Temperature compensation in the hepatic mixed-function oxidase system of bluegill

Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus R.) were acclimated to 12, 22 or 32 degrees C for 5 or 14 days. Liver weight to body weight ratio and the rate of metabolism of benzo[alpha]pyrene by liver microsomes varied inversely with the acclimation temperature of the fish. Concentration of microsomal cytochrome P-450, as determined by CO-difference binding spectra, was not significantly affected by acclimation temperature. There were no qualitative or quantitative differences in the electrophoretic patterns of proteins with molecular weights similar to those reported for cytochrome P-450. There were no shifts in the temperature optima of the microsomal benzo[alpha]pyrene hydroxylase activity.