Daphnia (Daphnia sp.) is known to be of pivotal ecological importance in water ecosystems as a trophic link between phytoplankton and predators - planktophagous fish and predatory invertebrates. Vendace (Coregonus albula (Linnaeus, 1758)) is a planktophagous fish that feeds on zooplankton and has co-evolved with daphnia in lake communities, and both species are interrelated by trophic interactions. Both of these species are characterized by high phenotypic plasticity, the ability to adapt to local environmental conditions.
Adaptations to environmental conditions can be seen in changes in morphological and life history traits: growth, size at maturity, number of offspring and production. Phenotypic plasticity is mainly studied as the dependence of morphological and life history traits on environmental factors.
The goal of this study is to find specific biomarkers of phenotypic plasticity at the level of gene expression (large-scale study of proteins). The main focus will be to answer the question whether there are general mechanisms of proteome response to environmental factors or whether specific proteins or their isoforms can be expressed in local populations.
Proteins and their interactions are of direct importance for the adaptation of organisms, as they participate both in structural changes that determine the morphological diversity of organisms, and in other very important processes: the regulation of the expression of other proteins, enzymatic reactions and other intracellular and extracellular functions. This research is also relevant from a practical point of view - as the environment is changing globally, water bodies are becoming more polluted. The assessment of the ecological condition of water bodies is becoming more and more important, and the research results will allow direct assessment or prediction of the effects of specific pollution factors on the proteome of model organisms.
Mokslinis vadovas / Supervisor: doc. dr. Algirdas Kaupinis, Biomokslų institutas, GMC, VU / Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University
Kontaktai / Contacts:
tel. / phone: +370 614 53541
Programme: Zoology N 014