Multistressor impacts of ocean acidification and warming on regeneration and biomineralisation in coastal sea urchins

该研究将集中在两个相互关联的问题上：海胆如何在未来的多压力环境中重新矿化和再生它们的组织？多种气候变化相关压力源的影响是相加的、拮抗的还是协同的？它将利用海胆再生试验，在海洋酸化（OA）和变暖的实验条件下研究多种气候胁迫因素（图1）。表型分析已经发展到可视化和量化脊椎和管足再生从一个单一的步行部分，通过拍摄水下再生和分析图像。除了表型分析外，分子和细胞分析将包括：靶向基因表达，原位杂交，再生管足和棘的组织学，具有互补转录组学和蛋白质组学的潜力，代表来自基因，细胞和有机体生理学的生物组织水平的分析。不同物种的比较实验将研究应激敏感性的种间差异，而来自不同纬度分布的物种将提供对冷适应或暖适应机制的见解。碳酸钙结构的元素比分析将允许表征镁含量，并进一步了解OA和高温条件下骨骼的可能权衡。

The studentship will centre on two inter-connected questions: How will sea urchins remineralise and regenerate their tissues in a future multi-stressor environment? And Are the effects of multiple climate-change associated stressors additive, antagonistic, or synergistic? It will utilise the sea urchin regeneration assay to investigate multiple-climatic stressors using experimental conditions of ocean acidification (OA) and warming (Fig 1). The phenotypic assay has been developed to visualise and quantify spine and tube feet regeneration from a single ambulacral section, by photographing regrowth underwater and analysing the images. In addition to the phenotypic assay, molecular and cellular analyses will be included: targeted gene expression, in-situ hybridisation, and histology on regenerating tube feet and spines, with the potential for complementary transcriptomics and proteomics, representing analyses across levels of biological organisation from genes, cells, and organismal physiology. Comparison experiments with different species will investigate interspecific variation in stressor susceptibility, and species from different latitudinal distributions will provide insight into cold-adapted or warmer-adapted mechanisms. Elemental ratio analysis of calcium carbonate structures will allow characterisation of magnesium content and provide further insights into possible skeletal trade-offs under OA and elevated temperature conditions.