Comparative analysis of innate immune response of Anctartic Sterechinus neumayeri and tropical Lytechinus variegatus sea urchins front to global warming

• Grant number: 09/04415-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: September 01, 2009
• End date: February 28, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Physiology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: José Roberto Machado Cunha da Silva
• Grantee: Paola Cristina Branco
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Global warming is a reality and its effects nowadays are widely studied, however, little attention has been given to changes that happen to marine invertebrate caused by increase of temperature. Sea urchins are susceptible species to epizootic outbrakes and is possible to find in literature many report cases of mass mortality in such animals, this fact was observed by our team research with the specie Lytechinus variehatus in São Sebastião (SP). Thus, the study of innate immune response related to the presence of heat shock protein (HSP) of echinoderms facing the temperature increasing is extremely important to understand the adaptation mechanisms and preview possible alterations that these species can face due to the global warming. Therefore, the present project aims to evaluate the effect of marine water heating, caused by global warming, under the resistance natural mechanisms of tropical sea urchins Lytechinus variegatus and Anctartic Sterechinus neumayeri. Previous researches showed the expression of HSP 70 by immunofluorescence and the decrease of phagocytic capacity in both species submitted to increased temperatures compared to the average, however a quantification of such proteins and the correlation with the immunologic activity of red sphere cells and phagocytic amoebocytes is still necessary.