其他摘要 | In the context of global warming, the survival and reproduction of marine organisms face significant threats. Oysters inhabiting the highly fluctuating intertidal zone experience drastic environmental fluctuations on a diurnal and seasonal basis, and its wide distribution making them an excellent model for analyzing temperature adaptation and evolution. In addition, oysters are not only globally recognized as economically important cultured mollusks and a traditional pillar industry in China's shellfish aquaculture, but also provide various ecological services to marine ecosystems.However, in recent years, the occurrence of large-scale mortality events during summer due to increased seawater temperatures and intensified temperature fluctuations has caused substantial economic losses in the global oyster industry. Climate change and human activities have also exacerbated the degradation of wild oyster resources and oyster reefs worldwide. Therefore, investigating the mechanisms underlying oyster temperature adaptation is not only of great scientific value but also holds significant ecological and industrial implications. The formation of various adaptive and agronomic traits is the result of natural selection driving organisms to achieve optimal fitness in their environment. Therefore, studying key genes and their regulation involved in adaptive traits is crucial for a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptive evolution. In this study, we focused on two congeneric oyster species with divergent temperature adaptation and allopatric distribution, Crassostrea gigas (C. gigas) and Crassostrea angulata (C. angulata). By employing common garden and reciprocal transplant experiments, combined with phenotypic measurements and multi-omics analyses spanning genomic variations, gene expression regulation, protein abundance, and post-translational modifications, we aimed to identify the key genes mediating the divergence of temperature adaptive traits (fatty acids and heat tolerance). Furthermore, we conducted molecular functional experiments to validate the functions of relevant genes, explore key regulatory elements, and unravel upstream signaling transduction pathways.Our findings will contribute to a better understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying temperature adaptation and evolution in marine organisms, assist in predicting the adaptive potential of marine organisms in the context of global warming and provide theoretical foundations and breeding elements for synergistic improvement of oyster quality and resistance traits.
1. Key Genes and their Regulatory Mechanisms underlying Fatty Acid Traits Divergence
Phenotypic measurements and transcriptomic-metabolomic combined analysis were conducted on C. gigas and C. angulata after one-generation of common garden experiments in Qingdao, Shandong Province (35° 44′ N). The results showed a significant differentiation in fatty acid traits between C. gigas and C. angulata, particularly in the content of unsaturated fatty acid—oleic acid (C18:1), which was significantly higher in C. gigas. Additionally, C. angulata exhibited stronger growth performance and aerobic metabolic capacity, while C. gigas showed higher glycogen content and antioxidant capacity. The combined analysis of transcriptomics and metabolomics revealed that C. gigas suppressed glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation pathways, upregulated fatty acid synthesis and antioxidant-related genes and metabolites, thereby allocating more energy to storage and defense. While, C. angulata upregulated protein synthesis related genes and metabolites, with higher levels of growth-related biomarkers, allocating more energy to growth. This study elucidated the molecular mechanisms mediating the growth-defense trade-offs between these two oyster species, providing new insights into the coordinated balance of adaptive traits and their biochemical and molecular basis.
Based on above experimental results and previous genomic comparisons of these two species, this study foucused on Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase (Scd), a key rate-limiting enzyme catalyzing the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids, particularly oleic acid, as the important gene mediating the fatty acid trait divergence between C. gigas and C. angulata. Functional verification of the Scd gene demonstrated its ability to catalyze the synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids palmitoleic acid (C16:1) and oleic acid (C18:1) and enhance cell membrane fluidity. Screening and functional validation of genetic variation in the promoter region revealed that variations in the Scd promoter region enhanced the basal expression of the Scd gene and oleic acid content of C. gigas by creating (C. gigas) or disrupting (C. angulata) the binding motif of the positive transcription factor Y Box Factor. Additionally, the positive transcription factor Srebp, through its differential low-temperature response pattern (upregulation in C. angulata, downregulation in C. gigas), was involved in shaping the higher plastic expression (upregulation amplitude) of the Scd gene in C. angulata. The basal expression and plastic expression of Scd in these two oyster species exhibited trade-offs. Our results indicate that fatty acid traits, particularly unsaturated fatty acids, play important roles as energy substances and cell structural materials in mediating temperature adaptation in organisms. Long-term differential environmental temperatures have shaped the divergent plasticity patterns of unsaturated fatty acids and their metabolic genes in C. gigas and C. angulata, involving a trade-off between trait mean and plasticity. Both cis- and trans-variations jointly mediate the plasticity divergence and evolution patterns of the Scd gene in oysters. This research, as a study case, reveals the genetic and molecular mechanisms behind the common phenotypic plasticity differentiation patterns of environmentally responsive traits, further deepening the understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms of phenotypic plasticity and providing new insights into the formation of adaptive traits and the prediction of potential of marine organisms to future climate change. Subsequently, association analysis of oil content and genetic variation was conducted using a hybrid F2 population of C. gigas and C. angulata. The results further confirmed that above screened genetic variations were significantly correlated with phenotype, with individuals of the dominant genotype combination (C. gigas) having significantly higher oil content than those of the inferior genotype combination (C. angulata). These allelic variations combinations can be used for molecular module-assisted selection breeding of oyster fatty acid trait genetic improvement.
2. Key Genes and their Regulatory Mechanisms underlying Heat Tolerance Traits Divergence
Phenotypic assessments of C. gigas and C. angulata under heat stress conditions revealed that C. angulata exhibited higher aerobic metabolic capacity, antioxidant capacity, and lower tissue apoptosis rates, further supporting its stronger heat tolerance. Subsequent comparative studies using chromatin dynamics, gene expression, proteomics, and phosphoproteomics among C. gigas and C. angulata under heat stress aimed to identify key genes and related signaling pathways responsible for their divergent heat tolerance. RNA-Seq and ATAC-Seq data indicated that the Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein (IAP) family and its associated apoptosis pathway were the main signaling pathway mediating the differentiation in heat tolerance between these two species. C. gigas activated molecular chaperone genes, particularly heat shock proteins, through transcription factors such as Forkhead Box Family, in response to high temperatures. While, C. angulata activated genes related to anti-apoptosis, DNA damage repair, and fatty acid synthesis. Proteomic and phosphoproteomic data revealed that high temperatures regulated signal transduction, energy metabolism, protein synthesis, cell survival and apoptosis, and cell cytoskeleton remodeling by affecting protein content and phosphorylation levels. Differential phosphorylation modifications of protein kinases A (PKA), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1), Src tyrosine kinase (SRC), and AKT were identified as potential hub regulatory genes, enhancing glycolysis and TCA cycle to increase energy supply, regulating protein synthesis, inhibiting Caspase-dependent apoptosis triggered by endogenous mitochondrial cytochrome C release, and maintaining cell cytoskeleton stability to mediate C. angulata high heat tolerance. This study comprehensively evaluated the differential dynamic cellular changes in response heat stress between C. gigas and C. angulata at multiple molecular regulatory levels, uncovering numerous key genes and phosphorylation sites mediating their heat resistance differentiation.
Subsequent investigations focused on the phosphorylation functionality and their upstream regulatory pathways of key enzymes involved in glycolysis, pyruvate kinase (PK), the core regulatory factor of NF-κB, inhibitor of NF-κB alpha (IκBα), and the critical executor of cell apoptosis, caspase-3 (Caspase3).
①The phosphorylation levels of IκBα Ser74 in C. gigas and C. angulata exhibited significant differences during heat stress, with upregulation in C. angulata and downregulation in C. gigas. Functional phosphorylation experiments revealed that this site could independently mediate its ubiquitin-proteasome degradation and decrease thermal stability. This mechanism differs from the established cascade mechanisms in model organisms which IKKs kinase phosphorylates IκBα Ser32 and Ser36 to control its protein degradation. This site specifically evolved in oyster major IκBα and is phosphorylated by ERK1/2 kinase, and regulated by the classical MAPK pathway. Differential phosphorylation of oyster IκBα under heat stress promoted stronger nuclear entry of REL1 and REL2 in C. angulata, activating the expression of genes involved in cell survival, fatty acid metabolism, protein translation, and antioxidation, thereby aiding in heat stress resistance. This study firstly reported a novel heat-induced phosphorylation site (Ser74) in the core regulatory factor IκBα of NF-κB, a conserved immune pathway in metazoans. The oyster's high-temperature-RTK-MRAS-BRAF-MAPK-NF-κB signaling cascade exhibited differential heat responses and temperature adaptation patterns between C. gigas and C. angulata, indicating its involvement in shaping the divergent temperature adaptation and heat survival of these two species.
②The phosphorylation levels of Caspase-3/7 Thr260 site in C. gigas and C. angulata exhibited significant differences during heat stress, with upregulation in C. angulata and downregulation in C. gigas. Based on evolutionary analysis and sequence alignment, a group of novel Caspase-3/7 genes with a long interdomain linker region (IL) in the Bivalvia was discovered. Further in vivo and in vitro functional experiments revealed that the long IL can inhibit the cleavage activation of Bivalvia novel CASP3/7. The Thr260 site located within the IL region is conserved in the class Bivalvia and is phosphorylated by AKT kinase, thereby suppressing the heat-induced activation of CASP3/7. The phosphorylation of the Thr260 site was regulated by the classical PI3K-AKT pathway and exhibited divergent heat response patterns between C. gigas and C. angulata, indicating the involvement of the species-specific PI3K-AKT-CASP3/7 signaling cascade in mediating the divergent heat-induced apoptosis between these two species. This study firstly reported the PI3K-AKT-CASP phosphorylation regulatory pathway in non-model organisms, providing new insights into the complex and unique apoptotic mechanisms in mollusks.
③The phosphorylation levels of PK Ser11 site in C. gigas and C. angulata exhibited significant differences during heat stress, with higher upregulation observed in C. angulata compared to C. gigas. The Ser11 site is conserved in the class Bivalvia and Gastropoda. Phosphorylation at this site enhanced substrate binding, thereby increasing PK enzyme activity and promoting glycolysis to enhance ATP synthesis, aiding in the heat damage repair of oysters. Further functional validation of its upstream regulatory pathway revealed that ERK1/2 kinase phosphorylated PK Ser11 site, which was regulated by the classical MAPK pathway. The mollusk-specific high-temperature-RTK-MRAS-BRAF-MAPK-PK signaling cascade (Bivalvia and Gastropoda) exhibited differential heat responses and temperature adaptation patterns between C. gigas and C. angulata. This suggests that phosphorylation, by regulating the rate of glycolysis, affects the divergent energy metabolism capabilities under heat stress, thereby mediating the divergent heat resistance between these two species.
These findings highlight the existence of complex and unique phosphorylation-mediated regulatory networks of conserved pathways in marine organisms, which mediate the differential temperature adaptation and heat tolerance between two congeneric oyster species, C. gigas (a relatively heat-sensitive species) and C. angulata (a relatively heat-tolerant species) by influencing cell survival, apoptosis, and energy metabolism. The results of this study further expand our understanding of the evolution and function of the crosstalk mechanisms among established classical pathways. Additionally, the identified heat-resistant key effector genes, upstream regulatory factors, and their corresponding phosphorylation sites provide a theoretical basis and important targets for genetic improvement of heat resistance traits in oyster industry. |
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