Abstract
The black sea bass, Centropristis striata, belongs to the family Serranidae, which includes the groupers and other sea bass. This species of fish with a range extending from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Cape Kennedy, Florida, is important to sport and commercial fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Black sea bass and other serranids are also commonly found in public aquarium facilities and the ornamental marine fish trade. Tissue localization is important for the proper clinical interpretation of plasma enzymes in teleosts. Previous studies have focused mainly on freshwater salmonids3-5 with little attention to marine teleosts.1,2 This study evaluates the presence of six enzymes traditionally considered useful in serum and plasma biochemistry panels for evaluating potential organ damage in other species, in selected organs of the black sea bass. Seven adult black sea bass were caught by hook and line in Core Sound, North Carolina. The animals were euthanized, tissues collected, weighed, and then rapidly frozen at -80°C. Tissues collected for analysis included gill, gastrointestinal tract (GI), heart, anterior kidney, liver, skeletal muscle, and spleen. Later, thawed tissues were macerated, sonicated, and centrifuged, and the resultant supernatant brought to a final volume of 10 ml with phosphate-buffered saline. Activity of enzyme analytes, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LD), and creatine kinase (CK) were evaluated for each tissue sample using standard clinical pathology methods. Alkaline phosphatase was not organ specific and showed activity in the heart, GI tract, gill, anterior kidney, liver, and skeletal muscle. Creatine kinase activity was present in the heart, liver, and skeletal muscle. Aspartate aminotransferase showed activity in the liver and skeletal muscle. Alanine aminotransferase activity was specific to the liver. The enzyme GGT had activity only in the GI tract. Lactate dehydrogenase had activity only in skeletal muscle. No activity for any of the enzymes was detected in the spleen. The data presented can aid clinicians and biologists interpreting organ insults using plasma enzyme activities in black sea bass and perhaps other species of Serranidae.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Environmental Medicine Consortium, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University for financial assistance and Paul Rudershausen for his technical assistance.
References
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