Structure-Function Relationships of Oxygen Transport Proteins in Marine Invertebrates Enduring Higher Temperatures and Deoxygenation

Author(s)

Coates, Christopher J. J. ; Belato, Flavia A. ; Halanych, Kenneth M. M. ; Costa-Paiva, Elisa M. M.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN; v. N/A, p. 15-pg., 2022-10-01.

Abstract

Predictions for climate change-to lesser and greater extents-reveal a common scenario in which marine waters are characterized by a deadly trio of stressors: higher temperatures, lower oxygen levels, and acidification. Ectothermic taxa that inhabit coastal waters, such as shellfish, are vulnerable to rapid and prolonged environmental disturbances, such as heatwaves, pollution-induced eutrophication, and dysoxia. Oxygen transport capacity of the hemolymph (blood equivalent) is considered the proximal driver of thermotolerance and respiration in many invertebrates. Moreover, maintaining homeostasis under environmental duress is inextricably linked to the activities of the hemolymph-based oxygen transport or binding proteins. Several protein groups fulfill this role in marine invertebrates: copper-based extracellular hemocyanins, iron-based intracellular hemoglobins and hemerythrins, and giant extracellular hemoglobins. In this brief text, we revisit the distribution and multifunctional properties of oxygen transport proteins, notably hemocyanins, in the context of climate change, and the consequent physiological reprogramming of marine invertebrates. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/14115-0 - Physiological and molecular responses of modern metazoans under the Neoproterozoic oceanic conditions
• Grantee: Flávia Ariany Belato Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 16/06114-6 - The Neoproterozoic Earth System and the rise of biological complexity
• Grantee: Ricardo Ivan Ferreira da Trindade
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 19/18051-7 - Physiological, morphological and developmental responses of modern metazoans under the Neoproterozoic oceanic conditions
• Grantee: Flávia Ariany Belato Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/20268-1 - Physiology of Ediacaran-Cambrian modern analogues
• Grantee: Elisa Maria Costa e Silva de Paiva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral