ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Ecol. Evol.
Sec. Coevolution
This article is part of the Research TopicPhotosymbiosis in Marine EcosystemsView all articles
Plasma Proteomic Profiling Reveals Molecular Signatures of Thermal Stress and Bleaching in the Photosymbiotic Giant Clam Tridacna crocea
Provisionally accepted
- 1South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, China
- 2South China Sea Ecological Center, MNR, China, guangzhou, China
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Coral reef ecosystems are increasingly threatened by climate change-induced thermal stress, leading to widespread bleaching events. Giant clams (Tridacna spp.) are key photosymbiotic reef inhabitants that harbor extracellular dinoflagellate symbionts (Symbiodiniaceae) and contribute to reef structure and nutrient cycling. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their response to heat stress remain poorly understood. In this study, we employed a non-lethal plasma sampling technique to characterize the proteomic profile of Tridacna crocea under controlled thermal stress. Using iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomics, we identified 554 host plasma proteins that differentially expressed, with significant enrichment in immune response pathways, lectin-mediated recognition, and complement system components. Integrated transcriptomic analysis of five tissues revealed tissue-specific expression patterns and underscored the role of secretory proteins in host-symbiont interactions. Key biomarkers, including C1q domain-containing proteins and lectin family members, exhibited consistent dysregulation under stress, reflecting a shift from symbiosis maintenance to immune defense. Our findings provide a comprehensive molecular atlas of giant clam plasma during bleaching and establish a foundation for non-lethal monitoring of reef health under climate change.
Keywords: Plasma proteomics, thermal stress, Tridacna crocea, photosymbiosis, Bleaching
Received: 29 Aug 2025; Accepted: 28 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Mao, Jin, Chen and Yi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yang Zhang, yzhang@scsio.ac.cn
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