Project description:Transcriptome profiling of whole proboscis and body wall of the marine Polychaeta Glycera alba, adults, wild population (sex undiscriminated), collected from the muddy-sandy intertidal flats at W Portugal (2020). Transcriptome profiling of glandular and muscular regions of proboscis of the marine Polychaeta Hediste diversicolor, adults, wild population (sex undiscriminated), collected from the muddy-sandy intertidal flats at W Portugal (2019).
Project description:Extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, are becoming increasingly frequent, long-lasting, and severe as global climate change continues, shaping marine biodiversity patterns worldwide. Increased risk of overheating and mortality across major taxa have been recurrently observed, jeopardizing the sustainability of ecosystem services. Molecular responses of species, which scale up to physiological and population responses, are determinant processes that modulate species sensitivity or tolerance to extreme weather events. Here, we analysed the whole-body proteome of the intertidal ragworm Hediste diversicolor (Müller, 1776), a keystone species in estuarine ecosystems and an emergent blue bio-resource, to long-lasting heatwaves (24 ºC vs 30 ºC for 1 month). We hypothesized that this species is phenotypically plastic and thus able to acclimate to heatwaves by inducing cytoprotective pathways and modulating energy metabolism to enhance its thermal tolerance and maintain survival. To test these hypotheses, worms were exposed to control (24 ºC) and a +6 ºC increase in water temperature (30 ºC) for a month, after which they were collected for whole-body proteomic (after 28 days of exposure) analysis. Concomitantly, fatty acid analysis (after 28 days of exposure) and cumulative survival, upper thermal tolerance limits and wet weight (after 30 days of exposure) were compared between control and heatwave exposed worms.
Project description:BackgroundThe abalone Haliotis diversicolor is a good model for study of the settlement and metamorphosis, which are widespread marine ecological phenomena. However, information on the global gene backgrounds and gene expression profiles for the early development of abalones is lacking.Methodology/principal findingsIn this study, eight non-normalized and multiplex barcode-labeled transcriptomes were sequenced using a 454 GS system to cover the early developmental stages of the abalone H. diversicolor. The assembly generated 35,415 unigenes, of which 7,566 were assigned GO terms. A global gene expression profile containing 636 scaffolds/contigs was constructed and was proven reliable using qPCR evaluation. It indicated that there may be existing dramatic phase transitions. Bioprocesses were proposed, including the 'lock system' in mature eggs, the collagen shells of the trochophore larvae and the development of chambered extracellular matrix (ECM) structures within the earliest postlarvae.ConclusionThis study globally details the first 454 sequencing data for larval stages of H. diversicolor. A basic analysis of the larval transcriptomes and cluster of the gene expression profile indicates that each stage possesses a batch of specific genes that are indispensable during embryonic development, especially during the two-cell, trochophore and early postlarval stages. These data will provide a fundamental resource for future physiological works on abalones, revealing the mechanisms of settlement and metamorphosis at the molecular level.