Abstract

Physiological indicators such as lipid peroxidation and enzymes involved in aerobic/anaerobic energy metabolism were measured in pure and hybrid lines of wolffish juveniles (Anarhichas minor, ♀ A. minor ⨯ ♀ A. lupus). Interspecific hybridization was introduced as a powerful tool to promote augmentation of phenotypic variability and consequently improve our capacity for the detection of clear physiological relationships amongst oxidative stress and metabolic characters. Mitochondrial sequence genes analysis between the Atlantic (A. lupus) and spotted wolffish (A. minor) were later performed to further assess the extent of divergence between A. lupus and A. minor mitochondrial haplotypes. The observed divergences (2.0% and the number of nonsynonymous substitution n=23) do not seem to be sufficient to generate detectable differences in ETS complexes catalytic capacities. Total LDH activity was however higher in hybrids than in the pure strands and tightly correlated to TBARS levels which suggest that LDH actively participates to the regulation of cellular redox status. Our results are discussed in comparison with a similar study on a charr hybrid (Salvelinus alpinus × S. fontinalis).