Mechanisms underlying the coral larval settlement (4582)

全球环境变化威胁着珊瑚礁。珊瑚幼虫定居对于维持珊瑚礁生态系统至关重要，被认为是环境压力或人为干扰后珊瑚礁群落恢复的关键。像大多数海洋底栖无脊椎动物一样，珊瑚经过浮游动物的纤毛幼虫阶段发育成成虫。了解珊瑚幼虫对环境线索的反应是了解幼虫变态和定居的关键，特别是在不断变化的气候条件下。对大量造礁珊瑚幼虫的研究揭示了一系列驱动幼虫定居的非生物和生物因素。在4 / 14定居期间，幼虫表现出搜索行为，以确定合适的基质，并通过复杂的幼虫感觉系统促进这一过程。在许多种类的纤毛虫幼虫中，顶端器官是由神经系统成分组成的幼虫感觉结构，有助于环境信号的感知。由于幼虫阶段的顶端器官的特异性，它已被提议在指导幼虫游泳行为和幼虫定居方面发挥作用。尽管其明显的生态意义，珊瑚幼虫顶端器官的功能和分子指纹仍然在很大程度上未被探索。为此，我们的目标是揭示与幼虫感觉系统相关的细胞类型，转录因子和神经肽。这项研究将启发感觉系统在幼体游泳行为、变态和定居方面的作用。学生将参与培养和维持选定的珊瑚品种，并在必要时帮助建立新的培养生物。对于每个选定的物种，幼虫将进行空间转录组学。将分析转录组数据，以生成每个物种的幼虫细胞类型的空间/分子图谱。利用原位杂交和免疫组织化学，学生将验证表达模式和细胞类型的分布。最后，利用生物信息学分析和原位杂交技术研究了与幼虫感觉系统相关的细胞类型、转录因子和神经肽。接下来，一系列的非生物和生物因素将在幼虫上进行测试，以阐明珊瑚幼虫定居的机制。

Global environmental changes threaten coral reefs. Coral larval settlement is vital for the sustenance of the coral reef ecosystem and is considered key to the recovery of reef communities following environmental stress or anthropogenic disturbances. Like most marine benthic invertebrates, the corals develop into adults via a ciliated larval stage that forms part of the zooplankton.Understanding how the coral larvae respond to environmental cues is key to understanding larval metamorphosis and settlement, especially in changing climatic conditions. Several studies in numerous reefbuilding coral larvae have revealed an array of abiotic and biotic factors that drive the larval settlement.During the 4 / 14 settlement, the larva exhibits a searching behaviour to identify a suitable substrate, and the process is facilitated through a complex larval sensory system. In many species of ciliated larvae, the apical organ, a larval sensory structure composed of nervous system components, aids in environmental signal perception. Given the specificity of the apical organ to the larval stage, it has been proposed to serve a function in guiding larval swimming behaviour and larval settlement. Despite its apparent ecological significance, the function and molecular fingerprint of the apical organ in coral larvae remain largely unexplored. To this end, we aim to reveal the cell types, transcription factors and neuropeptides associated with the larval sensory system. The study will enlighten the role of the sensory system in larval swimming behaviour, metamorphosis and settlement.The student will contribute to culturing and maintaining the selected list of coral species and, if necessary, helpestablishing a new culture organism. For each chosen species, the larvae will be subjected to spatial transcriptomics. Thetranscriptome data will be analysed to generate a spatial/molecular map of the larval cell types of each species. Using insitu hybridisations (ISH) and immunohistochemistry, the student will validate expression patterns and the distribution ofcell types. Finally, bioinformatic analysis and ISH data will be used to reveal the cell types, transcription factors andneuropeptides associated with the larval sensory system. Next, an array of abiotic and biotic factors will be tested onlarvae to elucidate the mechanisms governing the coral larval settlement.