Acclimation and adaptation of phytoplankton to changing climate

浮游植物对气候变化的驯化和适应

• 批准号: 311846-2013
• 负责人: Finkel, Zoe
• 金额: $ 2.91万
• 依托单位: Dalhousie University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2021-01-01 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=718989
• 关键词: Acclimation; adaptation; phytoplankton; changing; climate

Climate change over the next century is projected to alter fundamental physical and chemical properties of the ocean including water temperature, pH, circulation, and light and nutrient regimes in the surface ocean. Such changes in environmental conditions are expected to transform the structure and function of phytoplankton communities. Photosynthetic production by phytoplankton fuels the marine food web and regulates the ocean's capacity to act as a carbon sink. Currently there is a lack of consensus amongst model projections for exactly how climate change will alter phytoplankton community structure, net primary production, and the rate of transport of carbon into the ocean. Model projections are fundamentally limited by the current lack of understanding of the capacity of phytoplankton to both acclimate and to adapt to changes in environmental conditions over a range of different timescales from hours to years. We propose to assess the capacity of phytoplankton to acclimate and adapt to temperature change over different timescales by measuring differences in whole gene expression sequences, growth rate, and physiological traits across diatom strains exposed to different temperatures and temperature regimes over timescales of hours to years. The objective of this work is to I) determine the capacity of phytoplankton to physiologically acclimate and adapt to changes in temperature over different timescales, II) identify genes and physiological mechanisms associated with temperature acclimation and adaptation, and III) determine if there is an energy (photon or carbon) or nutrient (nitrogen or phosphorus) cost associated with temperature acclimation and adaptation. The findings from this work has significant implications for understanding how phytoplankton communities, the marine food web, and the ocean carbon sink are likely to respond to future climate change.

预计下一个世纪的气候变化将改变海洋的基本物理和化学性质，包括海水温度、pH值、环流以及海洋表层的光照和营养状况。环境条件的这种变化预计将改变浮游植物群落的结构和功能。 浮游植物的光合生产为海洋食物网提供燃料，并调节海洋作为碳汇的能力。 目前，在气候变化将如何改变浮游植物群落结构、净初级生产力以及碳进入海洋的速率的模型预测中缺乏共识。 由于目前对浮游植物在从数小时到数年的不同时间尺度上适应和适应环境条件变化的能力缺乏了解，模式预测受到根本限制。我们建议评估浮游植物的能力，以适应和适应温度变化在不同的时间尺度上测量的差异，在整个基因表达序列，生长速度，和生理特性的硅藻菌株暴露于不同的温度和温度制度的时间尺度上的小时到年。这项工作的目的是：I）确定浮游植物在不同时间尺度上生理适应和适应温度变化的能力，II）确定与温度适应和适应相关的基因和生理机制，以及III）确定是否存在与温度适应和适应相关的能量（光子或碳）或营养（氮或磷）成本。这项工作的发现对于理解浮游植物群落，海洋食物网和海洋碳汇如何应对未来气候变化具有重要意义。