Decreased mitochondrial metabolic requirements in fasting animals carry an oxidative cost

1. Many animals experience periods of food shortage in their natural environment. It has been hypothesised that the metabolic responses of animals to naturally-occurring periods of food deprivation may have long-term negative impacts on their subsequent life-history. 2. In particular, reductions in energy requirements in response to fasting may help preserve limited resources but potentially come at a cost of increased oxidative stress. However, little is known about this trade-off since studies of energy metabolism are generally conducted separately from those of oxidative stress. 3. Using a novel approach that combines measurements of mitochondrial function with in vivo levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in brown trout (Salmo trutta), we show here that fasting induces energy savings in a highly metabolically active organ (the liver) but at the cost of a significant increase in H2O2, an important form of reactive oxygen species (ROS). 4. After a 2-week period of fasting, brown trout...