H2020Индивидуална стипендия2021–2023

EPI-TRADEOFF · Molecular trade-offs between adaptation to salinity and immunity in three-spined sticklebacks

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2021-05-03 → 2023-05-02
Финансиране от ЕС: 212 934 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Триезината риба изследва как адаптацията към солеността на водата влияе върху имунитета и устойчивостта ѝ към паразити. Разбирането на тези механизми помага да се разбере как климатичните промени влияят върху оцеляването на водните организми.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Molecular trade-offs between adaptation to salinity and immunity in three-spined sticklebacks

To accommodate the stress induced by climate change, aquatic organisms face the choice of either moving to a better environment or adapting to changes. However, life history trade-offs limit the effectiveness of adaptation. Parasites and pathogens are widespread and exert strong selection pressure. Indirect changes in environmental salinity can impact immune defences and the survival of populations in their current environment. Adapting to salinity reduces the ability to respond to other challenges like parasites and diseases, which can disrupt immune functions and related genes. Parasites play a role in evolution by promoting the fight against diseases in multiple manners, including tolerance. Tolerance enables hosts to endure infections without significant negative effects on their fitness and unlike resistance does not lead to the elimination of the parasites. Yet, the underlying mechanisms and possible heritability of this mechanisms remain unknown. In certain fish species, paternal infection is linked to increased disease tolerance in offspring, and infection is associated with DNA methylation. However, the precise role of DNA methylation in transmitting tolerance remains to be evidenced. The primary objectives of our research were to: 1. Describe the methylation patterns related to immunity and salinity. 2. Identify genes involved in the trade-off of methylation between immunity and salinity. 3. Experimentally examine the induction of trade-offs through changes in salinity and parasite infection. 4. Functionally test the effects of methylation trade-offs on gene expression. DNA methylation, an important epigenetic marks, plays a crucial role in understanding its transmission mechanisms and trade-offs among different stressors. This knowledge is essential in the fields of evolutionary biology and biodiversity conservation. Additionally, DNA methylation has been observed to change in relation to factors like age and cancer type, making our research relevant to various areas of biomedicine with potential significant implications. We found a strong correlation between the infectious status of fathers and changes in the methylome of their offspring. This effect was so strong that the offspring infection status hardly predicted their methylation patterns compared to that of their father. Ultimately, we identified DNA methylation marks that were associated with tolerance, that could be used as potential biomarkers. Our results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying tolerance as well and trans-generational immune priming via the paternal line.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Climate change and its consequences on the oceans represent major challenges for marine species, which either need to migrate to remain in their optimal niche or need to adapt to avoid extinction. While the genetics and genomics of adaptation are well studied to predict the future state of marine biodiversity, major gaps remain about the role and mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity within and across generations. Particularly, climate change is multifold and non-parallel stressors limit evolution: indeed, organisms cannot allocate infinite resources into all responses, and trade-offs therefore emerge. Because stressors are often investigated in isolation, our overall understanding of molecular trade-offs is limited. In this project, we will study the impact of two major concomitant challenges induced by climate change, namely the change in ocean salinity and the associated change in the parasite community. We will use the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) fish from the Baltic Sea, which has been coined a “time machine” because of its rapid salinity change mimicking the future of the oceans. We will investigate the osmoregulation-immunity trade-offs mediated by DNA methylation. After identifying these trade-offs, we will use a network approach to shed lights on the interactions of methylation within gene clusters, and their expression (RNA-seq). We will use data generated by the hosting group on (1) natural populations of the Baltic Sea and (2) experimental acclimation to salinity, completed by a common garden experiment testing the induction of trade-offs by both parasite infection and salinity change. This project will advance our understanding of the mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity in marine organisms and their consequences on adaptive evolution.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON · LONDONКоординаторОбединеното кралство