Meeting Abstract
The bearded fireworm, Hermodice carunculata (Annelida: Amphinomidae), is a ubiquitous species throughout the temperate and tropical Atlantic, the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea. It is particularly common in disturbed areas where dissolved oxygen (DO) tends to be low. To examine gene expression responses to low DO in this species, RNA-Seq data from individuals collected in the field as well as from controlled laboratory experiments are analyzed. Some of the key players of oxygen sensing which are highly conserved throughout metazoans are Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF), HIF Prolyl Hydroxylase (PHD) and Factor Inhibiting HIF (FIH). Hypoxia Inducible Factor is a heterodimeric transcription factor, consisting of an alpha subunit, which is unstable under normoxic conditions due to hydroxylation by PHD and/or FIH, and a stable beta subunit. All of these components have been identified in the H. carunculata transcriptome and their conserved domain structure characterized. This study provides the first record of the conserved oxygen sensing cascade in annelids. Future research will elucidate the downstream processes in the hypoxia response.
