Interplay of Multilayered Transcriptomic Plasticity in Response to Temperature Fluctuations During Biological...

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Genomics
• Ecology

Background:

• Phenotypic plasticity is vital for invasive species adapting to new environments.
• Understanding the interplay of different plastic mechanisms is crucial for invasion biology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate multilayered transcriptomic plasticity (gene expression, alternative splicing, alternative polyadenylation) in the invasive ascidian Styela plicata.
• To explore the environment-dependent interactions among these plasticity mechanisms under thermal stress.

Main Methods:

• Exposing Styela plicata to simulated high- and low-temperature stress.
• Analyzing transcriptomic changes including gene expression, alternative splicing (AS), and alternative polyadenylation (APA).

Main Results:

• Observed rapid, pervasive transcriptomic responses to thermal stress.
• Gene expression changes were more prevalent than AS or APA changes.
• Interactions among plasticity mechanisms differed between heat (stronger) and cold (greater independence) stress.
• Heat stress induced greater gene expression plasticity, potentially explaining habitat preference.
• Cold stress led to more distinct alternative splicing profiles, notably exon skipping.

Conclusions:

• Transcriptomic plasticity involves complex, environment-dependent interactions among gene expression, AS, and APA.
• Post-transcriptional regulation plays a significant role in the adaptive evolution of invasive species.
• Findings enhance understanding of how invasive species like Styela plicata colonize diverse habitats.