DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Effects of concurrent thermal, osmotic and toxicant stress on the copepod Tigriopus californicus

我们将通过研究海洋无脊椎动物--桡足类加州虎足虫的基因活性来探索生物体如何应对和适应复杂的、有压力的环境。当铜，温度和盐度胁迫的挑战，我们观察到不同水平的生存：更多的个人从南方人口可能比从北方人口生存。我们将比较两个群体在单一和联合胁迫下的反应的活性基因（RNA）的集合。这项研究探讨了一般和特定压力反应的后果：我们假设一些基因只对一种压力做出反应，而其他基因则是共享反应系统的一部分。这些反应之间的相互作用可以减少额外压力的影响或使问题复杂化。在有弹性和脆弱的人群中，我们将观察基因活性的差异，这可能解释他们如何试图适应多种挑战。将该项目的结果与遗传分析联系起来，将比较基因及其活性反应，从而构建适应性和胁迫耐受性。该项目将回答有关物种如何应对同时存在挑战的压力环境的关键问题。探索种群范围内的变化和压力自然环境的背景将是理解生物-栖息地相互作用的关键，并且在气候变化的背景下越来越重要。确定这些复合反应和生物机制的综合方法将为理解污染和污染的影响提供一个强大的背景。这项研究还将确定使一个种群在复杂环境中比另一个种群更具弹性的遗传活动。

We will explore how organisms respond and adapt to complex, stressful environments by examining the gene activity of a marine invertebrate, the copepod Tigriopus californicus. When challenged with copper, temperature and salinity stress, we observe different levels of survivorship: more individuals from a southern population are likely to survive than from a northern population. We will compare the set of active genes (RNA) specific to the responses of two populations under both single and combined stress. This research explores the consequences of general and specific stress responses: we hypothesize that some genes respond to just one stress while other genes are part of a shared response system. Interaction between these responses could reduce the effect of an additional stress or compound the problem. In resilient and vulnerable populations, we will observe differences in gene activity that may explain how they try to adapt to multiple challenges. Linking the results of this project with genetic analyses will frame adaptation and stress-tolerance, comparing both the gene and its activity response. This project will answer critical questions about how species deal with stressful environments that present simultaneous challenges. Exploring population-wide variation and the context of stressful natural environments will be key to understanding organism-habitat interactions, and is increasingly important in light of climate changes. Integrative approaches that identify these compounded responses and the biological mechanisms at play will provide a robust context for understanding the effects of pollution and contamination. This research will also identify genetic activity that makes one population more resilient than another in complex environments.