Transgenerational plasticity and the capacity to adapt to low salinity in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica.

ABSTRACT: Salinity conditions in oyster breeding grounds in the Gulf of Mexico are expected to drastically change due to increased precipitation from climate change and anthropogenic changes to local hydrology. We determined the capacity of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, to adapt via standing genetic variation or acclimate through transgenerational plasticity (TGP). We outplanted oysters to either a low- or medium-salinity site in Louisiana for 2 years. We then crossed adult parents using a North Carolina II breeding design, and measured body size and survival of larvae 5 dpf raised under low or ambient salinity. We found that TGP is unlikely to significantly contribute to low-salinity tolerance since we did not observe increased growth or survival in offspring reared in low salin

SUBMITTER: Griffiths JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8131124 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature