The proteome of Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus L.) larvae is resistant to elevated pCO₂

Elevated anthropogenic pCO₂ can delay growth and impair otolith structure and function in the larvae of some fishes. These effects may concurrently alter the larva's proteome expression pattern. To test this hypothesis, Atlantic herring larvae were exposed to ambient (370μatm) and elevated (1800μatm) pCO₂ for one-month. The proteome structure of the larvae was examined using a 2-DE and mass spectrometry. The length of herring larvae was marginally less in the elevated pCO₂ treatment compared to the control. The proteome structure was also different between the control and treatment, but only slightly: the expression of a small number of proteins was altered by a factor of less than 2-fold at elevated pCO₂. This comparative proteome analysis suggests that the proteome of herring larvae is resilient to elevated pCO₂. These observations suggest that herring larvae can cope with levels of CO₂ projected for near future without significant proteome-wide changes.