title: TMAO and other organic osmolytes in the muscles of amphipods (Crustacea) from shallow and deep water of Lake Baikal.
abstract: Concentrations of trimethylamine oxide (TMAO) and other 'compatible' osmolytes were analyzed in the muscle tissue of Lake Baikal amphipods (Crustacea) in relation to water depth of the freshwater Lake Baikal. Using HPLC and mass spectrometry, glycerophosphoryl choline (GPC), betaine, S-methyl-cysteine, sarcosine, and taurine were detected for the first time in freshwater amphipods. These osmolytes were frequently found in the five species studied but mixtures were too complex to be quantified. The pattern of these osmolytes did not change with respect to water depth. The TMAO concentration, however, was significantly higher in the muscle tissue of amphipods living in deep water than of those living in shallow water, which supports the hypothesis that TMAO acts as a protective osmolyte at increased hydrostatic pressure. We propose that eurybathic amphipods, exposed to raised hydrostatic pressure in the extremely deep freshwater Lake Baikal, have elevated TMAO levels to counteract the adverse effect of high pressure on protein structure. The elevated intracellular osmotic pressure is balanced by upregulating the extracellular hemolymph NaCl concentration.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie der Freien Universität Berlin, Stoffwechsel-und Systemphysiologie Grunewaldstr. 34, Germany. agsystem@zedat.fu-berlin.de
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zerbst-Boroffka
authors.forename: Ravil M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Kamaltynow
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harjes
authors.forename: Evamaria
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kinne-Saffran
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gross
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003445:Crustacea / Q000737:chemistry*; D005618:Fresh Water; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D008744:Methylamines / Q000032:analysis*; D009132:Muscles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D012426:Russia
chemical_list: D008744:Methylamines; C005855:trimethyloxamine