Files
Document type
ArticleVersion
Published versionPublication date
Publication license
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/126062
Diatom bloom-derived biotoxins cause aberrant development and gene expression in the appendicularian chordate Oikopleura dioica.
Journal Title
Director/Tutor
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Related resource
Abstract
Investigating environmental hazards than could affect appendicularians is of prime ecological interest because they are among the most abundant components of the mesozooplankton. This work shows that embryo development of the appendicularian Oikopleura dioica is compromised by diatom bloom-derived biotoxins, even at concentrations in the same range as those measured after blooms. Developmental gene expression analysis of biotoxin-treated embryos uncovers an aberrant golf ball-like phenotype affecting morphogenesis, midline convergence, and tail elongation. Biotoxins induce a rapid upregulation of defensome genes, and considerable delay and silencing of zygotic transcription of developmental genes. Upon a possible future intensification of blooms associated with ocean warming and acidification, our work puts an alert on the potential impact that an increase of biotoxins may have on marine food webs, and points to defensome genes as molecular biosensors that marine ecologists could use to monitor the genetic stress of natural populations exposed to microalgal blooms.
Subject (English)
Citation
Citation
TORRES ÁGUILA, Nuria Paz, et al. Diatom bloom-derived biotoxins cause aberrant development and gene expression in the appendicularian chordate Oikopleura dioica. Communications Biology. 2018. Vol. 1, num. 121. ISSN 2399-3642. [consulted: 9 of August of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/126062