Distinct metabolic responses to thermal stress between invasive freshwater turtle Trachemys scripta elegans and native freshwater turtles in China

Different responses or tolerance to thermal stress between invasive and native species can affect the outcome of interactions between climate change and biological invasion. However, knowledge about the physiological mechanisms that modulate the interspecific differences in thermal tolerance is limited. The present study analyzes the metabolic responses to thermal stress by the globally invasive turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans, as compared with two co-occurring native turtle species in China, Pelodiscus sinensis and Mauremys reevesii. Changes in metabolite contents and the expression or enzyme activities of genes involved in energy sensing, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle after exposure to gradient temperatures were assessed in turtle juveniles. Invasive and native turtles showed distinct metabolic responses to thermal stress. T. scripta elegans showed greater transcriptional regulation of energy sensors than the native turtles. Enhanced anaerobic metabolism was needed by all three species under extreme heat conditions, but phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and lactate dehydrogenase in the invader showed stronger upregulation or stable responses than the native species, which showed inhibition by high temperatures. These contrasts were pronounced in the muscles of the three species. Regulation of lipid metabolism was observed in both T. scripta elegans and P. sinensis but not in M. reevesii under thermal stress. Thermal stress did not inhibit the TCA cycle in turtles. Different metabolic responses to thermal stress may contribute to interspecific differences in thermal tolerance. Overall, our study further suggested the potential role of physiological differences in mediating interactions between climate change and biological invasion.