Thermal acclimation to cold alters myosin content and contractile properties of rainbow smelt, Osmerus mordax, red muscle

Rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax), a eurythermal fish, live in environments from − 1.8 to 20 °C, with some populations facing substantial annual variation in environmental temperature. These different temperature regimes pose distinct challenges to locomotion by smelt. Steady swimming performance, red muscle function and muscle myosin content were examined to assess the prediction that cold acclimation by smelt will lead to improved steady swimming performance and that any performance shift will be associated with changes in red muscle function and in its myosin heavy chain composition. Cold acclimated (4 °C) smelt had a faster maximum steady swimming speed and swam with a higher tailbeat frequency than warm acclimated (10 °C) smelt when tested at the same temperature (10 °C). Muscle mechanics experiments demonstrated faster contractile properties in the cold acclimated fish when tested at 10 °C. The red muscle of cold acclimated smelt had a shorter twitch times, a shorter relaxation times and a higher maximum shortening velocity. In addition, red muscle from cold acclimated fish displayed reduced thermal sensitivity to cold, maintaining higher force levels at 4 °C compared to red muscle from warm acclimated fish. Immunohistochemistry suggests shifts in muscle myosin composition and a decrease in muscle cross-sectional area with cold acclimation. Dot blot analysis confirmed a shift in myosin content. Rainbow smelt do show a significant thermal acclimation response to cold. An examination of published values of maximum muscle shortening velocity in fishes suggests that smelt are particularly well suited to high levels of activity in very cold water.