Lake Ellasjøen on the remote Norwegian island
of Bjørnøya is populated by Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus)
having 20-fold higher body burdens of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB) compared to charr from the neighboring
Lake Laksvatn. This provides a natural setting to test the
hypothesis that lifelong exposure to PCBs compromises the
energy metabolism in this northernmost living salmonid. To test
this, blood was sampled from charr from both lakes immediately
after capture and following a 1 h handling and confinement
stressor to assess possible differences in their energy metabolism
and energy substrate mobilization, respectively. The plasma
metabolome of charr was assessed by metabolite detection/
separation with LC-MS. Plasma metabolite profiles revealed
differences in key pathways involved in amino acid metabolism
between charr from each lake, underscoring an impact of PCBs on energy metabolism in Arctic charr residing in Lake Ellasjøen.
Subjecting charr from either lake to an acute stressor altered the plasma metabolite profiles and revealed distinct stress
metabolome in Lake Ellasjøen charr, suggesting a reduced metabolic capacity. Taken together, lifelong exposure to PCBs in
Ellasjøen charr disrupts the plasma metabolome, and may impair the adaptive metabolic response to stressors, leading to a
reduced fitness.
