Molecular biomarkers and adaptation to environmental stress in moon jelly (Aurelia spp.).
We describe a strategy that identifies molecular biomarkers and links the study of abiotic stress to evolutionary history. By utilizing the moon jellyfish Aurelia spp. as a model, we identified genes differentially regulated in response to the chemical stressor tributyltin by means of complementary DNA subtraction analyses. Expression of 3 out of 25 identified candidate genes, one oxidative stress gene, one heat shock (hsp70) gene, and one GTP-binding gene, was quantified under laboratory conditions and in field tests using semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Differential expression patterns were found following exposure to tributyltin and temperature treatments. The findings suggest that the identified genes are involved in response to chemical as well as heat- induced stress and may serve as biomarkers for monitoring marine habitats. Gene regulatory patterns combined with phylogenetic inferences of the hsp70 gene support a possible role of ecologically driven divergence within the genus Aurelia. We show that added information on genetic variability can raise the predictive power of molecular biomarkers in studies of individual stress response.
Ecology & Evolution, ITZ, TiHo Hannover, Bünteweg 17d, D-30559, Hannover, Germany. werner.schroth@ikp-stuttgart.de
Werner
W
Schroth
Andrea
A
Ender
Bernd
B
Schierwater
D000220:Adaptation, Biological / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern / Q000379:methods; D002951:Citrates / Q000378:metabolism; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005820:Genetic Testing; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000378:metabolism*; D018882:Heat Stress Disorders; D018869:Heat-Shock Response / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D037401:Scyphozoa / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D002951:Citrates; D005819:Genetic Markers; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D015386:Hazardous Substances; C039783:tributyl citrate; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins