
collection DOAJ
description High-alkalinity water bodies can disrupt normal ammonia metabolism in fish, leading to ammonia poisoning. In China, there exists a highly tolerant group of Amur ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) that can survive in extreme alkaline lakes with alkalinity up to 53.57 mM (pH 9.6), making it an excellent model for elucidating the high-alkalinity tolerance mechanism in fish. We have discovered that this species has evolved a special ammonia excretion mechanism to maintain ammonia efflux in high-alkalinity environments. Compared to the freshwater forms of Amur ide, the ammonia excretion protein RHBG plays a prominent role in the ammonia excretion process of the alkali forms of Amur ide; however, the regulatory mechanism of RHBG expression in fish remains unclear. Through DNA pull-down, RNA-Seq, qPCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and dual-luciferase reporter assays, this study demonstrates that the transcription factor HIF1A can inversely regulate the expression of <i>Rhbg</i> by binding to its promoter region, thereby participating in the high-alkalinity adaptation process of fish. The findings of this study provide a theoretical basis for elucidating the ammonia excretion mechanism and revealing the alkalinity tolerance mechanism in fish.
format Article
id doaj-art-59bab5efb83548a78939f01c323e113b
institution Kabale University
issn 2079-7737
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Biology
spelling doaj-art-59bab5efb83548a78939f01c323e113b2025-08-20T03:47:48ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372025-05-0114549810.3390/biology14050498HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline ConditionsXuefei Zhao0Yu Zhang1Shuqi Li2Suying Bai3Wei Zhang4Yanchun Xu5Yumei Chang6College of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaCollege of Wildlife and Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, ChinaNational and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Freshwater Fish Breeding, Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Harbin 150070, ChinaHigh-alkalinity water bodies can disrupt normal ammonia metabolism in fish, leading to ammonia poisoning. In China, there exists a highly tolerant group of Amur ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) that can survive in extreme alkaline lakes with alkalinity up to 53.57 mM (pH 9.6), making it an excellent model for elucidating the high-alkalinity tolerance mechanism in fish. We have discovered that this species has evolved a special ammonia excretion mechanism to maintain ammonia efflux in high-alkalinity environments. Compared to the freshwater forms of Amur ide, the ammonia excretion protein RHBG plays a prominent role in the ammonia excretion process of the alkali forms of Amur ide; however, the regulatory mechanism of RHBG expression in fish remains unclear. Through DNA pull-down, RNA-Seq, qPCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and dual-luciferase reporter assays, this study demonstrates that the transcription factor HIF1A can inversely regulate the expression of <i>Rhbg</i> by binding to its promoter region, thereby participating in the high-alkalinity adaptation process of fish. The findings of this study provide a theoretical basis for elucidating the ammonia excretion mechanism and revealing the alkalinity tolerance mechanism in fish.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/498ammonia excretion<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>HIF1ARHBGalkali tolerant fish
spellingShingle Xuefei Zhao
Yu Zhang
Shuqi Li
Suying Bai
Wei Zhang
Yanchun Xu
Yumei Chang
HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions
Biology
ammonia excretion
<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>
HIF1A
RHBG
alkali tolerant fish
title HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions
title_full HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions
title_fullStr HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions
title_full_unstemmed HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions
title_short HIF1A Regulates <i>Rhbg</i> Expression to Enhance Ammonia Excretion in Amur Ide (<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>) Under Extreme Alkaline Conditions
title_sort hif1a regulates i rhbg i expression to enhance ammonia excretion in amur ide i leuciscus waleckii i under extreme alkaline conditions
topic ammonia excretion
<i>Leuciscus waleckii</i>
HIF1A
RHBG
alkali tolerant fish
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/5/498
work_keys_str_mv AT xuefeizhao hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions
AT yuzhang hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions
AT shuqili hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions
AT suyingbai hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions
AT weizhang hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions
AT yanchunxu hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions
AT yumeichang hif1aregulatesirhbgiexpressiontoenhanceammoniaexcretioninamurideileuciscuswaleckiiiunderextremealkalineconditions