Crab-solutely Resilient: Unraveling the Genomic Basis of Heat and pH Tolerance of Two Porcelain Crabs
Cecilia Hodson
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Jonathon Stillman
Climate change poses a growing threat to marine life, underscoring the need to understand genomic mechanisms behind key adaptations, such as thermal and pH tolerance. The recently published genomes of two porcelain crab species, Petrolisthes cinctipes and Petrolisthes manimaculis, offer a unique opportunity to explore how genome structure influences physiological responses to environmental stress. These crabs exhibit distinct physiological responses to thermal and pH stress, likely due to adaptations to their respective habitats: P. cinctipes inhabits the upper intertidal zone and is exposed to regular intervals of emersion and thermal variability, while P. manimaculis is restricted to the subtidal zone, experiencing more stable conditions.
My research leverages previous RNA-seq data and the newly available genomes to investigate evolutionary shifts linking genome structure to physiological adaptations. I will identify differentially expressed genes, compare them between species, and functionally annotate the targeted genes to analyze important gene families and functions to the physiologic responses to environmental stressors. This approach aims to uncover the genomic basis of heat and pH tolerance in a diverse group of crustaceans, improving our understanding of how genomes drive physiological adaptations and providing critical insights into how marine organisms may respond to changing ocean conditions.