Publication Date:
2019-09-23
Description:
Grazing by the isopod Idotea baltica induces chemical defenses in the brown seaweed Fucus vesiculosus. A combination of a 33 day induction experiment, feeding choice assays and functional genomic analyses was used to investigate temporal defense patterns and to
correlate changes in palatability to changes in gene expression. Despite permanent grazing, seaweed palatability varied over time. Controls were significantly more consumed than grazed pieces only after 18 and 27 days of grazing. Relative to controls, 562/402 genes were up-/down-regulated in seaweed pieces that were grazed for 18 days, i.e. when defense
induction was detected. Reprogramming of the
regulative expression orchestra (translation,
transcription), up-regulation of genes involved in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, intracellular trafficking, defense and stress response, as well as downregulation of photosynthesis was found in grazed seaweed. These findings indicate short-term temporal
variation in defenses and that modified gene
expression patterns arise at the same time when grazed seaweed pieces show reduced palatability. Several genes with putative defensive functions and cellular processes potentially involved in defence, such as
reallocation of resources from primary to secondary metabolism, were revealed
Type:
Article
,
PeerReviewed
Format:
text
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