Effect of hypoxia and reoxygenation on the nervous system of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis
Discuss this preprint
Start a discussion What are Sciety discussions?Listed in
This article is not in any list yet, why not save it to one of your lists.Abstract
Background Intertidal marine bivalves constantly experience oxygen (O 2 ) fluctuations, tolerating hypoxia and reoxygenation cycles without injury. The cellular and molecular mechanisms behind the physiological tolerance to hypoxia/reoxygenation in these organisms are largely unexplored, especially within the nervous system, a highly metabolically active tissue that rely on O 2 for its correct functioning. Results Here, we provide a histochemical characterization of each specific ganglion of Mytilus galloprovincialis ( M. galloprovincialis ) nervous system. Our data indicate that catecholaminergic, peptidergic, and serotonergic neurons distributed within the pedal ganglia contribute to the homeostatic response to hypoxia and subsequent reoxygenation. However, neuroplasticity certainly represents only one component of a broader, integrated set of strategies supporting adaptation to hypoxia and subsequent reoxygenation in M. galloprovincialis . To uncover additional molecular mechanisms, we employed transcriptomic and miRNomic approaches on the pedal ganglia. We provided a list of candidate adaptive genes controlling multiple biological processes, including the regulation of cellular homeostasis, death, proliferation and mitochondrial biology. We identified mature miRNAs in M. galloprovincialis pedal ganglia, including novel miRNAs. miRNome analysis showed no significant changes during hypoxia and reoxygenation, suggesting that post-transcriptional regulation mediated by miRNAs plays a secondary role in M. galloprovincialis nervous system challenged by fluctuating O 2 conditions. Conclusions Overall, this study represents the first comprehensive insights into the molecular and cellular regulatory mechanisms enabling the nervous system of M. galloprovincialis to adapt to natural O 2 fluctuations, thereby advancing our understanding of the physiological resilience of marine organisms to environmental perturbations.
