Collaborative Research: Thermal biology of hydrothermal vent paralvinellid worms

深海热液喷口的阿尔文线虫生活在太平洋喷口温度最高的生态位中。在Juan de Fuca Ridge的Endeavor综合研究地点，研究人员对三种常见的parvinellia物种进行了比较研究。特别令人感兴趣的是P. sulfincola，他们发现它能在短时间内耐受高达55摄氏度的温度。在此之前，没有研究过45℃以上的水生变温动物。因此，这项研究为研究水生后生动物对极端温度的适应提供了前所未有的机会。将实施实验室和现场测量相结合的方法，以确定这三个物种的热偏好、耐受性、临界热最大值和自然温度范围。将测量极端环境温度对细胞活力的影响。生理和生化研究将用于描述代偿机制。代谢、循环在热调节中的作用、蛋白质周转、热稳定酶、保护溶质和线粒体阿伦尼乌斯断点将被研究。所提出的研究的更广泛的影响是阐明生物的基本生化和生理机制。除了有助于本科生和研究生的研究外，这项研究的结果将通过教学和外联活动广泛传播给本科生和非专业人士。

Alvinellid worms at deep-sea hydrothermal vents live in the highest temperature niches at vents in the Pacific. The genus Paralvinella exhibits an extreme thermal breadth between 2 to 55 C. The investigators have designed a comparative study on three paralvinellid species common at the Endeavor Integrated Study Site on the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Of particular interest is P. sulfincola, which they have found to tolerate temperatures up to 55 C for short periods. Previously, no aquatic ectotherm has been studied alive above 45 C. Consequently, the research represents an unprecedented opportunity to investigate aquatic metazoan adaptation to extreme temperature. A combination of laboratory and in situ measurements will be implemented to determine thermal preference, tolerance, critical thermal maxima, and temperature ranges in nature for the three species. Affects of extreme environmental temperature on cellular viability will be measured. Physiological and biochemical studies will be used to characterize compensatory mechanisms. Metabolism, the role of circulation in thermal regulation, protein turnover, thermally stable enzymes, protective solutes, and mitochondrial Arrhenius breakpoints will be investigated. The broader impacts of the proposed research are to elucidate basic biochemical and physiological mechanisms of organisms. In addition to contributing to undergraduate and graduate research, results from this research will be widely be disseminated through teaching and outreach activities to undergraduates and non-specialists.