Thermo-priming increases heat-stress tolerance in seedlings of the Mediterranean seagrass P. oceanica
Pazzaglia, J.; Badalamenti, F.; Bernardeau-Esteller, J.; Ruiz, J.M.; Giacalone, V.M.; Procaccini, G.; Marín-Guirao, L. (2022). Thermo-priming increases heat-stress tolerance in seedlings of the Mediterranean seagrass P. oceanica. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 174: 113164. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113164
In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. Macmillan: London. ISSN 0025-326X; e-ISSN 1879-3363, more
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| Keywords |
Gene expression
Respiration
Seagrass
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Priming; Seedling; Photosynthesis; Epigenetics |
| Authors | | Top |
- Pazzaglia, J.
- Badalamenti, F.
- Bernardeau-Esteller, J.
- Ruiz, J.M.
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- Giacalone, V.M.
- Procaccini, G.
- Marín-Guirao, L.
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| Abstract |
Seawater warming and increased incidence of marine heatwaves (MHW) are threatening the integrity of coastal marine habitats including seagrasses, which are particularly vulnerable to climate changes. Novel stress tolerance-enhancing strategies, including thermo-priming, have been extensively applied in terrestrial plants for enhancing resilience capacity under the re-occurrence of a stress event. We applied, for the first time in seedlings of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica, a thermo-priming treatment through the exposure to a simulated warming event. We analyzed the photo-physiological and growth performance of primed and non-primed seedlings, and the gene expression responses of selected genes (i.e. stress-, photosynthesis- and epigenetic-related genes). Results revealed that during the re-occurring stress event, primed seedlings performed better than unprimed showing unaltered photo-physiology supported by high expression levels of genes related to stress response, photosynthesis, and epigenetic modifications. These findings offer new opportunities to improve conservation and restoration efforts in a future scenario of environmental changes. |
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