Heat-Shock in Purple Sea Urchin Embryos

Differential Expression of Heat Shock Protein 90 During the Maternal-to-Zygotic Shift in Strongylocentrotus Purpuratus

Presenter: Jazmyne Gill

Presenter Status: Graduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Mackenzie Zippay

Department: Biology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program, RSCAP

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1YSV1VDhpyP-HOR515AhbOfw76HRvyaID

Abstract:
As ocean temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, it is important to understand how early embryonic stages of developing meroplankton are impacted. This research investigates the effects of temperature on the expression of the ubiquitous heat-shock protein 90 (hsp90) in purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) embryos during the maternal-to-zygotic shift (MZT), a critical stage of embryogenesis when maternal mRNAs and proteins are eliminated and zygotic transcription begins. Hsp90 has a vast suite of client proteins, some of which are directly involved in embryonic development, and perturbations to hsp90 abundance during the MZT results in drastic phenotypic variation. We will measure gene expression and protein abundance of hsp90 to determine the ability of purple sea urchin embryos to produce hsp90 through the MZT while undergoing heat stress. Preliminary data on red sea urchin embryos (S. franciscanus) suggest hsp90 expression does not show the same induction pattern compared to hsp70, another highly conserved heat-shock protein, thus we are interested if S. purpuratus embryos will show the same pattern. It is hypothesized that, even when thermally stressed, hsp90 expression will remain low during embryonic development due to the limited transcriptional capacity of the developing embryo making hsp90 a capacitor for phenotypic plasticity. Sea urchins are bioindicators of kelp forest ecosystems, thus furthering our knowledge of how embryos utilize plasticity may offer insight into how animals cope with warming ocean conditions.