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Physiological responses of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) embryos to osmotic stress and a possible role for stress proteins (HSPs)

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Abstract

We tested the effects of osmotic stress on survival, developmental rate, and level of HSPs on American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) embryos. Animals were maintained in the laboratory at an ambient salinity of 20 ppt and then exposed to 4-h osmotic shocks at salinities of 10, 30, 40, 50, and 60 ppt, with a control group at 20 ppt. Horseshoe crab embryos had 100% developmental success (defined as individuals reaching the first instar or trilobite larval stage) at all salinities. However, osmotic stresses, especially hyperosmotic conditions, slowed the rate of development. Embryos subjected to osmotic stress showed higher levels of HSP70 and HSP90 than control animals kept at a salinity of 20 ppt. HSPs are of value to horseshoe crab embryos in surviving the fluctuating salinities that are typical of estuarine beach habitats.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Department of Natural Sciences Fund for Student Research at Fordham University. We thank Dr. Gretchen Ehlinger and two anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments on this manuscript, and Dr. Robert Madden for assistance with the statistical analyses.

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  1. Morgan P. Greene

    Present address: University of Arizona College of Medicine, 550 E. Van Buren Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

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  1. Department of Natural Sciences, Fordham College at Lincoln Center, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY, 10023, USA

    Morgan P. Greene, Mary G. Hamilton & Mark L. Botton

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  1. Morgan P. Greene
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Correspondence to Mark L. Botton.

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Communicated by H. O. Pörtner.

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Greene, M.P., Hamilton, M.G. & Botton, M.L. Physiological responses of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) embryos to osmotic stress and a possible role for stress proteins (HSPs). Mar Biol 158, 1691–1698 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1682-y

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