Biotoxins produced during the outcrops of marine algae alter the development of zooplankton and the oceanic...
Biotoxins produced during the outcrops of marine algae alter the development of zooplankton and the oceanic food web
Biotoxins produced during the outcrops of marine algae alter the development of zooplankton and the oceanic food web
Researchers from the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the UB and members of the Institute for Biodiversity Research (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain), in collaboration with a team from the Zoological Station Anton Dohrn (Italy), have analyzed the impact of diatom algae on the development of Oikopleura dioica, a type of marine zooplankton invertebrate found in the oceans around the world that plays an important role in the global dynamics of marine food webs and in the carbon cycle in the biosphere. The results, published in the new scientific journal Nature Communications Biology, show that the biotoxins that produce these algae at the end of the outcrops can compromise embryonic development, and therefore, the reproduction of this species, with potentially serious ecological consequences.
The study, led by the professors of the UB Ricard Albalat and Cristian Cañestro, is especially relevant considering that acidification and warming of the ocean caused by climate change could intensify the severity and frequency of harmful algal blooms such as diatoms. The researchers also participate in the UB and IRBio Núria P. Torres Águila -first signatory of the work-, Josep Martí Solans, Alfonso Ferrández, Alba Almazzán and Vittoria Roncalli.
Diatoms are a type of microalgae that contribute mainly to the photoautotrophic production of marine phytoplankton, since they provide nutrients to all other life forms from sunlight. Diatoms, however, can also produce biotoxins (polyunsaturated aldehydes) as a defense mechanism against their predators, for example small crustaceans such as copepods. These substances are released massively at the end of the outcrops and can alter the biology of marine animals found in the area. The new study has analyzed in the laboratory the impact of these biotoxins on the development of O. dioica, a type of marine invertebrate belonging to the appendicularians (Appendicularia or Larvacea), within our own phylum, the chordates. Appendicularians are key organisms in the oceans' food chain, since they process about 10% of the primary production of the ocean and feed the larvae of fish in the marine food chain. «The results show that the biotoxins produced by the diatoms can produce important alterations in the development of O. dioica, inducing a phenotype that has been called a golf ball, which affects the morphogenesis of embryos and the differentiation between the trunk and the tail», explains Cristian Cañestro.
Oikopleura dioica, which appears here feeding on red microalgae, is an organism used by the groups of Albalat and Cañestro in eco-evo-devo studies. (Photo: U. Barcelona)
In addition, the work reveals that these effects on development occur even in concentrations of the same order of magnitude as those measured at sea after outcrops of diatoms. "Although in our study the most serious embryonic malformations appear mainly in higher concentrations than those found in natural conditions, we have also observed lethal embryonic anomalies in concentrations similar to the values measured in nature after outcrops," the researcher points out.
This finding is especially relevant given that the increase in acidification and warming of the oceans caused by climate change could intensify the severity and frequency of algae outcrops. «Finding out how harmful algal blooms and massive production of toxins can alter the physiology of larvae is of great importance due to its impact on the marine food web and to be able to anticipate the future problems caused by fishing due to global climate change », The researcher points out.
The study also analyzed the gene response of O. dioica to the impact of biotoxins. "We found that O. dioica has the ability to respond to stress caused by diatoms by delaying the zygotic transcription of developmental genes during the early stages and activating defensive genes (a set of genes that protect the cell against environmental attacks), even at concentrations harmless of biotoxins in which we did not observe any embryonic alteration ", explains Cristian Cañestro.
According to the conclusions of the study, this response could be part of a mechanism developed throughout evolution that protects embryos against environmental hazards and that, in addition, could serve as a potential biomarker. "The defensive genes would be a molecular biosensor that marine ecologists could use to control the genetic stress of the natural populations of appendicularians, and probably of other organisms exposed to outcrops of algae in their habitats, and later evaluate the potential impact of the increase in outcrops associated with climate change », highlights the researcher.
These results open a new area of study for the research team of the UB. «The article puts the foundations in our laboratory of a new line of research in the field of eco-evo-devo, the intersection between ecology, development biology and evolution, which will investigate whether embryos of marine organisms are prepared to respond to climate change ", concludes Cristian Cañestro. (Source: U. Barcelona)
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