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Transcriptomic response of Tigriopus californicus populations to a fluctuation in salinity

ABSTRACT: Populations that tolerate extreme environmental conditions with frequent fluctuations can give valuable insights into physiological limits and adaptation. In some estuarine and marine ecosystems, organisms must adapt to extreme and fluctuating salinities, but not much is known how varying salinities impact local adaptation across a wide geographic range. We used eight geographically and genetically divergent populations of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus to test if northern populations have greater tolerance to low salinity stresses, as they experience greater precipitation and less evaporation. We used a common garden experiment approach and exposed all populations to acute low (1, 3ppt) and high (110, 130ppt) salinities for 24 hours, and a fluctuation between baseline salinity and moderate low (7ppt) and high (80ppt) salinities over 49 hours. We also performed RNA-sequencing at several time points during the fluctuation between baseline and 7ppt to understand the molecular basis of divergence between two populations with differing physiological responses. We present these novel findings: 1) acute low salinity conditions caused more deaths than high salinity, 2) molecular processes that elevate proline levels increased in 7ppt, which contrasts with other T. californicus studies that mainly associated accumulation of proline with hyperosmotic stress. We also find that 3) tolerance to a salinity fluctuation did not follow a latitudinal trend, but was instead governed by a complex interplay of factors including population and the duration of salinity stress. This highlights the importance of including a wider variety of environmental conditions in empirical studies to understand local adaptation.

ORGANISM(S): Tigriopus californicus

PROVIDER: GSE166634 | GEO | 2021/02/12

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Algae of the genus Dunaliella are known to be able to grow in a wide range of salinities. To investigate which genes may be important for growth under extremely low or high salinities, a survey of the Dunaliella sp. transcriptome was performed by microarray analysis. For the cDNA microarray 778 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from a cDNA library of Dunaliella sp. The cDNA microarray was used to compare the transcription profile of cells that were acclimated to extreme saline conditions (0.08 M and 4.5 M NaCl) with the transcription profile of cells acclimated to an intermediate salinity at 1.5 M NaCl. The comparative microarray analysis indicated that 211 out of the 778 ESTs differed in their expression levels more than two-fold in cells grown at extreme different salinity when compared to cells grown at intermediate salinity (1.5M NaCl). The sequences of these 211 cDNAs were classified into 169 non-redundant gene clusters. Of these genes, the expression of 36 genes was increased and 69 genes were suppressed in cells grown at low salinity. The expression of 49 genes was increased and 85 genes were suppressed in cells grown at high salinity. One-hundred thirty four genes have been revealed to show up- and down-regulation by high salinity (4.5M NaCl). Of the high salinity-regulated genes 52% were also influenced by low salinity (0.08M NaCl), revealing a dense overlap between low and high salt responses. Only 35 genes are regulated independently by low salt condition. Strong relationships, however, were observed in the expression of these extreme salinity-responsive genes based on Venn diagram analysis, which found 70 genes that responded to these two salinity conditions. Refined expression analysis using gene-specific primers and real-time PCR for selected transcripts was in agreement with microarray results for most genes tested. This study provides the first large-scale survey of the transcriptome in the microalga Dunaliella sp. and it provides a platform for further functional investigation of differentially expressed genes in Dunaliella. Keywords: Low salt(0.08M NaCl) or high salt(4.5M NaCl)-acclimated cells

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Transcriptomic response of Tigriopus californicus populations to a fluctuation in salinity

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