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ARTICLE
RNA-sequencing indicates high hemocyanin expression as a key strategy for cold adaptation in the Antarctic amphipod Eusirus cf. giganteus clade g3
SAMUELE GRECO1,#, ELISA D’AGOSTINO2,#, CHIARA MANFRIN1, ANASTASIA SERENA GAETANO1, GAEL FURLANIS1, FRANCESCA CAPANNI1, GIANFRANCO SANTOVITO2, PAOLO EDOMI1, PIERO GIULIO GIULIANINI1, MARCO GERDOL1,*
1 Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, 34127, Italy
2 Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, 35131, Italy
* Corresponding Author: Marco Gerdol,
# These authors contributed equally to this work
BIOCELL 2021, 45(6), 1611-1619. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2021.016121
Received 08 February 2021; Accepted 11 March 2021; Issue published 01 September 2021
Abstract
We here report the de novo transcriptome assembly and functional annotation of
Eusirus cf.
giganteus clade g3,
providing the first database of expressed sequences from this giant Antarctic amphipod. RNA-sequencing, carried out on
the whole body of a single juvenile individual likely undergoing molting, revealed the dominant expression of
hemocyanins. The mRNAs encoding these oxygen-binding proteins cumulatively accounted for about 40% of the total
transcriptional effort, highlighting the key biological importance of high hemocyanin production in this Antarctic
amphipod species. We speculate that this observation may mirror a strategy previously described in Antarctic
cephalopods, which compensates for the decreased ability to release oxygen to peripheral tissues at sub-zero
temperatures by massively increasing total blood hemocyanin content compared with temperate species. These
preliminary results will undoubtedly require confirmation through proteomic and biochemical analyses aimed at
characterizing the oxygen-binding properties of
E. cf.
giganteus clade g3 hemocyanins and at investigating whether
other Antarctic arthropod species exploit similar adaptations to cope with the challenges posed by the extreme
conditions of the polar environment.
Keywords
Supplementary Material
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Cite This Article
GRECO, S., D’AGOSTINO, E., MANFRIN, C., GAETANO, A. S., FURLANIS, G. et al. (2021). RNA-sequencing indicates high hemocyanin expression as a key strategy for cold adaptation in the Antarctic amphipod
Eusirus cf.
giganteus clade g3.
BIOCELL, 45(6), 1611–1619.
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