Simultaneous warming and acidification limit population fitness and reveal phenotype costs for a marine copepod.

Phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary adaptation allow populations to cope with global change, but limits and costs to adaptation under multiple stressors are insufficiently understood. We reared a foundational copepod species, , under ambient (AM), ocean warming (OW), ocean acidification (OA), and combined ocean warming and acidification (OWA) conditions for 11 generations (approx. 1 year) and measured population fitness (net reproductive rate) derived from six life-history traits (egg production, hatching success, survival, development time, body size and sex ratio).

Loss of transcriptional plasticity but sustained adaptive capacity after adaptation to global change conditions in a marine copepod.

Adaptive evolution and phenotypic plasticity will fuel resilience in the geologically unprecedented warming and acidification of the earth's oceans, however, we have much to learn about the interactions and costs of these mechanisms of resilience. Here, using 20 generations of experimental evolution followed by three generations of reciprocal transplants, we investigated the relationship between adaptation and plasticity in the marine copepod, Acartia tonsa, in future global change conditions (high temperature and high CO). We found parallel adaptation to global change conditions in genes related to stress response, gene expression regulation, actin regulation, developmental processes, and energy production.

Adaptation to simultaneous warming and acidification carries a thermal tolerance cost in a marine copepod.

The ocean is undergoing warming and acidification. Thermal tolerance is affected both by evolutionary adaptation and developmental plasticity. Yet, thermal tolerance in animals adapted to simultaneous warming and acidification is unknown.

Microplastics reduce net population growth and fecal pellet sinking rates for the marine copepod, Acartia tonsa.

Microplastics (<5 mm) are ubiquitous in the global environment and are increasingly recognized as a biological hazard, particularly in the oceans. Zooplankton, at the base of the marine food web, have been known to consume microplastics. However, we know little about the impacts of microplastics across life history stages and on carbon settling.

Exploration of the Innate Immune System of Styela clava: Zn Binding Enhances the Antimicrobial Activity of the Tunicate Peptide Clavanin A.

Tunicates have been used as primitive models for understanding cell-mediated and humoral immunity. Clavanin A (ClavA) is one member of a family of antimicrobial peptides produced by the solitary tunicate Styela clava. In this work, we demonstrate that ClavA utilizes Zn ions to potentiate its antimicrobial activity not only by reducing the concentration at which the peptide inhibits the growth of bacteria but also by increasing the rate of killing.

Draft Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. AVP053U2 Isolated from Styela clava, a Tunicate Collected in Long Island Sound.

Streptomyces sp. AVP053U2 is a marine bacterium isolated from Styela clava, a tunicate collected in Long Island Sound. Here, we report a draft genome for this bacterium, which was found to contain a high capacity for secondary metabolite production based on analysis and identification of numerous biosynthetic gene clusters.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of santacruzamate A analogues for anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory activity.

Santacruzamate A (SCA) is a natural product isolated from a Panamanian marine cyanobacterium, previously reported to have potent and selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. To optimize the enzymatic and cellular activity, 40 SCA analogues were synthesized in a systematic exploration of the zinc-binding group (ZBG), cap terminus, and linker region. Two cap group analogues inhibited proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells, with analogous increased degranulation of cytotoxic T cells (CTLs), while one cap group analogue reduced CTL degranulation, indicative of suppression of the immune response.

Development of an Enhanced Phenotypic Screen of Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Lytic Granule Exocytosis Suitable for Use with Synthetic Compound and Natural Product Collections.

We previously developed an assay of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte lytic granule exocytosis based on externalization of LAMP-1/CD107A using nonphysiological stimuli to generate maximal levels of exocytosis. Here, we used polystyrene beads coated with anti-CD3 antibodies to stimulate cells. Light scatter let us distinguish cells that contacted beads from cells that had not, allowing comparison of signaling events and exocytosis from stimulated and unstimulated cells in one sample.