Publication Date:
2024-03-15
Description:
Seawater pH and carbonate saturation are predicted to decrease dramatically by the end of the century. This process, designated ocean acidification (OA), threatens economically and ecologically important marine calcifiers, including the northern quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria). While many studies have demonstrated the adverse impacts of OA on bivalves, much less is known about mechanisms of resilience and adaptive strategies. Here, we examined clam responses to OA by evaluating cellular (hemocyte activities) and molecular (high-throughput proteomics, RNASeq) changes in hemolymph and extrapallial fluid (EPF—the site of biomineralization located between the mantle and the shell) in M. mercenaria continuously exposed to acidified (pH 7.3; pCO2 2700 ppm) and normal conditions (pH 8.1; pCO2 600 ppm) for one year. The extracellular pH of EPF and hemolymph (7.5) was significantly higher than that of the external acidified seawater (7.3). Under OA conditions, granulocytes (a sub-population of hemocytes important for biomineralization) were able to increase intracellular pH (by 54% in EPF and 79% in hemolymph) and calcium content (by 56% in hemolymph). The increased pH of EPF and hemolymph from clams exposed to high pCO2 was associated with the overexpression of genes (at both the mRNA and protein levels) related to biomineralization, acid–base balance, and calcium homeostasis, suggesting that clams can use corrective mechanisms to mitigate the negative impact of OA.
Keywords:
Acid-base regulation; Alkalinity, total; Alkalinity, total, standard deviation; Animalia; Aragonite saturation state; Aragonite saturation state, standard deviation; Benthic animals; Benthos; Bicarbonate ion; Bicarbonate ion, standard deviation; Calcite saturation state; Calcite saturation state, standard deviation; Calculated using seacarb; Calculated using seacarb after Nisumaa et al. (2010); Calculated using seacarb after Orr et al. (2018); Carbon, inorganic, dissolved; Carbon, inorganic, dissolved, standard deviation; Carbonate ion; Carbonate ion, standard deviation; Carbonate system computation flag; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide, standard deviation; Category; Containers and aquaria (20-1000 L or 〈 1 m**2); Coulometric titration; Extrapallial fluid pH; Extrapallial fluid pH, standard error; Fluorescence intensity; Fluorescence intensity, standard error; Fugacity of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); Fugacity of carbon dioxide in seawater, standard deviation; Haemolymph, pH; Haemolymph, pH, standard error; Immunology/Self-protection; Laboratory experiment; Laboratory strains; Local Time; Mercenaria mercenaria; Mollusca; Mortality; Mortality, standard error; Not applicable; OA-ICC; Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre; Other studied parameter or process; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, standard deviation; Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (water) at sea surface temperature (wet air); pH; pH, standard deviation; Phagocytosis; Phagocytosis, standard error; Potentiometric; Salinity; Salinity, standard deviation; Single species; Species, unique identification; Species, unique identification (Semantic URI); Species, unique identification (URI); Temperature, water; Temperature, water, standard deviation; Treatment; Type of study
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 640 data points
Permalink