The pH of water is one of the main environmental factors exerting selective pressure on marine and freshwater organisms. Here, we focus on the influence of pH on an organism's ability to maintain homeostasis and investigate the effects of acidification on immunity-related genes and osmotic pressure during early development of the olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. The aim of our study was to determine the influence of various pH levels on the fertilized eggs and larvae of P. olivaceus. Gametes of P. olivaceus were artificially introduced and the resulting fertilized eggs were incubated at pH 4.0 (low), 6.0, and 8.0 (equivalent to natural sea water; control). We found that all eggs sank from the water column at pH 4.0. After 38 h, these eggs showed slow development. Hatching occurred more slowly at pH 4.0 and 6.0 and did not occur at all at pH 4.0. Result of gene expression, caspase and galectin-1 were expressed from the blastula to pre-hatch stages, with the exception of the two-cell stage. HSP 70 was also steadily expressed at all pH levels over the five days. The osmolality of fertilized eggs differed marginally at each stage and across pH levels. So, this results demonstrates that low pH level is detrimental to P. olivaceus fertilized eggs.
Keywords: Ion; Ocean acidification; Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus); Osmolality; pH.
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