The effect of different environmental stressors on gene and protein expressions in distinct tissues of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

• Grant number: 24/05857-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: July 29, 2024
• End date: July 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Compared Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Renata Guimarães Moreira Whitton
• Grantee: Vinicius Queiroz Araújo
• Supervisor: Vincenzo Arizza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi di Palermo (UNIPA), Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/10161-8 - Effect of marine noise pollution on invertebrate physiology: using echinoderms as a model, BP.PD

Abstract

Environmental stressors may be defined as unpredictable and/or noxious environmental stimuli that threaten survival and/or homeostasis. They may be categorized according to the nature of the stimulus (physical, chemical, and biological) and their origin (natural or anthropogenic). The effects of such stressors may be observed in several levels of the biological organization (e.g., from molecular to populational) and have been studied in several types of organisms. For example, vertebrates have traditionally been the focus of most studies aiming to understand the effects of environmental stressors, while invertebrates, even comprising 95% of the animal biodiversity, have been poorly used as models. In this context, the present project aims to evaluate how exposure to different environmental stressors affects the proteome and transcriptome of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The mRNA transcription and protein translation of the gonads and coelomocytes from the sea urchins exposed to marine noise pollution (physical stressor), phthalate (chemical stressor), and the cues released by injured individuals (biological stressor) will be investigated, aiming to understand how these stressors affect the sea urchin physiology and how mRNA transcription and protein translation are correlated. To this, five echinoids will be exposed to these different types of stresses for 3 and 24h, their coelomic fluid and the gonads will be collected, the proteins and mRNA from these tissues will be extracted, and proteomic and transcriptomic analyses will be performed.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LACOUTH, PATRICIA; MAJER, ALESSANDRA; ARIZZA, VINCENZO; VAZZANA, MIRELLA; MAURO, MANUELA; CUSTODIO, MARCIO REIS; QUEIROZ, VINICIUS. Physiological responses of Holothuria grisea during a wound healing event: An integrated approach combining tissue, cellular and humoral evidence. COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY A-MOLECULAR & INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY, v. 296, p. 15-pg., 2024-07-13. (24/05857-1, 08/07189-3, 18/14497-8, 21/10161-8)