Meeting Abstract

P3.189  Monday, Jan. 6 15:30  The effect of a simulated tide on gene expression in the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. JAMES, C.J.*; GALASSO, A.C.; MEYER-BERNSTEIN, E.L.; College of Charleston; College of Charleston ; College of Charleston ccjames@g.cofc.edu

Animals display rhythms in physiology and behavior that are governed by a self-sustaining biological clock. External stimuli, such as light, serve to synchronize endogenous biological processes with the environment. Circadian rhythms are the most widely studied clock outputs, expressed as a 24 hr oscillation. In marine organisms, non-photic environmental cues such as hydrostatic pressure can also influence clock function. Circatidal rhythms generated in response to hydrostatic pressure are observed every 12.4 hrs, distinguishing them from the 24 circadian period. Circatidal rhythms in behavior have been observed in the marine Cnidarian Nematostella vectensis when exposed to a simulated tidal cycle. Unlike circadian rhythms, the molecular mechanisms underlying these rhythms remain unclear. We believe patterns of gene expression are responsible for these multiple frequency rhythms observed in the presence of a tidal cycle. To determine whether known circadian clock genes also underlie circatidal behavior, we will analyze gene expression in animals exposed to a simulated tide. Oscillation of these genes will be quantified at various time points and compared to gene expression under the influence of a light-dark cycle alone. We expect the addition of a simulated tidal cycle to a light-dark cycle to alter rhythms of circadian gene expression, demonstrating the ability of N. vectensis to respond to tidal cycling and further describing the molecular underpinnings of the biological clock.