Warmer water temperature results in oxidative damage in an Antarctic fish, the bald notothen

• Bald notothen were exposed to acute and long-term temperature stress.
• Acute exposure elicited an up-regulation of antioxidant defense mechanisms.
• Long-term temperature stress resulted in accumulation of oxidative damage products.
• Global climate change could have detrimental effects on Antarctic fish species.

Global climate change is predicted to result in increases in water temperature in the polar regions, but the full consequences of this for marine fish species are not understood, especially with regard to cellular mechanisms underlying oxidative stress. Warmer temperatures could potentially result in increased oxidative stress, and it is not known whether stenothermal fish can cope with this on a cellular and physiological level. In order to address this, we exposed bald notothen (Pagothenia borchgrevinki), a fish species endemic to Antarctica, to an increase in temperature from − 1.6 °C to 4 °C and measured the effects on oxidative stress including antioxidant defenses, oxidative damage in proteins and lipids, and transcriptional regulation of involved genes. We show that the fish responds to an acute (12 h) temperature increase with increased antioxidant defenses. However, these antioxidant defenses were similar to basal levels following long-term (3 weeks) exposure to the higher temperature and moreover, these individuals also had higher levels of oxidative damage. These results indicate that this species has the ability to alter levels of endogenous antioxidants, but that this response is transient and insufficient to protect against oxidative damage. These effects may have serious consequences for these fish in a warmer future since long-term consequences of this accumulation of damaged lipids and proteins are associated with aging and known to include decreased cellular function, disease and eventually cell death.