Quantitative analysis of oyster larval proteome provides new insights into the effects of multiple climate change stressors

Abstract

The metamorphosis of planktonic larvae of the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) underpins their complex life-history strategy by switching on the molecular machinery required for sessile life and building calcite shells. Metamorphosis becomes a survival bottleneck, which will be pressured by different anthropogenically induced climate change-related variables. Therefore, it is important to understand how metamorphosing larvae interact with emerging climate change stressors. To predict how larvae might be affected in a future ocean, we examined changes in the proteome of metamorphosing larvae under multiple stressors: decreased pH (pH 7.4), increased temperature (30 °C), and reduced salinity (15 psu). Quantitative protein expression profiling using iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS identified more than 1300 proteins. Decreased pH had a negative effect on metamorphosis by down-regulating several proteins involved in energy production, metabolism, and protein synthesis. However, warming switched on these down-regulated pathways at pH 7.4. Under multiple stressors, cell signaling, energy production, growth, and developmental pathways were up-regulated, although metamorphosis was still reduced. Despite the lack of lethal effects, significant physiological responses to both individual and interacting climate change related stressors were observed at proteome level. The metamorphosing larvae of the C. gigas population in the Yellow Sea appear to have adequate phenotypic plasticity at the proteome level to survive in future coastal oceans, but with developmental and physiological costs.

Transcriptomics and Fitness Data Reveal Adaptive Plasticity of Thermal Tolerance in Oysters Inhabiting Different Tidal Zones

“…This suggests that the oysters might have high evolutionary potential to interact with increasing global climate change at transcriptome level. The oyster larvae were proved to have evolved high evolutionary potential in response to three major marine environmental stressors (temperature, salinity, and pH) at proteome level (Dineshram et al, 2016). …”

Contrasting impacts of ocean acidification and warming on the molecular responses of CO2-resilient oysters

“…CO 2 stress by itself induced the greatest changes at the protein level among all of the treatments, both in terms of number of proteins affected and magnitude of those changes. Previous studies have shown that molluscs are particularly susceptible to OA [4–6, 15]. Changes in seawater chemistry have negative effects on growth, development, survival, calcification and acid-base regulation in different species of molluscs [4, 5, 7].…”

“…Proteomic studies have shown that CO 2 -driven OA (pH 7.3 to 7.87; 856 to 3000 μatm p CO 2 ; 2- to 4-week exposure) alters the concentrations of proteins involved in antioxidant defence, stress responses, energy metabolism and the cytoskeleton in the oysters Crassostrea gigas (gills, hepatopancreas and larvae) [12–15], Crassostrea virginica (mantle) [16], Crassostrea hongkongensis (larvae) [17, 18] and Saccostrea glomerata (gills and hemocytes) [19, 20]. Similarly, transcriptional analysis of C. virginica oysters exposed to elevated CO 2 (gill, mantle and hemocytes; pH 7.5 to 7.6; 2000 to 3500 μatm p CO 2 ; 2-week exposure) has identified changes in the expression of genes associated with calcification, stress and immune responses [21, 22].…”

Rapid transcriptional acclimation following transgenerational exposure of oysters to ocean acidification

“…; Dineshram et al . ). In these models, a range of environmental stressors (such as temperature extremes, pH, hypoxia, salinity and infectious disease) have common cellular targets and elicit similar intracellular responses in adults and metamorphosing larvae of marine invertebrates.…”