Combined effects of salinity and intermittent hypoxia on mitochondrial capacity and reactive oxygen species efflux in the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.

Coastal environments commonly experience fluctuations in salinity and hypoxia-reoxygenation (H/R) stress that can negatively affect mitochondrial functions of marine organisms. Although intertidal bivalves are adapted to these conditions, the mechanisms that sustain mitochondrial integrity and function are not well understood. We determined the rates of respiration and reactive oxygen species (ROS) efflux in the mitochondria of oysters, Crassostrea gigas, acclimated to high (33 psu) or low (15 psu) salinity, and exposed to either normoxic conditions (control; 21% O2) or short-term hypoxia (24 h at <0.

Effects of different oxygen regimes on ecological performance and bioenergetics of a coastal marine bioturbator, the soft shell clam Mya arenaria.

Benthic species are exposed to oxygen fluctuations that can affect their performance and survival. Physiological effects and ecological consequences of fluctuating oxygen are not well understood in marine bioturbators such as the soft-shell clam Mya arenaria. We explored the effects of different oxygen regimes (21 days of exposure to constant hypoxia (~4.

Mitochondrial capacity and reactive oxygen species production during hypoxia and reoxygenation in the ocean quahog, Arctica islandica.

Oxygen fluctuations are common in marine waters, and hypoxia-reoxygenation (H-R) stress can negatively affect mitochondrial metabolism. The long-lived ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, is known for its hypoxia tolerance associated with metabolic rate depression, yet the mechanisms that sustain mitochondrial function during oxygen fluctuations are not well understood. We used top-down metabolic control analysis (MCA) to determine aerobic capacity and control over oxygen flux in the mitochondria of quahogs exposed to short-term hypoxia (24 h <0.

Effects of variable oxygen regimes on mitochondrial bioenergetics and reactive oxygen species production in a marine bivalve, .

Estuarine and coastal benthic organisms often experience fluctuations in oxygen levels that can negatively impact their mitochondrial function and aerobic metabolism. To study these impacts, we exposed a common sediment-dwelling bivalve, the soft-shell clam , for 21 days to chronic hypoxia (  ∼4.1 kPa), cyclic hypoxia (  ∼12.

Analytical Determination of the Nucleation-Prone, Low-Density Fraction of Subcooled Water.

Subcooled water is the primordial matrix for ice embryo formation by homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. The knowledge of the specific Gibbs free energy and other thermodynamic quantities of subcooled water is one of the basic prerequisites of the theoretical analysis of ice crystallization in terms of classical nucleation theory. The most advanced equation of state of subcooled water is the IAPWS G12-15 formulation.

Ice-Crystal Nucleation in Water: Thermodynamic Driving Force and Surface Tension. Part I: Theoretical Foundation.

A recently developed thermodynamic theory for the determination of the driving force of crystallization and the crystal-melt surface tension is applied to the ice-water system employing the new Thermodynamic Equation of Seawater TEOS-10. The deviations of approximative formulations of the driving force and the surface tension from the exact reference properties are quantified, showing that the proposed simplifications are applicable for low to moderate undercooling and pressure differences to the respective equilibrium state of water. The TEOS-10-based predictions of the ice crystallization rate revealed pressure-induced deceleration of ice nucleation with an increasing pressure, and acceleration of ice nucleation by pressure decrease.

Studies on Manfred Eigen's model for the self-organization of information processing.

In 1971, Manfred Eigen extended the principles of Darwinian evolution to chemical processes, from catalytic networks to the emergence of information processing at the molecular level, leading to the emergence of life. In this paper, we investigate some very general characteristics of this scenario, such as the valuation process of phenotypic traits in a high-dimensional fitness landscape, the effect of spatial compartmentation on the valuation, and the self-organized transition from structural to symbolic genetic information of replicating chain molecules. In the first part, we perform an analysis of typical dynamical properties of continuous dynamical models of evolutionary processes.