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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
Ocean Warming and Heat Stress Impact Molecules of Keystone Significance in a Predatory Marine Gastropod
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.9, 830425
13/06/2022
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Abstract
Water temperature is a major abiotic driver, controlling the rates and nature of biochemical reactions and subsequently affecting the physiology of marine organisms. However, relatively little is known about the implications of heat stress or predicted ocean climate change on marine secondary metabolites. The predatory gastropod Dicathais orbita is a useful model organism for climate change and natural product studies. Here we determine the upper thermal limit (CTMax) of D. orbita and investigate the effects of thermal stress on the bioactive compounds stored in their biosynthetic organ, the hypobranchial gland. Two CTMax experiments were undertaken, along with a static heat stress experiment where whelks were exposed to an elevated temperature of 30°C for one week, compared to a 20°C seawater control. An additional 35-day ocean climate change experiment used combinations of temperature (ambient: 23°C and future: 25°C) and pCO2 (ambient: ~380 ppm and future: ~765 ppm). The impacts on secondary metabolites in all experiments were assessed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The mean CTMax of the whelks, from the northern limit of their distribution, was found to be 35.2°C using a rapid temperature increase rate of 1°C/1 h, but was only 30.6°C when a gradual heating rate of 1°C/12 h was used. The overall composition of the secondary metabolites was significantly affected by heat stress in all four experiments, but not by elevated pCO2 in the ocean climate change experiment. The proportion of the choline ester murexine was significantly reduced in heat-stressed snails compared to the controls. Tyrindoxyl sulphate was significantly reduced under prolonged exposure to future temperature, whereas the relative abundance of the oxidation product, 6-bromoisatin significantly increased with elevated temperature exposure. Despite the fact that intertidal gastropods like D. orbita might be able to buffer the impact of external temperatures within the predicted future range, this study provides evidence that ocean warming could have significant implications for secondary metabolite production and/or storage in marine invertebrates. Impacts on bioactive molecules with multifunctional ecological roles could have implications for predator populations with possible flow on effects in some marine communities.
Details
- Title
- Ocean Warming and Heat Stress Impact Molecules of Keystone Significance in a Predatory Marine Gastropod
- Creators
- Roselyn Valles-Regino (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityPeter Mouatt (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityLachlan H. Yee (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityKirsten Benkendorff (Author) - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol.9, 830425
- Comment
- The authors are grateful for assistance from Dr Roslizawati Ab Lah for whelk sampling and help with CTMax experiments, Prof. Brendan Kelaher and Ricky Tate for experimental set up and maintenance of the 35-day ocean change experiment. We appreciate access to laboratory facilities in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Lismore and National Marine Science Centre, as well as the Southern Cross Analytical Research Laboratory, Southern Cross University. RV-R is grateful to Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology, Mati City, Davao Oriental, Philippines for the opportunity to pursue doctoral studies in Australia.
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media S.A
- Number of pages
- 16
- Grant note
- This research was supported by an Australia Awards Scholarship to RV-R and funding from the Marine Ecology Research Centre, Southern Cross University.
- Identifiers
- 991013029285302368
- Copyright
- © 2022 Valles-Regino, Mouatt, Yee and Benkendorff. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science; Southern Cross Plant Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article