Lockwood Brent L, Connor Kwasi M, Gracey Andrew Y
Department of Biology, University of Vermont, 120 Marsh Life Science, 109 Carrigan Drive, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
Marine Environmental Biology, University of Southern California, 3616 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
J Exp Biol. 2015 Jun;218(Pt 12):1822-33. doi: 10.1242/jeb.118190.
Transcriptomics is a powerful tool for elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie the ability of organisms to survive and thrive in dynamic and changing environments. Here, we review the major contributions in this field, and we focus on studies of mussels in the genus Mytilus, which are well-established models for the study of ecological physiology in fluctuating environments. Our review is organized into four main sections. First, we illustrate how the abiotic forces of the intertidal environment drive the rhythmic coupling of gene expression to diel and tidal cycles in Mytilus californianus. Second, we discuss the challenges and pitfalls of conducting transcriptomic studies in field-acclimatized animals. Third, we examine the link between transcriptomic responses to environmental stress and biogeographic distributions in blue mussels, Mytilus trossulus and Mytilus galloprovincialis. Fourth, we present a comparison of transcriptomic datasets and identify 175 genes that share common responses to heat stress across Mytilus species. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that transcriptomics can provide an informative snapshot of the physiological state of an organism within an environmental context. In a comparative framework, transcriptomics can reveal how natural selection has shaped patterns of transcriptional regulation that may ultimately influence biogeography.
转录组学是一种强大的工具，可用于阐明生物体在动态变化的环境中生存和繁衍能力背后的分子机制。在此，我们回顾了该领域的主要贡献，并聚焦于贻贝属的研究，贻贝是波动环境中生态生理学研究的成熟模型。我们的综述分为四个主要部分。第一，我们阐述潮间带环境的非生物因素如何驱动加州贻贝基因表达与昼夜和潮汐周期的节律性耦合。第二，我们讨论在野外适应环境的动物中进行转录组学研究的挑战和陷阱。第三，我们研究蓝贻贝、翡翠贻贝和地中海贻贝转录组对环境压力的反应与生物地理分布之间的联系。第四，我们对转录组数据集进行比较，确定了175个在贻贝物种中对热应激有共同反应的基因。综上所述，这些研究表明，转录组学可以在环境背景下提供生物体生理状态的信息快照。在比较框架中，转录组学可以揭示自然选择如何塑造可能最终影响生物地理学的转录调控模式。
