Laboratorio de Ecofisiologia y Ecologia evolutiva marinas (eCO2lab), Facultad de Ciencia del Mar y de Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Av. Borgoño 16344, Viña del Mar, Chile.
Centro de Observación Marino para Estudios de Riesgos del Ambiente Costero (COSTA-R), Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile.
Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 5;12(1):18806. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-23165-1.
The methylation of DNA is an environmentally inducible epigenetic mechanism reflecting the short-term ecological and environmental background of populations. Marine invertebrate populations, which spread along a latitudinal cline, are particularly suitable for profiling DNA methylation, due to the heterogenous environmental conditions experienced. We used the MSAP (Methylation Sensitive Amplified Polymorphism) technique to investigate the natural variation in DNA methylation of different female's tissues (muscle, gonads, and gills) and early-stage eggs from five populations of the kelp crab Taliepus dentatus, distributed along a latitudinal cline in the coast of Chile. We assessed whether, (1) the distribution of DNA methylation profiles can be associated with the temporal variability of long term (18 years) climatologies (sea surface temperature, turbidity and productivity) and (2) the epigenetic diversity of eggs is related to the population-level phenotypic variability of several maternal investment traits (egg volume, egg weight, egg lipids and fecundity). The DNA methylation of eggs correlated positively and negatively with the long term variability in productivity and sea surface temperature, respectively. Furthermore, the diversity of DNA methylation of eggs correlated positively with the population-level phenotypic variability of several maternal investment traits, suggesting a key role of epigenetic mechanisms in generating phenotypic variability at population level for this species. We provide evidence of a strong link between the temporal variability of long term climatologies with the epigenetic profiles of key early ontogenetic traits associated with the maternal investment of kelp crabs. These modulating mechanisms can hence contribute early to phenotypic variability at population levels in response to local and past environmental fluctuation.
DNA 甲基化是一种环境诱导的表观遗传机制，反映了种群的短期生态和环境背景。海洋无脊椎动物种群沿着纬度梯度分布，特别适合进行 DNA 甲基化分析，因为它们经历了异质的环境条件。我们使用 MSAP（甲基化敏感扩增多态性）技术研究了智利沿海五个 Taliepus dentatus 藤壶蟹种群不同雌性组织（肌肉、性腺和鳃）和早期卵子的 DNA 甲基化自然变异。我们评估了以下两个问题：(1) DNA 甲基化谱的分布是否与长期（18 年）气候（海面温度、浑浊度和生产力）的时间变异性有关；(2) 卵子的表观遗传多样性是否与多个母本投资性状（卵体积、卵重、卵脂和繁殖力）的种群水平表型变异性有关。卵子的 DNA 甲基化与生产力和海面温度的长期变异性呈正相关和负相关。此外，卵子的 DNA 甲基化多样性与几个母本投资性状的种群水平表型变异性呈正相关，表明表观遗传机制在该物种的种群水平上产生表型变异性方面发挥着关键作用。我们提供了证据表明，长期气候的时间变异性与与藤壶蟹母本投资相关的关键早期个体发育特征的表观遗传谱之间存在紧密联系。这些调节机制可以在局部和过去环境波动的情况下，及早为种群水平的表型变异性做出贡献。
