Establishing Research Strategies, Methodologies and Technologies to Link Genomics and Proteomics to Seagrass Productivity, Community Metabolism, and Ecosystem Carbon Fluxes

Abstract

A complete understanding of the mechanistic basis of marine ecosystem functioning is only possible through integrative and interdisciplinary research. This enables the prediction of change and possibly the mitigation of the consequences of anthropogenic impacts. One major aim of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action ES0609 “Seagrasses productivity. From genes to ecosystem management,” is the calibration and synthesis of various methods and the development of innovative techniques and protocols for studying seagrass ecosystems. During 10 days, 20 researchers representing a range of disciplines (molecular biology, physiology, botany, ecology, oceanography, and underwater acoustics) gathered at The Station de Recherches Sous-marines et Océanographiques (STARESO, Corsica) to study together the nearby Posidonia oceanica meadow. STARESO is located in an oligotrophic area classified as “pristine site” where environmental disturbances caused by anthropogenic pressure are exceptionally low. The healthy P. oceanica meadow, which grows in front of the research station, colonizes the sea bottom from the surface to 37 m depth. During the study, genomic and proteomic approaches were integrated with ecophysiological and physical approaches with the aim of understanding changes in seagrass productivity and metabolism at different depths and along daily cycles. In this paper we report details on the approaches utilized and we forecast the potential of the data that will come from this synergistic approach not only for P. oceanica but for seagrasses in general.

The genome of the seagrass Zostera marina reveals angiosperm adaptation to the sea

“…Their cell walls contain all of the polysaccharides typical of land plants, but also contain polyanionic, low-methylated pectins and sulfated galactans, a feature shared with the cell walls of all macroalgae 4 and that is important for ion homoeostasis, nutrient uptake and O 2 /CO 2 exchange through leaf epidermal cells. The Z. marina genome resource will markedly advance a wide range of functional ecological studies from adaptation of marine ecosystems under climate warming 5,6 , to unravelling the mechanisms of osmoregulation under high salinities that may further inform our understanding of the evolution of salt tolerance in crop plants 7 …”

Response of key stress-related genes of the seagrass <i>Posidonia oceanica</i> in the vicinity of submarine volcanic vents

“…About 100 mg of powered tissue was used for the RNA extraction using an Aurum ™ Total RNA Mini Kit (BIO-RAD) as in Mazzuca et al (2013). After lysis solution, samples were homogenized using a Qiagen TissueLyser and tungsten carbide beads (3 mm) (Qiagen) for 3 min at 20.1 Hz.…”

Acoustic monitoring of O2 production of a seagrass meadow

“…The acoustic monitoring system comprised a sound source installed close to the STARESO pier at a water depth of 8.5 m, and 3 self-recording hydrophones moored at a water depth of 21.5 m. The transmissions were performed along the bathymetric slope to cover the area of interest of the interdisciplinary experiment (Mazzuca et al, 2013). The working area and the position of the acoustic equipment are shown in Fig.…”

“…The correlation between the acoustic data and dissolved O 2 measurements from an array of 3 optodes is also validated, showing the potential usage of acoustics as a proxy for the dynamics of seagrass O 2 metabolism at ecosystem level. In doing so, the present work thus focusses on the acoustic data of an interdisciplinary experiment devoted to the study of seagrass metabolism with different methods, at different spatial and temporal scales (Mazzuca et al, 2013).…”