Multi-stressor impacts on coastal Antarctic and temperate sea urchins

世界沿海正在经历一个前所未有的快速变化期，这主要是由人类引起的气候变化和向环境释放化学污染物造成的。随着气温的上升和毒物的积累，极地地区似乎特别脆弱，这表明它们的协同效应可能导致许多物种丧失适应能力、招募和生存。然而，总的来说，生活具有很强的适应性，遗传性和表观遗传学是保护后代免受父母暴露在环境压力下的影响的持久机制。为了更好地了解沿海关键物种的适应和恢复能力，我们建议比较南极和温带海胆作为分子、遗传、表观遗传和跨代影响的模型。了解来自多个应激源的影响对于充分了解有机体所生活的环境以及改变这些条件的影响至关重要。该项目的总体目标是了解成体预适应对产卵成功率的影响以及配子/胚胎对多应激源的敏感性对来自纬度极端地区的海胆种群DNA损伤易感性和修复的影响。该项目将采用生态遗传毒理学方法来解决三个具体目标：目标1对南极水族馆种群(Sterechinus appayeri，英国南极调查局)和共家系温带(如Psammechinus miliaris)海胆进行预调节，使其达到世纪末水温升高(+2摄氏度)。目的2在经过1年和2年的驯化后，在急性多重应激(如降低盐度和化学遗传毒性污染物)下繁殖南极和温度物种，以研究预适应后的多重应激反应。目的3评估成虫、配子、胚胎和幼虫在急性多应激暴露后的存活、发育和存活；发展和评估DNA损伤、DNA修复和表观遗传调节。

Coastal seas of the world are experiencing an unprecedented period of rapid change that is driven largely by human-induced alterations in climate and release of chemical contaminants into the environment. Polar areas appear particularly vulnerable as temperatures rise and toxicants accumulate suggesting that their synergistic effects could result in loss of fitness, recruitment, and survival in many species. However, life in general is very adaptable, with heritability and epigenetics as enduring mechanisms that shield future generations from effects of parental exposure to environmental stressors. To better understand adaptation and resilience in coastal keystone species, we propose to compare Antarctic and temperate sea urchins as models of molecular, genetic, epigenetic, and transgenerational effects. Understanding impacts from multiple stressors is critical to fully understand the environment which organisms are living in, and the impacts of changing those conditions. The overall aim of this project is to understand adult preconditioning impacts on spawning success and gamete/embryo sensitivity to multi-stressor impacts on DNA damage susceptibility and repair in sea urchin populations from latitudinal extremes. The project will take an eco-genotoxicological approach to address three specific objectives: Objective 1 Precondition aquarium stocks of Antarctic (Sterechinus neumayeri, British Antarctic Survey), and co-familial temperate (e.g., Psammechinus miliaris) sea urchins to end-century elevated water temperatures (+2degrees). Objective 2 Spawn both Antarctic and temperature species after 1 and 2 years acclimation followed by acute multi-stress exposures (e.g., reduced salinity and chemical genotoxic pollutant) to investigate multi-stress response after preconditioning. Objective 3 Assess adult, gamete, embryo, and larvae viability, development, and survival after acute multi-stress exposure; develop and assess DNA damage, DNA repair, and epigenetic regulation.