@article{d785abd4236a40899441ecaec2c6e167,
title = "Seasonal DNA Methylation Variation in the Flat Tree Oyster Isognomon Alatus from a Mangrove Ecosystem in North Biscayne Bay, Florida",
abstract = "Epigenetic analyses constitute an emerging approach for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying environmental responses and their role during acclimatization and adaptation across diverse ecosystems. The expansion of environmental epigenetic studies to a broader range of ecologically and environmentally relevant organisms will enhance the capability to forecast ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as to facilitate a retrospective assessment of stress exposures in biomonitor organisms through {"}epigenetic footprinting{"} analyses. With such purpose, the present study monitored spatial and temporal variation in abiotic parameters (temperature, salinity, pH, and horizontal visibility) over a 2-y period in a mangrove ecosystem located in North Biscayne Bay (North Miami, FL). The obtained data were subsequently compared with epigenetic modifications (global genome-wide DNA methylation levels) in the flat tree oyster Isognomon alatus, used as a sentinel model organism across experimental sites. The obtained results revealed a certain level of seasonality in temporal DNA methylation patterns, which seem to be primarily associated with changes in temperature and horizontal visibility. These results constitute the first long-term study combining spatial and temporal epigenetic analyses in a marine organism in its natural environment, laying the initial groundwork to assess the biomonitoring potential of environmental epigenetic analyses.",
keywords = "biomonitoring, coastal oceans, DNA methylation, flat tree oyster, global climate change, Isognomon alatus, pH, salinity, stress, temperature",
author = "Victoria Suarez-Ulloa and Ciro Rivera-Casas and Michelot Michel and Eirin-Lopez, {Jose M.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (Grant IOS 1810981 awarded to J. E. L., and Grant HRD 1547798 awarded to Florida International University as part of the Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology Program). V. Suarez-Ulloa was supported by the University Graduate School at FIU with a DYF fellowship and by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) through the University of Namur (Belgium), during the completion of this work. C. Rivera-Casas was supported by funds provided by the Fundacion Ramon Areces. Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (Grant IOS 1810981 awarded to J. E. L., and Grant HRD 1547798 awarded to Florida International University as part of the Centers for Research Excellence in Science and Technology Program). V. Suarez-Ulloa was supported by the University Graduate School at FIU with a DYF fellowship and by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) through the University of Namur (Belgium), during the completion of this work. C. Rivera-Casas was supported by funds provided by the Fundacion Ramon Areces. We are thankful to FIU Marine Sciences Program and to all members of the Environmental Epigenetics Lab for their assistance during the development of this work. This is contribution #103 from the Center for Coastal Oceans Research in the Institute of Water and Environment at Florida International University. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 National Shellfisheries Association. All rights reserved.",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.2983/035.038.0108",
language = "English",
volume = "38",
pages = "79--88",
journal = "Journal of Shellfish Research",
issn = "0730-8000",
publisher = "National Shellfisheries Association",
number = "1",
}