J Exp Biol 1999 Aug 01;202Pt 15:2041-50. doi: 10.1242/jeb.202.15.2041.

Energy metabolism during embryonic development and larval growth of an Antarctic sea urchin.

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Developmental energetics of an Antarctic sea urchin, Sterechinus neumayeri, were quantified to describe the physiological bases underlying ontogenetic changes in metabolic rate at extreme cold temperatures (-1.5 degrees C). Rates of development from a four-arm to a six-arm larval stage were not affected by food availability. The respiratory cost of development to the six-arm larval stage (day 60) was 14.0 mJ for fed larvae and 8.2 mJ for unfed larvae. We observed three phases of metabolic regulation during development. During embryogenesis (day 0-22), increasing metabolic rates were proportional to increases in cell numbers. During early larval development (day 22-47), the differences in respiratory rate between fed and unfed larvae were not accounted for by cell number, but by cell-specific metabolic rate (respiratory rate normalized to DNA content). Once an advanced larval stage had been reached (day 47-60), cell-specific respiratory rate and mitochondrial densities (citrate synthase activity normalized to DNA content) were more equivalent between fed and unfed larvae, suggesting that size-specific metabolic rates were determined at a level of physiological regulation that was independent of cell numbers or feeding history.

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Genes referenced: LOC100887844 LOC115919910