changes of enzymes involved in metabolism and immunity of Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) after short-term transportations

The purpose of this study was to compare the metabolism and immunity of Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) after short-term transportation in seawater and without seawater by determining pyruvate kinase (PK) and lactate dehydrogenase as metabolism indicators, superoxide dismutases (SOD), and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) as immunity indicators. At 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after transportations, sea cucumbers were sampled and prepared for further analysis. The PK activities significantly decreased at 0 h after transportation without seawater, but not in seawater. These results indicated that the transportation without seawater had a stronger effect on sea cucumber than that in seawater. Firstly, the SOD and NOS activities of sea cucumbers in both methods of transportations significantly increased then decreased to the level of control. These results suggested that the SOD and NOS activity was induced to increase by stress of transportations, but these stresses did not damage the normal physiology of sea cucumbers.