Frontiers in Plant Science (Mar 2013)
Establishing research strategies, methodologies and technologies to link genomics and proteomics to seagrass productivity, community metabolism and ecosystem carbon fluxes
Abstract
A complete understanding of the mechanistic basis of marine ecosystem functioning is only possible through integrative and interdisciplinary research. This enables the prediction of change and possibly the mitigation of the consequences of anthropogenic impacts. One major aim of the COST Action ES0609 Seagrasses productivity. From genes to ecosystem management, is the calibration and synthesis of various methods and the development of innovative techniques and protocols for studying seagrass ecosystems.During ten days, twenty researchers representing a range of disciplines (molecular biology, physiology, botany, ecology, oceanography, underwater acoustics ) gathered at the marine station of STARESO (Corsica) to study together the nearby Posidonia oceanica meadow. The Station de Recherches Sous-marine et Océanographiques (STARESO) is located in an oligotrophic area classified as "pristine site" where environmental disturbances caused by anthropogenic pressure are exceptionally low. The healthy P. oceanica meadow, that grows in front of the lab, colonizes the sea bottom from the surface to 37 m depth. During the study, genomic and proteomic approaches were integrated with ecophysiological and physical approaches with the aim of understanding changes in seagrass productivity and metabolism at different depths and along daily cycles. In this paper we report details on the approaches utilized and we forecast the potential of the data that will come from this synergistic approach not only for P. oceanica but for seagrasses in general.
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