Environmental Conditions Elicit a Slow but Enduring Response of Histone Post-Translational Modifications in Mozambique Tilapia

ABSTRACT

This study sheds new light on the timescale through which histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) respond to environmental stimuli, demonstrating that the histone PTM response does not necessarily precede the proteomic response or acclimation. After a variety of salinity treatments were administered to Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) throughout their lifetimes, we quantified 343 histone PTMs in the gills of each fish. We show here that histone PTMs differ dramatically between fish exposed to distinct environmental conditions for 18 months, and that the majority of these histone PTM alterations persist for at least four weeks, irrespective of further salinity changes. However, histone PTMs respond minimally to four-week-long periods of salinity acclimation during adulthood. The results of this study altogether signify that patterns of histone PTMs in individuals reflect their prolonged exposure to environmental conditions.