13
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
M. Kumar, P. Ralph (eds.), Systems Biology of Marine Ecosystems,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-62094-7_2
Chapter 2
Tolerance Pathways to Desiccation Stress
in Seaweeds
Loretto Contreras-Porcia, Camilo López-Cristoffanini,
Andrés Meynard, and Manoj Kumar
Abstract Seaweeds are sessile organisms that inhabit coastal benthic systems and
are key species for the equilibrium of marine communities. Rocky intertidal zone
seaweeds are distributed in marked patterns determined by interactions between
biotic and abiotic factors influenced by tide levels. It has been proposed that the
distribution and abundance of organisms in the upper intertidal zones, with longer
emersions, are mostly regulated by abiotic factors. Desiccation is a particularly noteworthy abiotic factor since, during low tide, algae of the upper intertidal zones can
lose more than 90% of cellular water content, which can ultimately induce oxidative
stress. Considering the necessary activation of several desiccation tolerance mechanisms, these algal species are ideal research models in ecophysiology. In fact, several
studies using physiological, transcriptomic, and proteomic approaches have determined that desiccation tolerance mechanisms are expressed within a well- coordinated
network that includes morphological and cell wall changes, photosynthetic activity
L. Contreras-Porcia (*)
Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales,
Universidad Andres Bello, República 440, Santiago, Chile
Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile, Avda. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile
Centro de Investigación Marina Quintay (CIMARQ), Facultad de Ecología y Recursos
Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, Quintay, Chile
e-mail: lorettocontreras@unab.cl
C. López-Cristoffanini
Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universitat de Barcelona,
Barcelona, 08028, Spain
A. Meynard
Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universitat de Barcelona,
08028 Barcelona, Spain
Centro de Investigación Marina Quintay (CIMARQ), Facultad de Ecología y Recursos
Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, Quintay, Chile
M. Kumar
Climate Change Cluster (C3), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney (UTS),
Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia
© Springer International Publishing AG 2017
M. Kumar, P. Ralph (eds.), Systems Biology of Marine Ecosystems,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-62094-7_2
Chapter 2
Tolerance Pathways to Desiccation Stress
in Seaweeds
Loretto Contreras-Porcia, Camilo López-Cristoffanini,
Andrés Meynard, and Manoj Kumar
Abstract Seaweeds are sessile organisms that inhabit coastal benthic systems and
are key species for the equilibrium of marine communities. Rocky intertidal zone
seaweeds are distributed in marked patterns determined by interactions between
biotic and abiotic factors influenced by tide levels. It has been proposed that the
distribution and abundance of organisms in the upper intertidal zones, with longer
emersions, are mostly regulated by abiotic factors. Desiccation is a particularly noteworthy abiotic factor since, during low tide, algae of the upper intertidal zones can
lose more than 90% of cellular water content, which can ultimately induce oxidative
stress. Considering the necessary activation of several desiccation tolerance mechanisms, these algal species are ideal research models in ecophysiology. In fact, several
studies using physiological, transcriptomic, and proteomic approaches have determined that desiccation tolerance mechanisms are expressed within a well- coordinated
network that includes morphological and cell wall changes, photosynthetic activity
L. Contreras-Porcia (*)
Departamento de Ecología y Biodiversidad, Facultad de Ecología y Recursos Naturales,
Universidad Andres Bello, República 440, Santiago, Chile
Center of Applied Ecology and Sustainability (CAPES), Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile, Avda. Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile
Centro de Investigación Marina Quintay (CIMARQ), Facultad de Ecología y Recursos
Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, Quintay, Chile
e-mail: lorettocontreras@unab.cl
C. López-Cristoffanini
Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universitat de Barcelona,
Barcelona, 08028, Spain
A. Meynard
Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universitat de Barcelona,
08028 Barcelona, Spain
Centro de Investigación Marina Quintay (CIMARQ), Facultad de Ecología y Recursos
Naturales, Universidad Andres Bello, Quintay, Chile
M. Kumar
Climate Change Cluster (C3), Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney (UTS),
Sydney, NSW 2007, Australia