One of the major problems of our century is the rising of the ocean temperatures, causing several consequences on marine ecosystems. One of the most evident phenomena is the coral bleaching, which modify the symbiotic relationship between the polyp and unicellular algae, necessary for the energy balance and survival of the coral system. This project was focused on the development of an innovative experimental method, to be evaluated on a laboratory scale, to study the impact of rising temperatures on coral metabolism, specifically on the pigments in symbiotic algae and on non-polar metabolites. Extractions were performed on two coral species cultivated in the Aquarium of Genoa, Pocillopora damicornis and Stylophora pistillata, following indications from the literature. The pigment analysis was conducted using an HPLC-DAD instrument, detecting the continuous wavelengths in the visible spectrum in the 350 to 700nm window. For non-polar metabolites, an organic solvent extraction and purification procedure was carried out and then analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC MS) in non-target mode. The collected data were subjected to a statistical analysis and referring to the pigments analysis, significant differences in the medians of the distributions were searched for using the Mann-Whitney tests. For non-polar metabolites, a statistical analysis was carried out comparing the differences between stressed and non-stressed (control) samples and the metabolites identified were put under different classes. In conclusion, this work has shown that the expression of both photosynthetic pigments and non-polar metabolites undergoes significant variations when corals are subjected to temperature variations. Future studies could be conducted eventually, involving more species and more replicates could be tested to ensure statistical robustness and predictive adoption of the selected markers.
Porro, M., Saliu, F., Becchi, A., Cerri, F., Isa, V., Lasagni, M., et al. (2024). The impact of thermal stress on coral pigments and non polar metabolites profile: a preliminary study. Intervento presentato a: XXXIII Congresso Nazionale S.It.E, Roma, Italia.
The impact of thermal stress on coral pigments and non polar metabolites profile: a preliminary study
Porro, M;Saliu, F;Becchi, A;Cerri, F;Isa, V;Lasagni, M;Louis, Y;Seveso, D;Galli, P;
2024
Abstract
One of the major problems of our century is the rising of the ocean temperatures, causing several consequences on marine ecosystems. One of the most evident phenomena is the coral bleaching, which modify the symbiotic relationship between the polyp and unicellular algae, necessary for the energy balance and survival of the coral system. This project was focused on the development of an innovative experimental method, to be evaluated on a laboratory scale, to study the impact of rising temperatures on coral metabolism, specifically on the pigments in symbiotic algae and on non-polar metabolites. Extractions were performed on two coral species cultivated in the Aquarium of Genoa, Pocillopora damicornis and Stylophora pistillata, following indications from the literature. The pigment analysis was conducted using an HPLC-DAD instrument, detecting the continuous wavelengths in the visible spectrum in the 350 to 700nm window. For non-polar metabolites, an organic solvent extraction and purification procedure was carried out and then analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC MS) in non-target mode. The collected data were subjected to a statistical analysis and referring to the pigments analysis, significant differences in the medians of the distributions were searched for using the Mann-Whitney tests. For non-polar metabolites, a statistical analysis was carried out comparing the differences between stressed and non-stressed (control) samples and the metabolites identified were put under different classes. In conclusion, this work has shown that the expression of both photosynthetic pigments and non-polar metabolites undergoes significant variations when corals are subjected to temperature variations. Future studies could be conducted eventually, involving more species and more replicates could be tested to ensure statistical robustness and predictive adoption of the selected markers.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.