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First published online December 14, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 158-170 (2006)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2006
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01962
Fixed metabolic costs for highly variable rates of protein synthesis in sea urchin embryos and larvae
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371, USA
* Author for correspondence (e-mail: manahan{at}usc.edu)
Accepted 31 October 2005
| Summary |
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Key words: embryo, larva, sea urchin, Lytechinus pictus, protein synthesis, metabolic rate, energetic cost
| Introduction |
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Protein synthesis and turnover are also processes known to be major
determinants of metabolic rate (Waterlow,
1984
; Hawkins,
1991
). The regulation of protein synthesis is a key component of
metabolic depression in response to environmental stress
(Guppy et al., 1994
;
Hofmann and Hand, 1994
;
Smith et al., 1996
;
Podrabsky and Hand, 2000
).
Rapid development and growth correspond with rapid rates of macromolecular
synthesis and turnover. In marine invertebrates, protein is a major
biochemical constituent of eggs, developing embryos and larval forms
(echinoderms: Turner and Lawrence,
1979
; McClintock and Pearse,
1986
; Shilling and Manahan,
1994
; mollusks: Holland and
Gabbott, 1971
; His and Maurer,
1988
; Vavra and Manahan,
1999
). While there have been numerous studies of biochemical
content of developmental stages of marine invertebrates, far less is known
about the metabolic costs of protein synthesis and turnover in these
organisms.
Metabolic costs of protein synthesis have been suggested to comprise fixed
and variable components (Pannevis and
Houlihan, 1992
; Smith and
Houlihan, 1995
). At high rates of protein synthesis the proportion
of metabolism accounted for by the fixed costs of synthesis decreases,
resulting in up to tenfold lower costs of protein synthesis per unit mass of
protein synthesized by fish cells (Smith
and Houlihan, 1995
). If costs of synthesis vary as a function of
the rate of synthesis, then it would be predicted that developmental stages
with highly variable rates of synthesis would have variable costs. In
constructing energy budgets for costs of development, such variable costs of
synthesis need to be defined. The findings presented in this paper are based
upon studies of protein synthesis and metabolic rates measured in
vivo during development and growth of early life history stages of sea
urchins. This work takes advantage of the longstanding experimental
tractability of sea urchin embryos for studies of protein synthesis (Davidson,
1968
,
1976
,
1986
,
2001
) and adds the
physiological perspective of determining the metabolic costs of such
synthesis. When combined with other components of the metabolic `pie-chart'
(e.g. the sodium pump; Leong and Manahan,
1997
), defining the costs of protein synthesis as a function of
developmental stage and size will significantly increase understanding of the
fundamental processes that set metabolic rates during animal development and
growth.
| Materials and methods |
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Alanine transport and incorporation rates
[14C]alanine (Perkin Elmer, Wellesley, MA, USA; 6460 kBq
µmole-1; 3.7x1010 Bq=1 Ci) was used to measure
rates of alanine transport from seawater and rates of incorporation of the
isotope into the protein fraction of embryos and larvae (for general protocol,
see Manahan, 1983
). In brief,
known numbers of animals (
200-500 individuals, depending on size and rate
of transport) were exposed to [14C]alanine and the linear rate of
transport was calculated per individual from time-course experiments. An
example of the quality of data obtained to measure incorporation rate of
[14C]alanine into the protein fraction (TCA-insoluble fraction) is
shown in Fig. 1C. For
experiments on embryos and early larval stages, the concentration of alanine
in seawater was adjusted to 10 µmol l-1 by addition of cold
carrier (12C-alanine from Sigma Chemical Co., St Louis, MO, USA).
For later larval stages (>10 days old), a concentration of 15 µmol
l-1 alanine was used to minimize possible effects of substrate
limitation on transport rate. These substrate concentrations were selected
based on previous studies of the kinetics of amino acid transport in
developing sea urchins (Manahan et al.,
1989
; Manahan,
1990
). No substrate limitation was observed in any transport
assay. For all experiments there was a linear rate of transport during the
exposure to [14C]alanine (5-6 points were sampled during each 30-40
min time-course experiment; Fig.
3C). Absolute rates of alanine transport (moles per individual per
hour) were determined by correcting the amount of [14C]alanine in
animals (determined by liquid scintillation counting after appropriate quench
correction) with the specific activity of the isotope in seawater. Alanine
transport was also measured to assess if the protein synthesis inhibitor,
emetine, decreased alanine transport rate. Emetine was used in the present
study for measurements of the cost of protein synthesis.
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![]() |
where, PS is the rate of protein synthesis (ng protein individual-1 h-1), t is time (h), Sp is the amount of radioactivity in protein ([14C]alanine individual-1 h-1), Sfaa is the specific activity of alanine in the intracellular free amino acid pool (mBq pmol-1), MWp is the mole-percent-corrected molecular mass of amino acids in protein of L. pictus (129.4 g mol-1; Table 1) and Sm is the mole-percent of alanine in protein of embryos and larvae (7.8±0.02%; Table 1).
Respiration rates
Metabolic rates of embryos and larvae of L. pictus were measured
as rates of oxygen consumption. For a full description of how oxygen
consumption was measured, see Marsh and Manahan
(1999
). For the measurements
made in this study with developing stages of L. pictus, embryos and
larvae were removed from cultures and resuspended in 0.2 µm of filtered
seawater in small (
500 µl) respiration chambers. A range of
concentrations of individuals per respiration chamber was used to correct for
possible concentration-dependent affects of animal numbers on respiration
rates calculated per individual (see x-axis of
Fig. 1F as an example). A
series of different respiration chambers (e.g. eight, as in
Fig. 1F) containing embryos or
larvae was used for each set of stage-specific respiration measurements.
Incubations were for 3-4 h, depending on rates of respiration of the stages of
development under study. At the end of each incubation, a 300 µl subsample
of seawater was taken from each chamber with a temperature-equilibrated
gas-tight syringe and injected into a temperature controlled oxygen
measurement cell (Strathkelvin RC 100, Glasgow, UK). Oxygen tension was
measured in each sample with a polarographic oxygen sensor (Model 1302,
Strathkelvin). The number of embryos or larvae in each respiration chamber was
then counted and the oxygen consumption per individual calculated as the slope
of the regression line of oxygen consumed per hour against number of
individuals in each respiration chamber
(Fig. 1F). The error of each
estimate was calculated as the standard error around the slope of the
regression line. An example of the quality of the respiration data obtained
with this method for fed larvae of L. pictus is given in
Fig. 1F. From the regression
shown in Fig. 1F, a fed
13-day-old larva had a rate of oxygen consumption of 109.5±8.4 pmol
O2 individual-1 h-1 (± s.e.m. of
slope).
Cost of protein synthesis
Previous studies have reported different costs of protein synthesis
depending on the method of measurement used (e.g.
Muramatsu and Okumura, 1985
;
Aoyagi et al., 1988
). We tested
two widely used methods for calculating costs of protein synthesis to
determine if both methods gave similar values for the same species over a
range of different developmental stages and physiological states.
Rates of protein synthesis and rates of oxygen consumption were measured in
embryos and larvae of L. pictus in the presence and absence of the
protein synthesis inhibitor emetine. Emetine was used in our study because of
its well-documented potency in inhibiting protein synthesis in sea urchin
embryos at relatively low concentrations. Concentrations up to 400 µmol
l-1 emetine in seawater have been used to inhibit protein synthesis
in marine invertebrate larvae (Fenteany
and Morse, 1993
), with concentrations in the 100 µmol
l-1 range being more commonly used for studies with eggs and
embryos of echinoderms (Wagenaar,
1983
; Pesando et al.,
1995
; Yamada,
1998
; Sasaki and Chiba,
2001
). We used a concentration of 100 µmol l-1 for
stages of development under 3 days of age and 150 µmol l-1 for
larger fed larvae (13 days old). In all treatments with emetine, the animals
were observed to remain active and swimming before, during, and after the
experiments using emetine. In this study, one further step was taken to ensure
that emetine was not having any possible negative, non-specific effects on the
physiology of the embryos and larvae. We tested for the affect of the
inhibitor on rates of amino acid transport throughout the developmental period
under study. No decreases in alanine transport rates were observed (detailed
below in Results, Fig.
3A-C).
Costs of protein synthesis were also calculated with a method that is not
dependent upon the use of inhibitors (`direct method'). This second approach
is based on the quantitative relationship of `normal' physiological changes in
metabolic rates and corresponding changes in protein synthesis
(Reeds et al., 1985
;
Lyndon et al., 1989
;
Marsh et al., 2001
). For this
`indirect method' (correlative) a series of parallel measurements of metabolic
rate and protein synthesis are plotted, with the calculated slope being the
estimate of the cost of protein synthesis (in units J mg-1 protein
synthesized).
Unless indicated otherwise, values are reported as means ± s.e.m.
| Results |
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The amount of alanine in the free amino acid pool (Fig. 2B) of embryos and larvae of L. pictus increased during larval growth. Relative to fed larvae, embryos and unfed larvae had similar amounts of alanine (2.32±0.05 and 1.94±0.10 pmol alanine individual-1, respectively). Larvae were fed at day 3 and subsequently the alanine content in the free amino acid pool of fed larvae increased during development from 7.9±0.20 pmol alanine individual-1 on day 5 to 54.3±3.9 pmol alanine individual-1 on day 16. Compared to unfed larvae at a near-similar age (day 14=1.7±0.18 pmol alanine individual-1), fed larvae had 32 times more alanine in their free amino acid pool. The mole-percent of alanine in whole-animal protein extracts remained constant at 7.8±0.02% for embryos and larvae of L. pictus (Table 1).
Alanine transport rates
Rates of transport of alanine from seawater ranged between 1-3 pmol alanine
individual-1 h-1 in embryos and unfed larvae
(Fig. 3A,B). Transport rate
increased in fed larvae from 4.4±0.31 pmol alanine
individual-1 h-1 (± s.e.m. of the slope; day 7)
to 44.1±5.1 pmol alanine individual-1 h-1
(Fig. 3B; day 16). Alanine
transport rates were also measured in embryos and larvae that were exposed to
emetine, the protein synthesis inhibitor used in this study to quantify the
cost of protein synthesis. For all the developmental stages studied, alanine
transport rates were not significantly reduced in the presence of emetine
(Fig. 3A,B; compare open and
solid bars). An example of the primary data for the rate of alanine transport
by 16-day-old fed larvae in the presence and absence of emetine is given in
Fig. 3C. No significant
difference in rates was measurable (linear regressions were compared by ANOVA
and neither the slopes nor the intercepts were significantly different;
P=0.89, slope; P=0.56, intercept).
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Fractional rates of protein synthesis represent the percent of the total protein content of an individual that is synthesized per unit time (Table 2). The average fractional rate of protein synthesis in embryos was 0.60±0.04 h-1. Fractional rates of synthesis in unfed larvae, at 0.20±0.01 h-1, were lower than in embryos. In fed larvae, the fractional rates of protein synthesis were higher, at 2.4±0.45 h-1, which is equivalent to 58% per day.
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Cost of protein synthesis
Indirect analysis using correlative metabolic cost of protein synthesis
Changes in rates of respiration and protein synthesis were measured
simultaneously under normal (no inhibitor present) physiological conditions
during development of L. pictus.
Fig. 5 shows the linear
relationship between the rates of metabolism and protein synthesis for all
stages of development studied: embryos, unfed and fed larvae. The respiration
data for these stages of development were as follows. Blastula stage
embryos=7.0±0.6 pmol O2 individual-1
h-1 (N=4). Gastrula= 9.5±1.3 pmol O2
individual-1 h-1 (N=4). Unfed larvae=
6.8±1.1 pmol O2 individual-1 h-1
(N=4). For fed larvae, respiration rates obviously increased with
growth and ranged from 21.2 to 164.9 pmol O2
individual-1 h-1 (N=5). These rates of oxygen
consumption were converted to energy equivalents (484 kJ mol-1
O2; Gnaiger, 1983
),
based on oxyenthalpic values of lipid and protein, the major biochemical
constituents of echinoderm larvae (Turner
and Lawrence, 1979
; McClintock
and Pearse, 1986
; Shilling and
Manahan, 1994
). In Fig.
5, metabolic rates are presented as µJ individual-1
h-1 (e.g. a respiration rate for blastula of 7.0 pmol O2
is equivalent to 3.4 µJ individual-1 h-1).
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Direct analysis using an inhibitor of protein synthesis
The value given above of 8.41±0.49 J mg-1 protein
synthesized calculated from the correlative analysis of the metabolic cost of
protein synthesis during development of L. pictus is essentially
identical to the cost measured by direct inhibitor analysis of
8.40±0.99 J mg-1 protein synthesized obtained with the
protein synthesis inhibitor, emetine. Fig.
6 shows metabolic and protein synthesis rates and, by difference,
the respective energy costs of protein synthesis for several different stages
of development (blastula to fed larval stages) in the presence and absence of
emetine. Normal rates of metabolism and protein synthesis (i.e. those measured
with no emetine present) are represented by the maximum height of each
histogram bar shown for each developmental stage. The solid bars represent the
rates when measured in the presence of emetine. The costs of protein synthesis
were calculated from differences in respiration and protein synthesis rates
measured in the presence and absence of emetine. These costs ranged from 8-10
J mg-1 protein synthesized by embryos and larvae of L.
pictus (exact values for each developmental stage are given in the legend
to Fig. 6). The values for
blastulae, gastrulae, and larvae were not significantly different (ANOVA;
P=0.60, N=8). When all cost estimates for all stages of
development were pooled, the average cost of protein synthesis in L.
pictus was 8.40±0.99 J mg-1 protein synthesized.
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| Discussion |
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Previous research has described the ontogenetic changes in the sodium pump
(Na+/K+-ATPase) during embryonic development in L.
pictus (Leong and Manahan,
1997
). Thus for embryonic stages, the percentage of total
metabolism used for protein synthesis and the sodium pump can be determined in
L. pictus. For the blastula and gastrula stages of development, Leong
and Manahan (1997
) reported
that 23% and 19% of metabolism, respectively, could be accounted for by the
in vivo activity of the sodium pump. The fraction of metabolism
accounted for by protein synthesis in these same stages of development
(Fig. 7A) was 54±8% and
40±2% for blastula and gastrula stages, respectively. Combined, the
percentage of metabolism accounted for by the sodium pump and by protein
synthesis is 77% (23% + 54%) for a blastula and 59% (19% + 40%) for a gastrula
(Fig. 7A).
These data for metabolic partitioning of protein synthesis during embryonic
development of 40-50% of metabolic rate are similar to values reported for
other animals. Some specific examples include the octopus Octopus
vulgaris, where protein synthesis is 35-51% of metabolism
(Houlihan et al., 1990a
); the
crab Carcinus maenas at 19-37%
(Houlihan et al., 1990b
);
embryos of the killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus at 36%
(Podrabsky and Hand, 2000
);
and the mussel Mytilus edulis at 19-26%
(Hawkins et al., 1986
). For
larval stages of L. pictus, the pattern of metabolic partitioning is
strikingly different to that of earlier embryonic stages. The percentage of
metabolism accounted for by rates of protein synthesis varied as a function of
feeding state. Unfed larvae had a metabolic rate of 3.3 µJ
larva-1 h-1. Calculating the costs of protein synthesis
from the low, constant synthesis rate shown in
Fig. 4 and the corresponding
age-specific metabolic rates (Fig.
5), a value of 16±4% was obtained for the percent of
metabolic rate accounted for by protein synthesis
(Fig. 7A, unfed larva). In
contrast, protein synthesis accounted for 75±11% of metabolic rate in
rapidly growing fed larvae. These results highlight the importance of
environmental factors, such as food availability, on the internal partitioning
of energy use via up- and downregulation of protein synthesis. Unfed
larvae of L. pictus have a low protein turnover of 5% per day
(Table 2). This strategy of
reducing protein synthesis is also seen in other animals experiencing
environmental stress (Hand and Hardewig,
1996
; Smith et al.,
1996
). For fed larvae, fractional rates increased tenfold (58%,
Table 2). Such high fractional
rates of protein synthesis have been reported for developmental stages of fish
(Conceicao et al., 1997
). This
large increase in fed larvae of L. pictus still falls within the
metabolic `pie-chart', accounting for 75% of metabolism
(Fig. 7, fed larva). While the
proportion of metabolism accounted for by the sodium pump has not been
measured for larvae of L. pictus, that percentage is as high as 40%
for unfed pluteus-stage larvae of another species of temperate sea urchin,
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
(Leong and Manahan, 1997
). It
is likely that for unfed larvae of L. pictus, with relatively lower
metabolic rates (3.3 µJ individual-1 h-1), a large
proportion of the unaccounted 84% of metabolism could be accounted for by the
sodium pump. For fed larvae, with an order-of-magnitude higher metabolic rate
(37.5 µJ individual-1 h-1), the percentage accounted
for by the sodium pump must be accommodated within the 25% of metabolism not
accounted for by protein synthesis (Fig.
7A, fed larva).
From the data presented on rates of protein deposition and rates of protein
synthesis for fed larvae (Figs
2A,
4), the depositional efficiency
of protein synthesis can be calculated as a function of different growth rates
(Fig. 7B). From the equations
for the rates of protein synthesis and growth (see legends in Figs
2A,
4), the measured rate of
synthesis and the resultant rate of protein deposition can be calculated. As
shown in Fig. 7B, the rate of
protein synthesis increased dramatically and had higher rates during faster
growth than did the corresponding rate of protein deposition (i.e. protein
dispositional efficiency decreased during growth). For instance, in
Fig. 7B a 15-day-old fed larva
had a rate of protein synthesis of 183 ng day-1 and a protein
deposition rate of 38 ng day-1. Hence of the 183 ng of protein
synthesized, only 38 ng resulted in growth. Thus 145 ng of synthesized protein
were degraded (183-38=145). The ratio of the rate of deposition to rate of
synthesis is the depositional efficiency and, for a 15-day-old larva, the
value is 21% (Fig. 7B). In
earlier stages of development, the curvilinear nature of depositional
efficiency results in higher efficiency with lower rates of protein synthesis
and growth. For 6-day-old larvae, for example, the depositional efficiency is
37%. This range of values for depositional efficiency is consistent with
studies of other animals (Houlihan,
1991
; Bayne and Hawkins,
1997
). The analysis in Fig.
7B shows that developmental stages with the highest rates of
protein synthesis and protein deposition, have the lowest depositional
efficiency. It is noteworthy that this high rate of protein accumulation with
low depositional efficiency is very `expensive' metabolically, consuming 75%
of total metabolic rate of fed larvae (Fig.
7A). This value decreases considerably in unfed larvae, which have
low rates of protein synthesis, to only 16% of metabolism
(Fig. 7A).
We have shown that the cost of protein synthesis during development of the sea urchin studied is independent of developmental stage, size, rate of protein synthesis, and physiological feeding state. A consequence of this fixed cost of synthesis is that the regulation of metabolic rate is achieved by altering rates and hence allocation of energy (i.e. the metabolic partitioning as in Fig. 7A), not by changing costs of synthesis as a function of the rate of synthesis. The energetic cost is fixed per unit of protein synthesized in developing sea urchin embryos and larvae. Given the importance of this fixed cost for the arguments presented above, we next consider the methodological bases for our conclusion that metabolic costs of protein synthesis are fixed, even for highly variable rates of synthesis.
Sea urchins have long been an ideal experimental organism for studies of
developmental biology. The comprehensive reviews provided by Davidson
(1968
,
1976
,
1986
,
2001
) highlighted the seminal
research on sea urchins, ranging from analysis of expression of individual
genes, to measurements of biochemical and physiological processes in embryos
and larval stages. In fact, some of the earliest rate measurements of DNA
replication, RNA synthesis and protein synthesis were conducted on sea urchin
embryos (reviewed in Davidson,
1968
,
1976
,
1986
,
2001
). Research on cellular
activation and regulation of protein synthesis following fertilization
(Epel, 1967
;
Grainger and Winkler, 1987
;
Rees et al., 1995
) has allowed
for the formulation of highly reliable experimental protocols, with minimal
perturbation to the experimental organism, and the attendance to critical
assumptions regarding rate measurements in sea urchin embryos and larvae.
Our intent in this study was to build upon well-established methods for
studies of protein synthesis in developing sea urchins to define the costs and
energetic implications of such synthesis for energy metabolism. The protocol
used in our study for measuring rates of protein synthesis was based largely
on previous studies of rates of protein synthesis in sea urchin embryos (e.g.
Fry and Gross, 1970
;
Marsh et al., 2001
). An
important addition to this protocol was the use of high-performance liquid
chromatography (Vavra and Manahan,
1999
) to measure the specific activity of the free amino acid pool
(Fig. 1E). This allowed for
continuous measurement of the size (moles) of the free amino acid pool and the
specific activity of [14C]alanine throughout the entire labeling
experiment. This analysis also ensured that no interconversion of the
[14C]alanine tracer occurred during experiments (i.e. in
Fig. 1E, all radioactivity was
found under the alanine peak). Changes in the intracellular specific activity
of [14C]alanine in the free amino acid pool
(Fig. 1D,E) and the rate of
incorporation of [14C]alanine into protein
(Fig. 1C) were measured
simultaneously. The rate of incorporation of [14C]alanine into the
protein fraction was then corrected for the changing specific activity of
[14C]alanine in precursor pool, allowing for a calculation of an
absolute rate of protein synthesis.
One of the most important aspects in determining accurate rates of protein
synthesis is the measurement of the intracellular, precursor specific activity
pool. The most immediate precursor pool to peptides being manufactured is the
aminoacyl-tRNA pool. In this study, as in most current studies of protein
synthesis, we measured the specific activity of the free amino acid pool, the
next immediate precursor to aminoacyl-tRNA. We recognize that it is possible
that subcellular compartmentalization may result in the specific activity of
the free amino acid pool not reflecting the specific activity of the
aminoacyl-tRNA pool, as observed in some higher animals
(Airhart et al., 1974
;
Ilan and Singer, 1975
). For
sea urchin embryos, however, Regier and Kafatos
(1977
) reported insignificant
differences between the specific activity of the free amino acid pool and the
aminoacyl-tRNA pool when using tracer amounts of amino acid.
The protocols in common use for studies of protein synthesis in sea urchin
embryos do differ from protocols that use a `flooding dose' of labeled amino
acid, rather than a `tracer dose'. The rational for the flooding dose is to
minimize any potential compartmentalization in the free amino acid pool, so
that the specific activity of the free amino acid pool is functionally the
same as the specific activity of aminoacyl-tRNA. Marine invertebrates in
general (Yancey et al., 1982
),
and sea urchin embryos specifically, have very high amounts of intracellular
free amino acids (used as organic osmoltyes). It is well established in
studies of protein synthesis in sea urchin embryos (e.g.
Berg, 1965
; appendix III in
Davidson, 1986
) that an
effective `flooding dose' of label is not practical due to the very large size
of the free amino acid pools in these animals. Synthesis and turnover rate
measurements for sea urchins are more commonly obtained from measurements of
the kinetics of incorporation of tracer amounts of precursor into a specific,
newly synthesized macromolecule (e.g. this study:
Fig. 1C,E). Also, using tracer
amounts permits experiments based on the amino acid transport capacities of
the embryos under study and minimizes possible perturbation to cellular
metabolism. Finally, an important validation of the method employed in the
present study to measure protein synthesis in sea urchins is that our results
are in good agreement with those from earlier studies of protein synthesis in
sea urchin embryos. For instance, Berg and Mertes
(1970
) reported a fractional
rate of protein synthesis in embryos of L. anamesus (= L.
pictus) of 0.96% h-1 at 19°C. Allowing for temperature
differences (i.e. a Q10 between 2 and 3), that value is similar to
the rate calculated in our study for embryos of the same species measured at
15°C (0.60±0.04% h-1;
Table 2).
We are confident that our measurements of the absolute rates of protein
synthesis are accurate (Fig.
4). The values presented in
Fig. 5 for the respiration
rates of developing stages of L. pictus measured for the present
study are within the ranges reported in the literature for this species
(Manahan, 1990
;
Shilling and Manahan, 1990
;
Jaeckle and Manahan, 1992
;
Leong and Manahan, 1997
). For
instance, Jaeckle and Manahan
(1992
) determined the oxygen
consumption rate of gastrula-stage L. pictus to be 10.0 pmol
O2 individual-1 h-1. This value agrees well
with the respiration rate reported in the present study for gastrulae of
9.5±1.3 pmol O2 individual-1 h-1 (see
Results, `Cost of protein synthesis' section). While measurements of synthesis
rates and metabolic rates are robust and well established in the literature,
the approach is less obvious as to how to combine these measurements for
determinations of the metabolic cost of protein synthesis
(Muramatsu and Okumura, 1985
;
Muramatsu et al., 1987
;
Aoyagi et al., 1988
). Muramatsu
et al. (1987
) showed that the
correlative cost of protein synthesis can be dependent upon the physiological
feeding state of the organism, implying that measurements on starving animals
would be more reliable due to less interference from non-protein synthetic
related energy consumption. Our results with developing sea urchins show no
difference in the correlative cost of protein synthesis between embryos and
larvae with very different physiological feeding states
(Fig. 5).
A common criticism of using any inhibitor for studies of metabolism is that
the inhibitor itself might alter other cellular processes than the one under
study. This would confound interpretations of metabolic energy consumption,
such as the cost of protein synthesis
(Aoyagi et al., 1988
;
Wiesner and Zak, 1991
;
Wieser and Krumschnabel,
2001
). Protein synthesis inhibitors, such as cycloheximide, can at
certain concentrations reduce transport rates of glucose
(Evans, 1971
) and potassium
(Reilly et al., 1970
). Another
commonly used protein synthesis inhibitor, puromycin, has been shown to reduce
by up to 20% the rates of amino acid transport by sea urchin embryos
(Berg, 1965
). For our studies
of developing sea urchins, alanine was used to measure rates of protein
synthesis. At the concentration used in the present study, emetine did not
significantly decrease the rate of alanine transport
(Fig. 3). Our results are
consistent with the general findings that have shown emetine to be a specific
inhibitor of protein synthesis in eukaryotes. Emetine is known to bind to
specific sites on eukaryotic ribosomes
(Pestka, 1971
) and has been
found to be very useful in studies of protein synthesis in a wide range of
developmental stages of marine invertebrates (sea urchin:
Wagenaar, 1983
;
Pesando et al., 1995
;
Yamada, 1998
; sea star:
Sasaki and Chiba, 2001
;
gastropod: Fenteany and Morse,
1993
). The concentration of emetine used in the current study was
within the range known to inhibit protein synthesis in marine invertebrates.
Specifically, emetine at a concentration of 100 µmol l-1
inhibited over 90% of protein synthesis in embryonic stages
(Fig. 6, blastula and
gastrula). For an early larval stage (3-day-old), emetine inhibited 80% of
protein synthesis. For a more advanced larval stage (13-day-old), 46% of
protein synthesis was inhibited by emetine even at a higher concentration of
150 µmol l-1. The different levels to which the inhibitor
decreased rates of protein synthesis at different stages of development are
likely due to the ease with which the inhibitor, dissolved in seawater, can
enter the smaller number of cells in embryos, vs access to cells in
larval stages with more complex morphology and resultant tissue layers. These
differences in relative potency of emetine did not, however, alter estimates
of protein synthesis costs because the same concentration of emetine was used
in experiments to measure both respiration and protein synthesis rates with
and without inhibitor (Fig.
6).
In light of the discussions in the literature regarding the selection of
the `best' method to measure costs of protein synthesis, we compared both of
the methods in common use. The correlative method is an indirect measurement,
in that the estimate of cost is calculated from the relationship between rates
of synthesis and respiration, with the slope of this relationship representing
the cost of protein synthesis (Fig.
5). The inhibitor method is a more direct analysis, in which the
cost of protein synthesis is measured as the decrease in rates of synthesis
and respiration in the presence of an inhibitor
(Fig. 6). An advantage of the
inhibitor method is that it can measure the cost of protein synthesis at
single developmental stages and does not require a broad range of protein
synthesis and metabolic rate measurements to estimate a cost of protein
synthesis, as is required for correlative cost estimates. In our studies, both
methods gave essentially identical results of 8.4 J mg-1 protein
synthesized. The embryos and larvae studied varied significantly, by our
experimental design, in developmental stage, physiological feeding state, size
(Fig. 1A,B), and rates of
protein synthesis (Table 2,
Fig. 4). Yet the amount of
energy required to synthesize protein remained fixed at 8.4 J mg-1
protein synthesized. This fixed cost of protein synthesis for developing sea
urchins is similar to costs reported for a wide range of adult animals, e.g.
Mytilus edulis, 11.4 J mg-1 protein synthesized
(Hawkins et al., 1989
), cod
fish, 8.7 J mg-1 (Lyndon et
al., 1989
), chickens, 5.4 and 13.0 J mg-1
(respectively, Aoyagi et al.,
1988
; Muramatsu and Okumura,
1985
) and mammals, 11.5 J mg-1
(Reeds et al., 1985
).
Estimates of the cost of protein synthesis measured in vivo usually
give higher and more variable values than those based upon the minimal energy
required for peptide bond formation. Possible reasons for these higher than
theoretical values have been discussed extensively and are usually explained
by the fact that other metabolic processes are included in estimates of
protein synthesis costs conducted on cells and whole organisms, ranging from
mammals to marine invertebrates (Reeds,
1985
; Hawkins,
1991
; Houlihan,
1991
).
In this study, we have addressed a central question in physiology - what
are the mechanisms underlying the `cost of living'. The focus of the current
work has been on stages of development that undergo rapid cell division
(embryos) and growth (increase in size and mass). We conclude that the
energetic cost of protein synthesis in developing sea urchins is fixed at 8.4
J mg-1 protein synthesized and is independent of large variations
in protein synthesis rates during development and growth. This finding for sea
urchin development is in contrast to studies with fish, where tenfold variable
costs of synthesis within a species have been reported
(Smith and Houlihan, 1995
).
While we report here that the cost of protein synthesis for a temperate
species of sea urchin is 8.4 J mg-1 protein synthesized, we
previously reported that Antarctic sea urchin embryos and larvae have a very
low cost of protein synthesis at 0.45 J mg-1 protein synthesized
(Marsh et al., 2001
). These
ranges of cost estimates for protein synthesis highlight the need to
understand the mechanisms that could result in markedly different quantities
of ATP being required for protein synthesis in eukaryotes. Additionally,
understanding such differences in the context of developmental biology and
metabolic energy expenditure under different thermal environments are of
importance for studies of the evolutionary physiology of animals.
| Acknowledgments |
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