Influence of Natural Thermal Gradients on Whole Animal Rates of Protein Synthesis in Marine Gammarid Amphipods

Abstract

Although temperature is known to have an important effect on protein synthesis rates and growth in aquatic ectotherms held in the laboratory, little is known about the effects of thermal gradients on natural populations in the field. To address this issue we determined whole-animal fractional rates of protein synthesis (ks) in four dominant species of gammarid amphipods with different distributions along the coasts of Western Europe from arctic to temperate latitudes. Up to three populations of each species were collected in the summer and ks measured within 48 h. Summer ks values were relatively high in the temperate species, Gammarus locusta, from Portugal (48°N) and Wales (53°N) and were maintained across latitudes by the conservation of translational efficiency. In sharp contrast, summer ks remained remarkably low in the boreal/temperate species G. duebeni from Wales, Scotland (58°N) and Tromsø (70°N), probably as a temporary energy saving strategy to ensure survival in rapidly fluctuating environments of the high intertidal. Values for ks increased in acclimated G. duebeni from Scotland and Tromsø showing a lack of compensation with latitude. In the subarctic/boreal species, G. oceanicus, summer ks remained unchanged in Scotland and Tromsø but fell significantly in Svalbard (79°N) at 5°C, despite a slight increase in RNA content. At 79°N, mean ks was 4.5 times higher in the circumpolar species G. setosus than in G. oceanicus due to a doubling in RNA content. The relationship between whole-animal protein synthesis rates and natural thermal gradients is complex, varies between species and appears to be associated with local temperatures and their variability, as well as changes in other environmental factors.

Insights into the strategy of micro-environmental adaptation: Transcriptomic analysis of two alvinocaridid shrimps at a hydrothermal vent

“…In this paper, two vent-endemic alvinocaridid shrimps were used as an example to illustrate the possible genes and pathways involved in microenvironmental adaptation. The protein synthesis rate has a significant impact on thermal acclimation, although the relationship between them is complex [40,41]. Proteins are usually vulnerable to elevated temperatures because they maintain their function within only a narrow range of temperatures.…”

Transcriptional frontloading contributes to cross‐tolerance between stressors

“…Ratios > 1 on the y-axis (grey horizontal line) indicate a greater reaction to hypoxia in the warm-acclimated group (20HY vs. 20NO fold up/downregulation > 10HY vs. 10NO fold up/downregulation). Ratios < 1 indicate a "reduced reaction" to hypoxia in the warm-acclimated individuals (20HY vs. 20NO fold up/downregulation < 10HY vs. 10NO fold up/downregulation) which can be further subdivided into "frontloaded" genes with greater constitutive expression (x-axis > 1, grey vertical line) or "stress indicator" genes with lower constitutive expression (x-axis < 1) Constitutive fold downregulation (20NO vs 10NO) Hypoxic downregulation ratio (20HY vs 20NO/10HY vs 10NO) (b) protein synthesis have, however, received attention in response to temperature stress in isolation in gammarids where reduced protein synthesis rates may conserve energy in highly variable environments (Rastrick & Whiteley, 2013).…”

Planning the R&D of Marine Renewable Energy Resources: Avoiding Bottlenecks and Ensuring Sustainable Development in Developing Marine Economies

“…There are many areas that have not been studied in depth on the impact of renewable energy on the marine environment, such as the influence of tidal underwater kites on the depth of fish distribution, the impact of offshore wind power plants on the living environment of marine birds and fish, and the influence of ocean salinity on the distribution pattern of anaerobic bacteria (Li Z. et al, 2020). Additionally, there has been a lack of research into the effect of thermal gradients on marine bacteria (Sollich et al, 2020) and the effect of natural thermal gradients on protein synthesis in marine organisms (Rastrick and Whiteley, 2020). How triple salinity shapes the water masses of the basin-scale oceans and affects the climate is also a problem that needs long-term tracking (Hu et al, 2020).…”