mRNA expression and ion transporter activity in fiddler crab (Uca) gills: does osmoregulatory capability underlie the occupation of distinct osmotic niches?

• Grant number: 11/15776-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2012
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Physiology of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: John Campbell McNamara
• Grantee: Rogério Oliveira Faleiros
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Crustaceans are extremely diverse and widely distributed. The survival and success of this group is the result of the differential selection of physiological mechanisms that provide a stable internal osmotic and ionic environment that protects the cells and tissues against the salinity fluctuations. This osmotic homesostasis appears to have allowed the conquest of the most variable environments, from the fresh water and sea water to dry land, including coastal waters and estuaries, environments of variable salinity. Among the physiological adaptations that have allowed the colonization of these hostile environments are reduction in body permeability and efficient salt absorption and secretion by the gill epithelium responsible for active ion transport based on the Na+/K+- and V-ATPase and the Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransporter. Here, we will evaluate the biochemical and molecular underpinnings of osmorregulatory physiology in Uca, inter-tidal fidder crabs, widely distributed among different osmotic niches along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. We will compare the expression of the ± and B subunits of the gill Na+/K+- and V-ATPase, using quantitative real time RT-PCR mRNA expression, and their enzyme activities. In addition, we will also investigate the participation of the Na+/K+/2Cl- symporter in these processes, using real time RT-PCR mRNA expression. These findings will contribute to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the biochemical and physiological adaptations that sustain osmorregulatory ability, and we allow us to evaluate patterns that might support the wide distribution of these crabs in their various osmotic niches.

Scientific publications

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

PINTO, MARCELO R.; LUCENA, MALSON N.; FALEIROS, ROGERIO OLIVEIRA; ALMEIDA, EDUARDO ALVES; MCNAMARA, JOHN C.; LEONE, FRANCISCO A.. Effects of ammonia stress in the Amazon river shrimp Macrobrachium amazonicum (Decapoda, Palaemonidae). AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY, v. 170, p. 13-23, JAN 2016. (13/22605-1, 10/17534-0, 11/15776-9, 13/24252-9)

LEONE, FRANCISCO A.; GARCON, DANIELA P.; LUCENA, MALSON N.; FALEIROS, ROGERIO O.; AZEVEDO, SERGIO V.; PINTO, MARCELO R.; MCNAMARA, JOHN C.. Gill-specific (Na+, K+)-ATPase activity and alpha-subunit mRNA expression during low-salinity acclimation of the ornate blue crab Callinectes ornatus (Decapoda, Brachyura). COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY B-BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, v. 186, p. 59-67, AUG 2015. (13/24252-9, 11/15776-9, 10/06395-9, 13/22605-1, 07/04859-5, 10/17534-0)