Molecular Adaptations to Heat Stress in Marine Bivalves
Summary
Marine bivalves confront increasingly frequent heat events by deploying a suite of molecular strategies that preserve cellular integrity and maintain physiological performance. Central to heat tolerance is the rapid induction of heat shock proteins, notably Hsp70 and small chaperones, which stabilise unfolded proteins and prevent aggregation. Concurrently, antioxidant defences such as superoxide dismutase and catalase are upregulated to mitigate reactive oxygen species generated under thermal load. Signal transduction networks—including MAPK and FoxO pathways—coordinate transcriptional reprogramming, modulating genes involved in cytoskeletal remodelling, membrane fluidity and DNA repair via base excision mechanisms. Energetic trade-offs arise as lipid reserves are mobilised to fuel increased metabolic demands, while shifts towards anaerobic pathways occur when aerobic scope is exceeded. Emerging evidence also points to variation in cardiac tolerance thresholds, with species- and population-specific Arrhenius breakpoint temperatures reflecting local thermal histories. Together, these molecular adaptations underpin the resilience of bivalve populations in the face of ocean warming and inform selective breeding and conservation strategies.
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Molecular Adaptations to Heat Stress in Marine Bivalves publication trend
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Technical terms
Heat shock proteins (HSPs): Molecular chaperones that stabilise and refold denatured proteins under thermal stress.
Transcriptome: The complete set of RNA transcripts produced by the genome under specific conditions.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen that can damage cellular components.
MAPK signalling pathway: A conserved cascade of kinases that transmits stress signals to regulate gene expression.
Arrhenius breakpoint temperature (ABT): The thermal threshold at which the rate of a physiological process changes markedly with temperature.
References
- Comparative Analyses of Dynamic Transcriptome Profile of Heart Highlight the Key Response Genes for Heat Stress in Zhikong Scallop Chlamys farreri. Antioxidants (2024).
- Temperature, energy metabolism, and adaptive divergence in two oyster subspecies. Ecology and Evolution (2017).
- Impacts of marine heat extremes on bivalves. Frontiers in Marine Science (2023).
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