The impact of heat waves on gene expression at early development stages across eukaryotic scales: insights from social amoeba and zebrafish.

Project Description

We are investigating the effects of climate change-related extreme heat events on single cell stages and how these affect fundamental processes at the multicellular level such as cell cohesion and communication, which in turn are expected to impact organismal and population fitness later in life. For these studies we use two life forms that undergo development with no protection from the environment: zebrafish (Danio rerio), a vertebrate, and the social amoeba (Dictyostelium discoideum), a soil microbe. We have developed protocols to simulate heatwaves and have observed an impairment in growth and development as well as a reduction in cell fitness in D. discoideum and impaired embryo development, hatching ratio and survival in zebrafish. To gain a deep understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive those alterations, we have begun to investigate changes at the proteome level that need to be complemented by studies of the transcriptome for a comprehensive picture. We hypothesize that climate change-related extreme heat events have a distinct impact on the patterns of gene expression across developmental stages.
To address this hypothesis, we will undertake transcriptomic (mRNA sequencing) analysis on D. discoideum (single-cell, aggregate, and fruiting body stages) and zebrafish (zygote, blastula and larval stages) under simulated heatwave conditions (5°C above the optimal laboratory conditions).