CAREER: Alterations in Marine Bivalve Shell Formation by Environmental Stress

职业：环境压力导致海洋双壳类贝壳形成的改变

• 批准号: 2046049
• 负责人: Wei Xu
• 金额: $ 80.92万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M University Corpus Christi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2046049&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Alterations; Marine; Bivalve; Shell

Shellfishes use shells to protect themselves from predators and obtain nutrients from the water. Shells are tough since the compounds in them are harder than rocks. However, the toughness of shells can be easily affected by environmental conditions during the shell formation. Shells can become fragile when the shell formation occursin adverse conditions, such as high carbon dioxide (CO2) level or low salinity in water. With the effects on shells, the production of some shellfish species with high market values, such as the oysters, will be possibly declined in the coastal areas. The research goal of this CAREER proposal is to understand how the CO2 and salinity of water modify the Eastern oyster shell formation from a genetic level so that a method to help the oysters overcome the environmental effects during the shell formation. The result of this study will be applied to oyster aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico. The project will also help with restoration of shellfish habitats on the coast. In addition, the project will involve the training of students from historically underrepresented groups in science at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi via the educational goals of the project. The project will also provides research opportunities to community college students, as well as research opportunities for middle/high school science teachers in the biological sciences.It is well known that the shell development during the early life stages of bivalves is vulnerable to environmental stressors, but there is little understanding of the genetic responses of bivalves to environmental changes during shell development. The research goal of this CAREER project is to determine the molecular mechanisms by which bivalve shell formation is altered under ocean acidification (OA) and salinity fluctuation. The proposed approach is to 1) characterize changes in oyster shells under the stress of OA and salinity fluctuation by measuring the shell morphological changes, analyzing changes in shell composition, and identifying changes in matrix protein production of the shells; 2) identify the signaling pathway for shell formation response to OA and salinity stress by conducting transcriptomic analysis and calcium imaging with the primary cell cultures from the mantle tissue of the Eastern oyster; and 3) enhance the tolerance of the Eastern oyster shell formation to the environmental impacts by creating mutagenesis and transgenic strains. The education goals of the proposed project are to increase diversity in higher education and biological research, focusing particularly on encouraging Hispanic/Latino students to pursue advanced degrees in STEM fields. The approach will be to 1) create an innovative class for undergraduate and graduate students that involves multiple off-campus experts and facilities in teaching and student-learning outcome assessment; 2) providing research opportunities to undergraduate students and community college students; and 3) organizing a summer biological science section for middle/high school students and a training section for elementary/middle school teacher education.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

贝类利用贝壳来保护自己免受捕食者的侵害，并且贝壳中的化合物比岩石坚硬，因此贝壳很坚硬。但是，贝壳的韧性很容易受到贝壳形成过程中环境条件的影响。当壳形成发生在不利条件下时，例如高二氧化碳（CO2）水平或水中盐度低时，由于对壳的影响，一些具有高市场价值的贝类品种（例如牡蛎）的产量可能会下降。该职业提案的研究目标是了解二氧化碳和水的盐度如何从基因水平改变东部牡蛎壳的形成，从而找到一种方法来帮助牡蛎克服壳形成过程中的环境影响。该研究将应用于墨西哥湾的牡蛎养殖，此外，该项目还将包括对德克萨斯州历史上代表性不足的群体的学生进行培训。 A&M 大学 - 科珀斯克里斯蒂通过该项目的教育目标还将为社区学院的学生提供研究机会，并为初中/高中科学教师提供生物科学方面的研究机会。众所周知，shell 开发。双壳类在生命的早期阶段很容易受到环境压力的影响，但人们对双壳类在壳发育过程中对环境变化的遗传反应知之甚少，该项目的研究目标是确定双壳类壳形成的分子机制。海底所提出的方法是 1) 通过测量牡蛎壳形态变化、分析牡蛎壳成分的变化以及识别牡蛎壳在 OA 和盐度波动胁迫下的变化来表征牡蛎壳的基质蛋白产量的变化。 2) 通过对东部牡蛎外套膜组织的原代细胞培养物进行转录组分析和钙成像，确定壳形成对 OA 和盐度胁迫的信号通路；3) 增强牡蛎的耐受性；东部牡蛎壳的形成通过诱变和转基因菌株对环境产生影响 该项目的教育目标是增加高等教育和生物学研究的多样性，特别注重鼓励西班牙裔/拉丁裔学生攻读 STEM 领域的高级学位。 1) 为本科生和研究生创建一个创新课程，由多名校外专家和设施参与教学和学生学习成果评估；2) 为本科生和社区学院的学生提供研究机会；3) 组织夏季生物科学部分该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。