Biological rhythms in the deep-sea hydrothermal mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus

Nat Commun. 2020 Jul 10;11(1):3454. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-17284-4.

Abstract

Biological rhythms are a fundamental property of life. The deep ocean covers 66% of our planet surface and is one of the largest biomes. The deep sea has long been considered as an arrhythmic environment because sunlight is totally absent below 1,000 m depth. In the present study, we have sequenced the temporal transcriptomes of a deep-sea species, the ecosystem-structuring vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus. We reveal that tidal cycles predominate in the transcriptome and physiology of mussels fixed directly at hydrothermal vents at 1,688 m depth at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, whereas daily cycles prevail in mussels sampled after laboratory acclimation. We identify B. azoricus canonical circadian clock genes, and show that oscillations observed in deep-sea mussels could be either a direct response to environmental stimulus, or be driven endogenously by one or more biological clocks. This work generates in situ insights into temporal organisation in a deep-sea organism.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ecosystem
  • Hydrothermal Vents
  • Marine Biology
  • Mytilidae / physiology*
  • Periodicity