Abstract
BackgroundThe endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile colonizes soft bottoms producing highly productive meadows that play a crucial role in coastal ecosystems dynamics. Human activities and natural events are responsible for a widespread meadows regression; to date the identification of "diagnostic" tools to monitor conservation status is a critical issue. In this study the feasibility of a novel tool to evaluate ecological impacts on Posidonia meadows has been tested. Quantification of a putative stress indicator, i.e. phenols content, has been coupled to 2-D electrophoretic protein analysis of rhizome samples.ResultsThe overall expression pattern from Posidonia rhizome was determined using a preliminary proteomic approach, 437 protein spots were characterized by pI and molecular weight. We found that protein expression differs in samples belonging to sites with high or low phenols: 22 unique protein spots are peculiar of "low phenols" and 27 other spots characterize "high phenols" samples.ConclusionPosidonia showed phenols variations within the meadow, that probably reflect the heterogeneity of environmental pressures. In addition, comparison of the 2-D electrophoresis patterns allowed to highlight qualitative protein expression differences in response to these pressures. These differences may account for changes in metabolic/physiological pathways as adaptation to stress. A combined approach, based on phenols content determination and 2-D electrophoresis protein pattern, seems a promising tool to monitor Posidonia meadows health state.
Highlights
The endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile colonizes soft bottoms producing highly productive meadows that play a crucial role in coastal ecosystems dynamics
Meadows are highly productive ecosystems, as they produce high amount of oxygen and organic compounds, sustain complex food nets, act as a nursery/refuge for several species. They play a crucial role in coastal preservation, by stabilizing sediments and reducing hydrodynamics effects [1,2]
Many human activities and natural events are responsible for the widespread meadows regression, such as modified hydrogeological regime and littoral transport [3,4,5,6], pollution [7,8,9,10,11], aquaculture [12,13,14,15], trawling [16,17], anchorages [18,19,20,21], placing of cable/pipes or damping [22,23], in addition to grazing, sea storms, climatic changes, etc. [24,25,26]
Summary
The endemic seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile colonizes soft bottoms producing highly productive meadows that play a crucial role in coastal ecosystems dynamics. Meadows are highly productive ecosystems, as they produce high amount of oxygen and organic compounds, sustain complex food nets, act as a nursery/refuge for several species. They play a crucial role in coastal preservation, by stabilizing sediments and reducing hydrodynamics effects
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