Project description:Increased heavy rainfall cause important drops in salinity to values close to 0, which can persist for several days in estuaries. Lethal and sublethal physiological and behavioural effects of decreases in salinity below ten have already been found to occur in the commercially relevant clam species Venerupis corrugata, Ruditapes decussatus and R. philippinarum and the cockle Cerastoderma edule, which generate ~74 million euros annually in Galicia (NW Spain). However, studies of the molecular response to hyposaline stress in bivalves are scarce. This ‘shotgun’ proteomics study evaluates changes in mantle-edge proteins subjected to short-term hyposaline episodes in two different months (March and May) during the gametogenic cycle. We found evidence that the effects of the gametogenic cycle on the proteome are greater than those related to the salinity treatments. However, hyposalinity modulated proteome profiles for both months in V. corrugata and C. edule and on R. philippinarum in May, involving proteins implicated in ROS production, redox homeostasis, cytoskeleton modulation and the activation of apoptotic, autophagic and lipid degradation pathways. Nevertheless, essential proteins for an optimal osmotic stress response but high energy demandants, such as chaperones, osmoprotectants and DNA repair factors, were in both large and small abundance under hyposalinity for those species. In both time points for R. decussatus and R. philippinarum in March, almost no differences between treatments were detected. These exploratory results reinforce the interest in the specific study and conservation of native species C. edule and V. corrugata, particularly sensitive to hyposalinity.
Project description:The Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is a cultured bivalve species with high worldwide commercial importance. Nevertheless, diseases can cause high economical losses. For this reason, the study of immune genes in bivalve mollusks has increased in the last years. The present work describes the construction of the first R. philippinarum microarray containing immune-related hemocyte sequences and its application for the study of the gene transcription profiles of hemocytes from clams challenged with Vibrio alginolyticus through a time course.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE22915: Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) digestive gland tissue: gene expression profiles across an annual cycle GSE23049: Mytilus galloprovincialis: development of female gonads GSE23050: Mytilus galloprovincialis: development of male gonads GSE23051: Mytilus galloprovincialis: differences between male and female gene expression patterns in gonads (mantle tissue) Refer to individual Series
Project description:The Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is the bivalve species with the highest world production from both fisheries and aquaculture, but its production is seriously threatened by perkinsosis, a disease caused by the protozoan parasite Perkinsus olseni. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying R. philippinarum–P. olseni interaction, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of in vitro challenged clam hemocytes and P. olseni trophozoites, using two oligo-microarray platforms, one previously validated for R. philippinarum hemocytes and a new one developed and validated in this study for P. olseni. Manila clam hemocytes were in vitro challenged with trophozoites, zoospores, and extracellular products from P. olseni in vitro cultures, while P. olseni trophozoites were in vitro challenged with Manila clam plasma along the same time-series (1 h, 8 h, and 24 h). The hemocytes showed a fast activation of the innate immune response, particularly associated with hemocyte recruitment, in the three types of challenges. Nevertheless, different immune-related pathways were activated in response to the different parasite stages, suggesting specific recognition mechanisms. Furthermore, the analyses provided useful complementary data to previous in vivo challenges, and confirmed the potential of some proposed biomarkers. The combined analysis of gene expression in host and parasite identified several processes in both the clam and P. olseni, such as redox and glucose metabolism, protease activity, apoptosis and iron metabolism, whose modulation suggests cross-talk between parasite and host. This information might be critical to determine the outcome of the infection, thus highlighting potential therapeutic targets. Altogether, the results of this study aid to understand the response and interaction between R. philippinarum–P. olseni and will contribute for developing effective control strategies for this threatening parasitosis.
Project description:The Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is the bivalve species with the highest world production from both fisheries and aquaculture, but its production is seriously threatened by perkinsosis, a disease caused by the protozoan parasite Perkinsus olseni. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying R. philippinarum–P. olseni interaction, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of in vitro challenged clam hemocytes and P. olseni trophozoites, using two oligo-microarray platforms, one previously validated for R. philippinarum hemocytes and a new one developed and validated in this study for P. olseni. Manila clam hemocytes were in vitro challenged with trophozoites, zoospores, and extracellular products from P. olseni in vitro cultures, while P. olseni trophozoites were in vitro challenged with Manila clam plasma along the same time-series (1 h, 8 h, and 24 h). The hemocytes showed a fast activation of the innate immune response, particularly associated with hemocyte recruitment, in the three types of challenges. Nevertheless, different immune-related pathways were activated in response to the different parasite stages, suggesting specific recognition mechanisms. Furthermore, the analyses provided useful complementary data to previous in vivo challenges, and confirmed the potential of some proposed biomarkers. The combined analysis of gene expression in host and parasite identified several processes in both the clam and P. olseni, such as redox and glucose metabolism, protease activity, apoptosis and iron metabolism, whose modulation suggests cross-talk between parasite and host. This information might be critical to determine the outcome of the infection, thus highlighting potential therapeutic targets. Altogether, the results of this study aid to understand the response and interaction between R. philippinarum–P. olseni and will contribute for developing effective control strategies for this threatening parasitosis.
Project description:The Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) is the bivalve species with the highest world production from both fisheries and aquaculture, but its production is seriously threatened by perkinsosis, a disease caused by the protozoan parasite Perkinsus olseni. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying R. philippinarum–P. olseni interaction, we analyzed the gene expression profiles of in vitro challenged clam hemocytes and P. olseni trophozoites, using two oligo-microarray platforms, one previously validated for R. philippinarum hemocytes and a new one developed and validated in this study for P. olseni. Manila clam hemocytes were in vitro challenged with trophozoites, zoospores, and extracellular products from P. olseni in vitro cultures, while P. olseni trophozoites were in vitro challenged with Manila clam plasma along the same time-series (1 h, 8 h, and 24 h). The hemocytes showed a fast activation of the innate immune response, particularly associated with hemocyte recruitment, in the three types of challenges. Nevertheless, different immune-related pathways were activated in response to the different parasite stages, suggesting specific recognition mechanisms. Furthermore, the analyses provided useful complementary data to previous in vivo challenges, and confirmed the potential of some proposed biomarkers. The combined analysis of gene expression in host and parasite identified several processes in both the clam and P. olseni, such as redox and glucose metabolism, protease activity, apoptosis and iron metabolism, whose modulation suggests cross-talk between parasite and host. This information might be critical to determine the outcome of the infection, thus highlighting potential therapeutic targets. Altogether, the results of this study aid to understand the response and interaction between R. philippinarum–P. olseni and will contribute for developing effective control strategies for this threatening parasitosis.
Project description:[original Title] Transcriptomic responses to heat-stress in invasive and native blue mussels (genus Mytilus): molecular correlates of invasive success. Invasive species are increasingly prevalent in marine ecosystems worldwide. Although many studies have examined the ecological effects of invasives, little is known about physiological mechanisms that might contribute to invasive success. The mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, a native of the Mediterranean Sea, is a successful invader on the central and southern coasts of California, where it has largely displaced the native congener, Mytilus trossulus. It has been previously shown that thermal responses of several physiological traits may underlie the capacity of M. galloprovincialis to out-compete M. trossulus in warm habitats. To elucidate possible differences in stress-induced gene expression between these congeners, we developed an oligonucleotide microarray with 8,874 probes representing 4,488 different genes that recognized mRNAs of both species. In acute heat-stress experiments, 1,531 of these genes showed temperature-dependent changes in gene expression that were highly similar in the two congeners. In contrast, 96 genes showed species-specific responses to heat-stress, functionally characterized by their involvement in oxidative stress, proteolysis, energy metabolism, ion transport, cell signaling, and cytoskeletal reorganization. The gene that showed the biggest difference between the species was the gene for the molecular chaperone small heat shock protein 24, which was highly induced in M. galloprovincialis and showed only a small change in M. trossulus. These different responses to acute heat-stress may help to explain—and predict—the invasive success of M. galloprovincialis in a warming world.