Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Katharina Bremer (1), Hitoyoshi Yasuo (2), Paul V. Debes (1), Howard T. Jacobs (3)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Hólar University, Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, 551 Sauðárkrókur, Iceland.; 2. Laboratoire de Biologie du Développement de Villefranche-sur-mer, Institut de la Mer de Villefranche, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 06230 Villefranche-sur-mer, France; 3. Tampere University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, 33014 Tampere, Finland
Kynnir / Presenter: Katharina Bremer
Ecological communities and biodiversity are shaped by both, abiotic and biotic factors. This is illustrated by highly variable environments and invasive species. With climate change, many abiotic factors change in quality and quantity. Among those, the increase of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) in marine environments has considerable impact on eukaryotic organisms. As H2S inhibits the cytochrome c oxidase, the aerobic energy production is impaired, ultimately causing the death of the organism. Interestingly, many protist, yeast, and plant species, but also many animal species, including the invasive marine tunicate Ciona intestinalis, possess a sulphide-resistant alternative oxidase (AOX). However, AOX’s physiological function and ecological role in animals is still quite unknown. Therefore, we tested if AOX is functionally involved in Ciona’s H2S stress response during development - and we found it is. At the median lethal sulphide dose, the sulphide effect on developmental success of AOX knock-down embryos was three times as strong compared to control groups. Further, AOX mRNA levels were higher under sulphide than under control conditions, and this effect increased during embryonic development. In summary, these results show that AOX is indeed involved in the tolerance to sulphide in Ciona embryos, and that AOX is very likely controlled on the transcriptional level. Hence, we suggest that AOX-hosting species play an important role in shaping ecological communities in the future.