Influence of temperature acclimatization on the temperature-dependence and ouabain-sensitivity of goldfish intestinal adenosine triphosphatase

1. Homogenates of goldfish intestinal mucosa were separated into various fractions by differential centrifugation. Both adenosine-triphosphatase and beta-glycerophosphatase activities were found to be concentrated mainly in a membrane fraction which sedimented after 1200000g-min. 2. This membrane adenosine-triphosphatase system was activated by Na(+)+K(+) and inhibited by ouabain. 3. The ouabain-sensitive adenosine-triphosphatase activity was high and the ouabain-insensitive activity low in membrane fractions prepared from fish acclimatized previously to 8 degrees . The opposite was true for fish acclimatized to 30 degrees . 4. The Arrhenius plots of ouabain-sensitive and ouabain-insensitive adenosine-triphosphatase activities, measured from 5 degrees to 30 degrees , showed discontinuities at incubation temperatures that varied with the previous acclimatization temperature of the fish. 5. It is considered that modification of the membrane adenosine-triphosphatase system in goldfish intestinal mucosa may serve to regulate Na(+) transport at different environmental temperatures.