Stage-Dependent Heat-Stress Mechanisms in Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) Early Life-Stages Under Simulated Thermal-Lag Effect.
- 1Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuhan 430223, China.
- 2College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
Abstract
Hydraulic engineering-driven thermal lag disturbs natural water temperature and induces thermal stress in early-life-stage Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis), yet stage-specific molecular stress mechanisms remain unclear. This study assessed phenotypic, proteomic and metabolomic responses of endogenous-nutrition embryos and exogenous first-feeding larvae under 16 °C, 19 °C and 22 °C. Phenotypic results showed optimal embryo survival at 16 °C (hatching rate 64.6%), maximum larval growth at 19 °C (specific growth rate 6.79%/d), and severe developmental suppression at 22 °C (with the hatching rate dropping by 49.6 percentage points relative to 16 °C). Multi-omics uncovered distinct injury pathways: high temperature disrupted amino-acid and fatty-acid catabolism and triggered organic-acid accumulation and energy deficiency in embryos; in first-feeding larvae, it activated ferroptosis, polyunsaturated fatty-acid peroxidation and lysosomal pathways to produce oxidative damage. These findings demonstrate that a 1-3 °C temperature rise exceeds stage-specific thermal tolerance, with embryos succumbing to "metabolic suppression-energy deficiency" and larvae to "oxidative stress-ferroptosis". This study provides the first integrative proteomic and metabolomic evidence of stage-dependent thermal injury mechanisms in sturgeon, offering mechanistic insights critical for conservation physiology and informing conservation actions for this endangered sturgeon species.
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BibTeX
@article{leng2026stagedependent,
title = {{Stage-Dependent Heat-Stress Mechanisms in Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) Early Life-Stages Under Simulated Thermal-Lag Effect.}},
author = {Xiaoqian Leng and Junlin Yang and Xinchi Li and Qiong Zhou and Ke Zhang and Jiang Luo and Wei Xiong and Jinping Wu and Luoxin Li and Yuan Liu and Jinming Wu and Junyi Li},
journal = {Biology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.3390/biology15191713},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883386},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Stage-Dependent Heat-Stress Mechanisms in Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) Early Life-Stages Under Simulated Thermal-Lag Effect.
AU - Xiaoqian Leng
AU - Junlin Yang
AU - Xinchi Li
AU - Qiong Zhou
AU - Ke Zhang
AU - Jiang Luo
AU - Wei Xiong
AU - Jinping Wu
AU - Luoxin Li
AU - Yuan Liu
AU - Jinming Wu
AU - Junyi Li
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/26
JO - Biology
DO - 10.3390/biology15191713
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883386
AB - Hydraulic engineering-driven thermal lag disturbs natural water temperature and induces thermal stress in early-life-stage Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis), yet stage-specific molecular stress mechanisms remain unclear. This study assessed phenotypic, proteomic and metabolomic responses of endogenous-nutrition embryos and exogenous first-feeding larvae under 16 °C, 19 °C and 22 °C. Phenotypic results showed optimal embryo survival at 16 °C (hatching rate 64.6%), maximum larval growth at 19 °C (specific growth rate 6.79%/d), and severe developmental suppression at 22 °C (with the hatching rate dropping by 49.6 percentage points relative to 16 °C). Multi-omics uncovered distinct injury pathways: high temperature disrupted amino-acid and fatty-acid catabolism and triggered organic-acid accumulation and energy deficiency in embryos; in first-feeding larvae, it activated ferroptosis, polyunsaturated fatty-acid peroxidation and lysosomal pathways to produce oxidative damage. These findings demonstrate that a 1-3 °C temperature rise exceeds stage-specific thermal tolerance, with embryos succumbing to "metabolic suppression-energy deficiency" and larvae to "oxidative stress-ferroptosis". This study provides the first integrative proteomic and metabolomic evidence of stage-dependent thermal injury mechanisms in sturgeon, offering mechanistic insights critical for conservation physiology and informing conservation actions for this endangered sturgeon species.
SN - 2079-7737
ER -