Divergence of endocrine and metabolic responses to stress in two rainbow trout lines selected for differing cortisol responsiveness to stress

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) of two lines selected for low (LR) and high (HR) cortisol stress-responsiveness were subjected to confinement for a period of 336 hours. Endocrine (plasma cortisol, hepatic cortisol binding) and metabolic (plasma glucose, lactate, amino acids; hepatic glycogen and alanine aminotransferase levels) indices of stress were measured at intervals in confined and unconfined fish of both lines. During confinement plasma cortisol concentration reached maximum values earlier in HR fish (2 hours) than in LR fish (6 hours) returning to control values within 336 hours in both lines. Paradoxically, although both HR and LR lines displayed a characteristic metabolic stress response, these changes were more pronounced in LR fish. Plasma glucose and lactate levels increased during confinement in both lines but to a significantly greater extent in LR fish. Confinement significantly elevated plasma amino acids to a greater extent in LR fish than in HR fish. Liver glycogen concentration was depleted most rapidly in LR fish but was significantly higher in confined fish of both lines than controls at the end of the experiment. No significant changes were observed in hepatic alanine aminotransferase activity during confinement. Confined fish of both lines displayed a decrease in hepatic cortisol receptor abundance within 24 h and this was more sustained in HR fish. The more pronounced disturbance of a broad range of indicators of stress in confined LR fish, compared to HR fish, throws doubt on the magnitude of the cortisol response being the primary driver of these differences