Publications
Links to three categories of papers:
The "backstory": blog posts about some of our pubs
"Ocean Bites" (external) blog post about our work on diel metabolism of copepods
"UV and weathered oil are [more than] double trouble for 'Stella" (Phototoxicity)
"Rhincalanus resources" (Transcriptome for Rhincalanus gigas)
"Dusting off the Data" (Trichoplax nuclear receptors)
Lab Publications
Berger CA*, Tarrant AM. (2023) Sensory conflict disrupts circadian rhythms in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. eLife 12:81084. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.81084.
Berger CA*, Ward CP, Karchner SI, Nelson RK, Reddy CM, Hahn ME, Tarrant AM. 2022. Nematostella vectensis exhibits an enhanced molecular stress response upon co-exposure to highly weathered oil and surface UV radiation. Marine Environmental Research. 175:105569. DOI:10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105569.
Tarrant AM, McNamara-Bordewick N, Blanco-Bercial L, Miccoli A, Maas AE. 2021. Diel metabolic patterns in a migratory oceanic copepod. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 545: 151643. DOI: 10.1016/j.jembe.2021.151643.
Tarrant AM, Eisner LB, Kimmel DG. (2021) Metabolic gene expression and sensitivity to starvation in Calanus glacialis in the southeastern Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 674: 73-78. DOI:10.3354/meps13820.
Berger CA*, Steinberg DK, Copley NJ, Tarrant AM. (2021) De novo transcriptome assembly of the Southern Ocean copepod Rhincalanus gigas sheds light on developmental changes in gene expression. Marine Genomics, DOI: 10.1016/j.margen.2021.100835. Open Access
Rivera HE*, Chen C-Y, Gibson MC, Tarrant AM. (2021) Plasticity in parental effects confer rapid larval thermal tolerance in Nematostella vectensis. Journal of Experimental Biology, .
Lenz PH, Roncalli V, Cieslak M, Tarrant AM, Castelfranco AM, Hartline DK. (2021) Reproductive vs. diapause programs: transcriptional phenotypes in a keystone copepod. Communications Biology 4(1): 1-13. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-01946-0. Open Access.
Featured Publication
We have recently posted a pair of related manuscripts on bioRxiv. These manuscripts are currently undergoing peer review. Constructive feedback is appreciated!
Berger CA*, Steinberg DK, Copeman LA, Tarrant AM. Comparative analysis of the molecular starvation response of Southern Ocean copepods. Preprint (bioRxiv): https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.17.553703.
Berger CA*#, Steinberg DK, Tarrant AM#. Nutritional condition drives spatial variation in physiology of Antarctic lipid-storing copepods. Preprint (bioRxiv): https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.25.559317.
Large lipid-storing copepods are an important food source to planktivorous fishes and other predators in temperate and polar ecosystems. Within the Southern Ocean, Calanoides acutus and Calanus propinquus are abundant species with distinct, partially overlapping distributions and life history features. C. acutus is largely herbivorous and relies heavily on diapause as an overwintering strategy. C. propinquus is more omnivorous and generally feeds opportunistically and remains active throughout the year. We were interested in the strategies that these species use to respond to short-term variation in food availability and the extent to which environmental patchiness creates physiological heterogeneity. We sampled adult female copepods at multiple stations near the West Antarctic Peninsula in January 2019 and paired RNA-seq with a suite of physiological and environmental measurements. Alongside this field study, we conducted experiments during which we incubated both species for up to 9 days either with or without food.
From these paired studies, we were able to identify molecular and physiological responses of both species to short-term starvation. We identified species-specific responses, but also identified a core set of genes that were part of a conserved response. Among these, forms of ELOV, lipid desaturase and vitellogenin were strongly down-regulated in both species in response to starvation. C. acutus exhibited a stronger response to experimental starvation and also showed more spatial (geographic) variation in physiological condition. Stations within Marguerite Bay, a known region of high productivity, were associated with signs of favorable feeding conditions in both species. These results provide insight into linkages between copepod physiology and environmental conditions. In the future, we hope that our results and related work could be built into ecological models and that modeling studies can help us to understand the most sensitive points in the copepod life cycles for future physiological monitoring.
Weizman E, Rinsky M, Simon-Blecher N, Lampert-Karako S, Yaron O, Tarrant AM, Levy O. (2021) Chromatin dynamics and gene expression response to heat exposure in field-conditioned versus laboratory-cultured Nematostella vectensis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 22: 454. DOI: 10.3390/ijms22147454. Open Access
Skottene E, Tarrant AM, Altin D, Olsen RE, Choque M, Kvile KØ. (2020) Lipid metabolism in Calanus finmarchicus is sensitive to variations in predation risk and food availability. Scientific Reports 10:22322, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79165-6. Open Access
Tarrant AM. (2020). Small copepods could play a big role in the marine carbon cycle. BioEssays 42: e2000267. DOI: 10.1002/bies.202000267.
Maas AE*, Lawson G, Wang ZA, Bergan A, Tarrant AM. (2020). Seasonal variation in physiology and shell condition of the pteropod Limacina retroversa in the Gulf of Maine relative to life cycle and carbonate chemistry. Progress in Oceanography 186:102371. DOI: 10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102371.
Tarrant AM, Helm RR*, Levy O, Rivera HE*. (2019) Environmental entrainment demonstrates natural circadian rhythmicity in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis. Journal of Experimental Biology 222: jeb205393. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.205393.
Helm RR*, Martin-Diaz ML, Tarrant AM. (2018) Phylogenetic analysis of cnidarian peroxiredoxins and stress-responsive expression in the estuarine sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology – Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology, 221:32-43. DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.3.009.
Khalturin K, Billas IML, Chebaro Y, Reitzel AM, Tarrant AM, Laudet V, Markov GV. (2018, In press) NR3E receptors in cnidarians: a new family of steroid receptor relatives extends the possible mechanisms for ligand binding. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2018.06.014.
Maas AE, Lawson GL, Bergan AJ, Tarrant AM (2018) Exposure to CO2 influences metabolism, calcification, and gene expression of the thecosome pteropod Limacina retroversa. Journal of Experimental Biology, 221, jeb164400. DOI: jeb.164400
Reitzel AM, Macrander J, Mane-Padros D, Fang B, Sladek FM, Tarrant AM. (2018, In press) Conservation of DNA and ligand binding properties of retinoid X receptor from the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens to human. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2018.02.010. See also my blog post about the process of writing this paper.
Tarrant AM#, Payton SL#, Reitzel AM, Porter D, Jenny MJ. (2018) Ultraviolet radiation significantly enhances the stress response to dispersant and sweet crude oil exposure in Nematostella vectensis. Marine Environmental Research, In press. DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2018.01.002. Author’s version, freely available.
Thabet AA*, Maas AE, Saber SA, Tarrant AM. (2017) Assembly of a reference transcriptome for the gymnosome pteropod Clione limacina and profiling responses to short-term CO2 exposure. Marine Genomics, 34:39-45. DOI: 10.1016/j.margen.2017.03.003.
Maas AE*, Lawson GL, Tarrant AM. (2015) Transcriptome-wide analysis of the thecosome pteropod Clio pyramidata to short-term CO2 exposure. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology – Part D: Genomics and Proteomics.16: 1-9. DOI:10.1016/j.cbd.2015.06.002. Author’s version, freely available.
Thabet AA*, Maas AE*, Lawson GL, Tarrant AM. (2015) Life cycle and early development of the thecosomatous pteropods Limacina retroversa in the Gulf of Maine, including the effect of elevated CO2 levels. Marine Biology 162:2235-49. DOI: 10.1007/s00227-015-2754-1. Author’s version, freely available.
Tarrant AM, Gilmore TD, Reitzel AM, Levy O, Technau U, Martindale MQ. (2015) Current directions and future perspectives from the third Nematostella research conference. Zoology 118(2): 135-40. DOI:10.1016/j.zool.2014.06.005. Author’s version, freely available.
Breitburg DL, Salisbury J, Bernhard JM, Cai W-J, Dupont S, Doney SC, Kroeker KJ, Levin LA, Long CW. Milke LM, Miller SH, Passow U, Phelan BA, Seibel BA, Todgham AE., Tarrant AM. (2015) And on top of all that…Coping with ocean acidification in the midst of many stressors. Oceanography.28(2):48-61. DOI: 10.5670/oceanog.2015.31.
Tarrant AM, Reitzel AM*, Kwok CK*, Jenny MJ. (2014) Activation of cnidarian oxidative stress response by ultraviolet light, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and crude oil. Journal of Experimental Biology 217(9):1444-53. DOI:10.1242/jeb.093690.
Reitzel AM*, Passamaneck Y, Karchner S, Franks DG, Martindale MQ, Tarrant AM, Hahn ME. (2014) Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis: comparative expression, protein interactions, and ligand binding. Development Genes and Evolution 224(1):13-24 DOI: 10.1007/s00427-013-0458-4.
Gilmore TD, Tarrant AM, Finnerty JR. (2013) A report from the second Nematostella vectensis research conference. Development Genes and Evolution 223(3):207-11. DOI: 10.1007/s00427-012-0434-4.
Pineda J, Starczak V, Tarrant AM, Blythe J, Davis K, Farrar T, Berumen M, and da Silva J. (2013) Two spatial scales in a bleaching event: corals from the mildest and the most extreme thermal environments escape mortality. 58(5): 1531-45. DOI: 10.4319/lo.2013.58.5.1531. Electronic access.
Reitzel AM, Chu T, Edquist S, Genovese C, Church C, Tarrant AM, Finnerty JR. (2013) Physiological and developmental responses to temperature by the estuarine sea anemone Nematostella vectensis: evidence for local adaptation to high temperatures. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 484: 115-130. DOI: 10.3354/meps10281.
Tarrant AM, Franks DG, Verslycke T. (2012) Gene expression in American lobster (Homarus americanus) with epizootic shell disease. Journal of Shellfish Research. 31(2):505-13. DOI:10.2983/035.031.0200.
Tarrant AM, Behrendt L*, Stegeman JJ, Verslycke T. (2011) Ecdysteroid receptor from the American lobster, Homarus americanus: EcR/RXR isoform cloning and ligand-binding properties. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 173(2):346-55.
Callard GV, Tarrant AM, Novillo A, Yacci P, Ciaccia L, Vajda S, Chuang G-Y, Kozakov D, Greytak SR, Sawyer S, Hoover C, Kotter K. (2011). Evolutionary origins of the estrogen signaling system: insights from amphioxus. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 127(3-5):176-88.
Reitzel AM*, Pang K, Ryan JF, Mullikin JC, Martindale MQ, Baxevanis AD, Tarrant AM. 2011. Nuclear receptors from the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi lack a zinc-finger DNA-binding domain: lineage-specific loss or ancestral condition in the emergence of the nuclear receptor superfamily? EvoDevo 2:3. Electronic access
Tarrant AM, Stegeman JJ, Verslycke T. (2010) Altered gene expression associated with epizootic shell disease in the American lobster, Homarus americanus. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 29(6):1003-9.
Reitzel AM, Tarrant AM. (2010) Correlated evolution of androgen receptor and aromatase revisited. Molecular Biology and Evolution. 27(10):2211-5.
Cantin NE, Cohen AL, Karnauskas KB, Tarrant AM, McCorkle DC. (2010) Ocean warming slows coral growth in the central Red Sea. Science 329:322-5
Greytak SR, Tarrant AM, Nacci D, Hahn ME, Callard GV. (2010) Estrogen responses in killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from polluted and unpolluted environments are site- and gene-specific. Aquatic Toxicology 99:291-9
Reitzel AM, Tarrant AM. (2009) Nuclear receptor complement of the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis: phylogenetic relationships and developmental expression patterns. BMC Evolutionary Biology 9:230.
Goldstone JV, Goldstone HMH, Morrison AM, Tarrant AM, Kern SE, Woodin BR, Stegeman JJ. (2007) Cytochrome P450 1 genes in early deuterostomes (tunicates and sea urchins) and vertebrates (chicken and frog): Origin and diversification of the CYP1 gene family. Molecular Biology and Evolution 24(12): 2619-31.
Tarrant AM. (2007) Hormonal signaling in cnidarians: do we understand the pathways well enough to know whether they are being disrupted? Ecotoxicology 16:5-13.
Tarrant AM, Greytak SR, Callard GV, Hahn ME. (2006) Estrogen receptor-related receptors in the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus, diversity, expression, and estrogen responsiveness. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 37: 1-17.
Blomquist C, Lima P, Tarrant AM, Atkinson MJ, Atkinson SK. (2006) 17b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17b-HSD) in scleractinian corals, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B. Biochemistry 143: 397-403.
Tarrant AM. (2005) Endocrine-like signaling in cnidarians: Current understanding and implications for ecophysiology, Integrative and Comparative Biology 45(1): 201-214.
Tarrant AM, Atkinson MJ, Atkinson S. (2004) Effects of steroidal estrogens on coral growth and reproduction. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 269: 121-129, 2004 doi:10.3354/meps269121.
Tarrant AM, Blomquist C, Lima P, Atkinson S, Atkinson MJ. (2003) Metabolism of androgens and estrogens by reef building corals Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology B. Biochemistry 136(3): 473-485.
Atkinson S, Atkinson MJ, Tarrant AM. (2003) Estrogens from sewage in the coastal marine environment. Environmental Health Perspectives 111(4): 531-535.
Tarrant AM, Atkinson MJ, Atkinson S. (2001) Uptake of estrone from the water column by a coral community. Marine Biology 139:321-325.
Tarrant AM, Atkinson S, Atkinson MJ. (1999) Estrone and estradiol-17b concentration in tissue of the scleractinan coral, Montipora verrucosa. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. Physiology 122: 85-92.