BRC-BIO: Evolutionary Patterns of Ice-Binding Proteins in North Pacific Intertidal Invertebrates

BRC-BIO：北太平洋潮间带无脊椎动物冰结合蛋白的进化模式

• 批准号: 2312378
• 负责人: Jessica Glass
• 金额: $ 49.85万
• 依托单位: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2312378&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: BRC; BIO; Evolutionary; Patterns; Ice

Animals living in polar regions must survive freezing conditions for several months of the year. Freezing water, specifically ice crystals, can damage soft tissues and kill organisms that are not adapted to freezing conditions. Several species – from fish to beetles to bacteria – have developed physiological mechanisms to withstand freezing conditions, most notably by producing proteins that bind to ice, some of which are called ‘antifreeze’ proteins. Just as antifreeze solution in a car lowers the freezing point of water, antifreeze proteins protect organisms’ tissues from damaging ice crystals. Little is known about these proteins in marine invertebrates such as sea stars, which are important predators in intertidal habitats. Recent genetic evidence suggests sea stars may produce new forms of these proteins. This study will investigate the genetic mechanisms behind intertidal sea stars’ ability to produce proteins to survive in sub-freezing water in Alaska and how protein production varies by season and temperature. Understanding the function of these proteins and the environmental conditions that trigger their production will allow researchers to make predictions on how sea stars will adapt to extreme climatic events. The results from this work may aid the growing mariculture industry for invertebrates such as sea cucumbers and urchins, which are close relatives of sea stars. Furthermore, if sea stars produce novel proteins, their discovery may lead to innovations in biomedical cryopreservation and commercial agriculture. This project will create opportunities for undergraduates, particularly Alaska Natives, to learn professional skills in STEM through mentoring, research, workshops and professional development.Intertidal invertebrates in polar regions overcome unique environmental challenges compared to their pelagic (open water) and benthic (deep sea) counterparts, including large daily winter temperature fluctuations. Freezing conditions can lead to lethal cellular damage through the formation of ice crystals on soft tissues. Many cold-adapted ectothermic organisms have evolved mechanisms to prevent damage from cold by producing ice-binding proteins (IBPs). IBPs bind to ice crystal planes and have a variety of functions, from ice recrystallization and growth inhibition (antifreeze) to the controlled formation (nucleation) of ice. Recent evidence offers potential for discovering novel IBPs in marine invertebrates. The objective of this project is to describe the extent to which IBP production exists and is environmentally correlated across select lineages of intertidal invertebrates that primarily inhabit the Arctic and subarctic. The project will combine freezing assays with genome and transcriptome sequencing to characterize the evolution of IBPs in several lineages of intertidal invertebrates to determine ice-binding activity in one clade of intertidal invertebrates (Echinodermata) inhabiting the North Pacific, identify the class of IBPs and functional gene regions in two lineages of echinoderm sea stars predicted to exhibit ice-binding activity and cold tolerance, and quantify IBP production (gene expression) in sea stars across seasons and temperature gradients. The research will address a major gap in the field of cold-water adaptation by quantifying ice-binding activity in dozens of intertidal species.This project is jointly funded by the Directorate for the Biological Sciences and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

生活在极地地区的动物必须在一年中的几个月内生存冰冻条件。冷冻水，特别是冰晶，会损害软组织并杀死不适合冰冻条件的生物。从鱼到甲虫​​到细菌的几种物种已经开发出物理机制来承受冰冻条件，最著名的是产生与冰结合的蛋白质，其中一些被称为“抗冻”蛋白。就像汽车中的防冻剂溶液降低了水的冰点一样，抗冻蛋白也可以保护有机体组织免受造成冰晶的破坏。关于海洋无脊椎动物（例如海星）中这些蛋白质的知识知之甚少，海星是潮间带栖息地中重要的捕食者。最近的遗传证据表明，海星可能会产生这些蛋白质的新形式。这项研究将研究潮间带海星背后的遗传机制生产蛋白质以在阿拉斯加的亚冻水中生存以及蛋白质产生如何随季节和温度而变化。了解这些蛋白质的功能以及触发其生产的环境条件，将使研究人员可以对海星如何适应极端气候事件做出预测。这项工作的结果可能有助于不断发展的海洋养殖行业，例如海参和海胆，这些无脊椎动物是海星的近亲。此外，如果海星产生新的蛋白质，它们的发现可能会导致生物医​​学冷冻保存和商业同意的创新。该项目将为本科生，尤其是阿拉斯加人创造机会，通过心理，研究，研讨会和专业发展来学习STEM的专业技能。与他们的骨膜（开阔水域）和底栖（深海）对抗相比，极地地区的中间无脊椎动物克服了独特的环境挑战。冻结条件可以通过在软组织上形成冰晶体导致致命的细胞损伤。许多冷适应热的热量生物具有进化的机制，可以通过产生结合冰蛋白（IBP）来防止寒冷损害。 IBP与冰晶面结合，并具有多种功能，从冰结晶和生长抑制（防冻剂）到冰的受控形成（成核）。最近的证据提供了发现海洋无脊椎动物中新型IBP的潜力。该项目的目的是描述IBP生产的存在程度，并在主要居住在北极和亚北极地区的潮间无脊椎动物的某些谱系中环境相关。该项目将将冰点测定法与基因组和转录组测序相结合，以表征IBP在潮间带无脊椎动物的几个谱系中的演变，以确定一个跨脊椎动物（echinodermata）（echinodermata）在北部太平洋地区居住的一类临时iBps和功能的基础群体中的冰结合活性，并确定了两种素养的素养区域。冰结合活性和冷耐受性，并在季节和温度梯度之间量化海星中的IBP产生（基因表达）。这项研究将通过量化数十个灌输物种的冰结构活动来解决冷水适应领域的一个主要差距。该项目由生物科学局共同资助，并启发竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCOR）既反映了NSF的法定宣传和概述，都在评估了Intelpriac and Intelliac and Intelliac and Internation。