Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK.
British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK.
Cell Stress Chaperones. 2018 Sep;23(5):1003-1017. doi: 10.1007/s12192-018-0910-5. Epub 2018 May 12.
Acclimation, via phenotypic flexibility, is a potential means for a fast response to climate change. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underpinning phenotypic flexibility can provide a fine-scale cellular understanding of how organisms acclimate. In the last 30 years, Mya truncata populations around the UK have faced an average increase in sea surface temperature of 0.7 °C and further warming of between 1.5 and 4 °C, in all marine regions adjacent to the UK, is predicted by the end of the century. Hence, data are required on the ability of M. truncata to acclimate to physiological stresses, and most notably, chronic increases in temperature. Animals in the present study were exposed to chronic heat-stress for 2 months prior to shell damage and subsequently, only 3, out of 20 damaged individuals, were able to repair their shells within 2 weeks. Differentially expressed genes (between control and damaged animals) were functionally enriched with processes relating to cellular stress, the immune response and biomineralisation. Comparative transcriptomics highlighted genes, and more broadly molecular mechanisms, that are likely to be pivotal in this lack of acclimation. This study demonstrates that discovery-led transcriptomic profiling of animals during stress-response experiments can shed light on the complexity of biological processes and changes within organisms that can be more difficult to detect at higher levels of biological organisation.
驯化，通过表型可塑性，是对气候变化快速响应的一种潜在手段。了解支撑表型可塑性的分子机制可以提供对生物体驯化的精细细胞理解。在过去的 30 年中，英国周围的 Mya truncata 种群已经面临着海表温度平均升高 0.7°C 的情况，预计到本世纪末，所有与英国相邻的海洋区域的温度将进一步升高 1.5 到 4°C。因此，需要了解 M. truncata 适应生理压力的能力，尤其是慢性温度升高的能力。本研究中的动物在壳损伤前经历了 2 个月的慢性热应激，随后，在 20 个受损个体中，只有 3 个能够在 2 周内修复它们的壳。（与对照和受损动物之间）差异表达的基因在与细胞应激、免疫反应和生物矿化相关的过程中具有功能富集。比较转录组学突出了在这种驯化缺失中可能至关重要的基因，以及更广泛的分子机制。这项研究表明，在应激反应实验中对动物进行基于发现的转录组分析可以揭示生物过程的复杂性和生物体内部的变化，这些变化在更高水平的生物学组织中更难检测到。
