When Heat Meets Acidification: Growth and Molecular Responses of Juvenile European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) for the SEAWISE project, 2023

A comparative study (based on DESeq2 method) of the pituitary and intestinal transcriptomes in six fish from both scenarios enabled the identification of regulatory changes in the endocrine (pituitary-somatotropic, -gonadotropic, -thyroid, and -adrenal axes), osmoregulatory (ion exchangers), and digestive systems (nutrient transport, absorption and digestion). These changes were associated with variations in growth and development performance, therefore offering insights into the effects of combined environmental factors on the animal's physiology. This research is of critical importance for understanding how predicted environmental changes for the 21st century may impact the juvenile development of marine organisms, particularly fish species like the European bass.