Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander
Abstract Background Global biodiversity is decreasing at an alarming rate and amphibians are at the forefront of this crisis. Understanding the factors that negatively impact amphibian populations and effectively monitoring their health are fundamental to addressing this epidemic. Plasma glucocortic...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2019-06-01
|
| Series: | BMC Genomics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-019-5814-y |
| _version_ | 1818232258162589696 |
|---|---|
| author | Timothy A. Clay Michael A. Steffen Michael L. Treglia Carolyn D. Torres Ana Lilia Trujano-Alvarez Ronald M. Bonett |
| author_facet | Timothy A. Clay Michael A. Steffen Michael L. Treglia Carolyn D. Torres Ana Lilia Trujano-Alvarez Ronald M. Bonett |
| author_sort | Timothy A. Clay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Global biodiversity is decreasing at an alarming rate and amphibians are at the forefront of this crisis. Understanding the factors that negatively impact amphibian populations and effectively monitoring their health are fundamental to addressing this epidemic. Plasma glucocorticoids are often used to assess stress in amphibians and other vertebrates, but these hormones can be extremely dynamic and impractical to quantify in small organisms. Transcriptomic responses to stress hormones in amphibians have been largely limited to laboratory models, and there have been few studies on vertebrates that have evaluated the impact of multiple stressors on patterns of gene expression. Here we examined the gene expression patterns in tail tissues of stream-dwelling salamanders (Eurycea tynerensis) chronically exposed to the stress hormone corticosterone under different temperature regimes. Results We found unique transcriptional signatures for chronic corticosterone exposure that were independent of temperature variation. Several of the corticosterone responsive genes are known to be involved in immune system response (LY-6E), oxidative stress (GSTM2 and TRX), and tissue repair (A2M and FX). We also found many genes to be influenced by temperature (CIRBP, HSC71, HSP40, HSP90, HSP70, ZNF593). Furthermore, the expression patterns of some genes (GSTM2, LY-6E, UMOD, ZNF593, CIRBP, HSP90) show interactive effects of temperature and corticosterone exposure, compared to each treatment alone. Through a series of experiments we also showed that stressor induced patterns of expression were largely consistent across ages, life cycle modes, and tissue regeneration. Conclusions Outside of thermal stressors, the application of transcriptomes to monitor the health of non-human vertebrate systems has been vastly underinvestigated. Our study suggests that transcriptomic patterns harbor stressor specific signatures that can be highly informative for monitoring the diverse stressors of amphibian populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T11:03:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c4ebc6887b4e4789a6f409bf5ea0ea5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2164 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T11:03:25Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Genomics |
| spelling | doaj.art-c4ebc6887b4e4789a6f409bf5ea0ea5b2022-12-22T00:26:28ZengBMCBMC Genomics1471-21642019-06-0120111310.1186/s12864-019-5814-yMultiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamanderTimothy A. Clay0Michael A. Steffen1Michael L. Treglia2Carolyn D. Torres3Ana Lilia Trujano-Alvarez4Ronald M. Bonett5Department of Biological Science, University of TulsaDepartment of Biological Science, University of TulsaDepartment of Biological Science, University of TulsaDepartment of Biological Science, University of TulsaDepartment of Biological Science, University of TulsaDepartment of Biological Science, University of TulsaAbstract Background Global biodiversity is decreasing at an alarming rate and amphibians are at the forefront of this crisis. Understanding the factors that negatively impact amphibian populations and effectively monitoring their health are fundamental to addressing this epidemic. Plasma glucocorticoids are often used to assess stress in amphibians and other vertebrates, but these hormones can be extremely dynamic and impractical to quantify in small organisms. Transcriptomic responses to stress hormones in amphibians have been largely limited to laboratory models, and there have been few studies on vertebrates that have evaluated the impact of multiple stressors on patterns of gene expression. Here we examined the gene expression patterns in tail tissues of stream-dwelling salamanders (Eurycea tynerensis) chronically exposed to the stress hormone corticosterone under different temperature regimes. Results We found unique transcriptional signatures for chronic corticosterone exposure that were independent of temperature variation. Several of the corticosterone responsive genes are known to be involved in immune system response (LY-6E), oxidative stress (GSTM2 and TRX), and tissue repair (A2M and FX). We also found many genes to be influenced by temperature (CIRBP, HSC71, HSP40, HSP90, HSP70, ZNF593). Furthermore, the expression patterns of some genes (GSTM2, LY-6E, UMOD, ZNF593, CIRBP, HSP90) show interactive effects of temperature and corticosterone exposure, compared to each treatment alone. Through a series of experiments we also showed that stressor induced patterns of expression were largely consistent across ages, life cycle modes, and tissue regeneration. Conclusions Outside of thermal stressors, the application of transcriptomes to monitor the health of non-human vertebrate systems has been vastly underinvestigated. Our study suggests that transcriptomic patterns harbor stressor specific signatures that can be highly informative for monitoring the diverse stressors of amphibian populations.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-019-5814-yBiomarkersTranscriptomeStressSalamander |
| spellingShingle | Timothy A. Clay Michael A. Steffen Michael L. Treglia Carolyn D. Torres Ana Lilia Trujano-Alvarez Ronald M. Bonett Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander BMC Genomics Biomarkers Transcriptome Stress Salamander |
| title | Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander |
| title_full | Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander |
| title_fullStr | Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander |
| title_short | Multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream-dwelling salamander |
| title_sort | multiple stressors produce differential transcriptomic patterns in a stream dwelling salamander |
| topic | Biomarkers Transcriptome Stress Salamander |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12864-019-5814-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT timothyaclay multiplestressorsproducedifferentialtranscriptomicpatternsinastreamdwellingsalamander AT michaelasteffen multiplestressorsproducedifferentialtranscriptomicpatternsinastreamdwellingsalamander AT michaelltreglia multiplestressorsproducedifferentialtranscriptomicpatternsinastreamdwellingsalamander AT carolyndtorres multiplestressorsproducedifferentialtranscriptomicpatternsinastreamdwellingsalamander AT analiliatrujanoalvarez multiplestressorsproducedifferentialtranscriptomicpatternsinastreamdwellingsalamander AT ronaldmbonett multiplestressorsproducedifferentialtranscriptomicpatternsinastreamdwellingsalamander |