Alexander Juetertbock

@nord.no

Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture
Nord University



                    

https://researchid.co/alexander.juterbock
9

Scopus Publications

639

Scholar Citations

5

Scholar h-index

7

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • The methylome of clonal seagrass shoots shows age-associated variation and differentiation of roots from other tissues
    Anne M.L. Nilsen, Galice Hoarau, Irina Smolina, James A. Coyer, Christoffer Boström, Martina E.L. Kopp, and Alexander Jueterbock
    Elsevier BV

  • Evolutionary genomics of the emergence of brown algae as key components of coastal ecosystems
    France Denoeud, Olivier Godfroy, Corinne Cruaud, Svenja Heesch, Zofia Nehr, Nachida Tadrent, Arnaud Couloux, Loraine Brillet-Guéguen, Ludovic Delage, Dean Mckeown,et al.
    Elsevier BV

  • The evolutionary consequences of interactions between the epigenome, the genome and the environment
    Pierre Baduel, Iris Sammarco, Rowan Barrett, Marta Coronado‐Zamora, Amélie Crespel, Bárbara Díez‐Rodríguez, Janay Fox, Dario Galanti, Josefa González, Alexander Jueterbock,et al.
    Wiley
    AbstractThe epigenome is the suite of interacting chemical marks and molecules that helps to shape patterns of development, phenotypic plasticity and gene regulation, in part due to its responsiveness to environmental stimuli. There is increasing interest in understanding the functional and evolutionary importance of this sensitivity under ecologically realistic conditions. Observations that epigenetic variation abounds in natural populations have prompted speculation that it may facilitate evolutionary responses to rapid environmental perturbations, such as those occurring under climate change. A frequent point of contention is whether epigenetic variants reflect genetic variation or are independent of it. The genome and epigenome often appear tightly linked and interdependent. While many epigenetic changes are genetically determined, the converse is also true, with DNA sequence changes influenced by the presence of epigenetic marks. Understanding how the epigenome, genome and environment interact with one another is therefore an essential step in explaining the broader evolutionary consequences of epigenomic variation. Drawing on results from experimental and comparative studies carried out in diverse plant and animal species, we synthesize our current understanding of how these factors interact to shape phenotypic variation in natural populations, with a focus on identifying similarities and differences between taxonomic groups. We describe the main components of the epigenome and how they vary within and between taxa. We review how variation in the epigenome interacts with genetic features and environmental determinants, with a focus on the role of transposable elements (TEs) in integrating the epigenome, genome and environment. And we look at recent studies investigating the functional and evolutionary consequences of these interactions. Although epigenetic differentiation in nature is likely often a result of drift or selection on stochastic epimutations, there is growing evidence that a significant fraction of it can be stably inherited and could therefore contribute to evolution independently of genetic change.

  • Chloroplast DNA methylation in the kelp Saccharina latissima is determined by origin and possibly influenced by cultivation
    Lydia Scheschonk, Anne M. L. Nilsen, Kai Bischof, and Alexander Jueterbock
    Wiley
    AbstractDNA cytosine methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism in genomic DNA. In most land plants, it is absent in the chloroplast DNA. We detected methylation in the chloroplast DNA of the kelp Saccharina latissima, a non‐model macroalgal species of high ecological and economic importance. Since the functional role of the chloroplast methylome is yet largely unknown, this fundamental research assessed the chloroplast DNA cytosine methylation in wild and laboratory raised kelp from different climatic origins (High‐Arctic at 79° N, and temperate at 54° N), and in laboratory samples from these origins raised at different temperatures (5, 10 and 15°C). Results suggest genome‐wide differences in methylated sites and methylation level between the origins, while rearing temperature had only weak effects on the chloroplast methylome. Our findings point at the importance of matching conditions to origin in restoration and cultivation processes to be valid even on plastid level.

  • Deep-ocean seaweed dumping for carbon sequestration: Questionable, risky, and not the best use of valuable biomass
    Thierry Chopin, Barry A. Costa-Pierce, Max Troell, Catriona L. Hurd, Mark John Costello, Steven Backman, Alejandro H. Buschmann, Russell Cuhel, Carlos M. Duarte, Fredrik Gröndahl,et al.
    Elsevier BV

  • Kelp breeding in China: Challenges and opportunities for solutions
    Zi‐Min Hu, Ti‐Feng Shan, Quan‐Sheng Zhang, Fu‐Li Liu, Alexander Jueterbock, Gaoge Wang, Zhong‐Min Sun, Xiang‐Yu Wang, Wei‐Zhou Chen, Alan T. Critchley,et al.
    Wiley
    AbstractBreeding has played an important role in the mariculture and industrialization of kelp in China. However, the current kelp breeding systems in China have encountered some problems relating to germplasm diversity, management, technological innovations, and regional co‐operation. This review summarizes the main challenges, such as top‐down and fragmented management of germplasm libraries, as well as private industry breeding without government regulations, inter‐cultivar accidental admixing and genetic erosion, loss of heterozygosity due to repeated selection and self‐crossing. We outline multiple potential approaches to breed cultivars with improved qualitative/quantitative traits which can be subjected to changing environments, for example: (i) establishing a national germplasm repository to enhance integrative collection and preservation of kelp resources; (ii) planning and implementing kelp breeding programmes according to strategic priorities and goal‐orientations; (iii) optimizing a hybridization‐based breeding pipeline to produce robust cultivars through the introgression of novel alleles and thus the expression of hybrid vigour; (iv) enriching the high‐quality annotated reference genomes and functional analysis of trait‐associated markers/loci to develop DNA‐based breeding technologies; (v) developing new priming‐based (e.g., thermal and disease resistance) bio‐engineering breeding strategies to meet future unpredictable climate change; and (vi) breeding towards an ecological kelp‐microbiome interaction‐based technique to produce cultivars with enhanced performance and adaptability to environmental scenarios. Collectively, the lessons learned from kelp breeding in China and the solutions proposed here may not only potentially improve or re‐invigorate the Chinese kelp industry, but will also assist other developing countries in taking corrective actions to develop a sustainable future kelp farming industry.

  • Thermal priming of Saccharina latissima: a promising strategy to improve seaweed production and restoration in future climates
    C Gauci, A Jueterbock, A Khatei, G Hoarau, and I Bartsch
    Inter-Research Science Center
    Saccharina latissima is a brown algal kelp species of ecological and economic importance. As the rise in sea surface temperature will threaten not only wild populations of S. latissima but also the productivity of kelp farms, crop enhancement techniques will become crucial to mitigate this threat. Priming is a common strategy in crop plants, in which seeds are pre-exposed to moderate stress to improve the performance and tolerance of plants when exposed to harsher conditions. We investigated the potential of thermal priming to improve growth and tolerance of S. latissima. Kelp gametophytes primed at 20°C for 2, 4 and 6 wk and then re-transferred to 5°C were compared to a naïve treatment maintained at 5°C. Gametophyte priming increased growth of subsequently formed sporophytes by up to 30% (for 4 wk priming) compared to the naïve treatment. Female gametophyte growth in the priming environment was positively correlated to offspring sporophyte growth, indicating a maternal effect. Sporophytes were exposed to heat stress of 20°, 22°, 23° and 24°C for 2 wk. Sporophytes from 4 and 6 wk primed gametophytes exhibited 11 d longer tolerance at 22°C, 7 d longer tolerance at 23°C and 1°C higher thermal tolerance over 7 d compared to naïve sporophytes and sporophytes from 2 wk priming. A priming time of 4 wk was optimal for both sporophyte growth and thermal tolerance. Our results suggest that priming is a promising crop enhancement technique that could improve yield for seaweed farmers and restoration of kelp forests threatened by warming climates.

  • Niche comparison and range shifts for two Kappaphycus species in the Indo-Pacific Ocean under climate change
    Yu-Qun Du, Alexander Jueterbock, Muhammad Firdaus, Anicia Q. Hurtado, and Delin Duan
    Elsevier BV

  • Range-edge populations of seaweeds show niche unfilling and poor adaptation to increased temperatures
    Sandra Hernández, Ana G. García, Francisco Arenas, M. Pilar Escribano, Alexander Jueterbock, Olivier De Clerck, Christine A. Maggs, João N. Franco, and Brezo D. C. Martínez
    Wiley
    AbstractAimGlobal warming is affecting the distribution of species worldwide, but the level of adaptation of edge populations to warmer temperatures remains an open question. Here, we assess the thermal tolerance of populations of two habitat‐forming seaweeds along their latitudinal range, using thermal niche unfilling to assess their resilience to global warming.LocationEuropean Atlantic coastline.TaxonAscophyllum nodosum (Linnaeus) Le Jolis (Phaeophyceae) and Chondrus crispus Stackhouse (Rhodophyta).MethodsWe studied the ecotypic variation in upper survival temperatures (USTs) by measuring survival and growth of adults representing populations under a gradient of seawater temperature (12–30°C). Comparing the USTs with maximum seawater temperatures obtained from satellites, we investigated safety margins and niche unfilling states, both in recent history and under future climate scenarios.ResultsUSTs (≈24°C) did not differ significantly between populations, except for higher values (27.9°C) for the northernmost populations (cold edge) of A. nodosum. Populations of both species had thermal safety margins over the last few decades (from 1982 to 2021). However, projections based on USTs showed that in several years these margins have been eliminated and will completely disappear in the Bay of Biscay under RCP4.5 and RCP6.0 2090–2100 IPCC scenarios for C. crispus and under RCP8.5 for both species, threatening the populations there.Main ConclusionsSouthern marginal populations were not better adapted to global warming than populations elsewhere. Both seaweed species tolerated higher temperatures than the ambient maxima, suggesting a thermal niche unfilling state with thermal safety margins in their recent history. However, those are being depleted by ongoing climate change and this trend is predicted to increase. Marine heat waves are important threats to these habitat‐forming species, transiently reducing or even eliminating safety margins in the hottest parts of the European Atlantic coastline, contributing to explaining the distributional gap there.

  • Evolutionary dynamics of sex-biased gene expression in a young XY system: insights from the brown alga genus Fucus
    William J. Hatchett, Alexander O. Jueterbock, Martina Kopp, James A. Coyer, Susana M. Coelho, Galice Hoarau, and Agnieszka P. Lipinska
    Wiley
    Summary Sex‐biased gene expression is considered to be an underlying cause of sexually dimorphic traits. Although the nature and degree of sex‐biased expression have been well documented in several animal and plant systems, far less is known about the evolution of sex‐biased genes in more distant eukaryotic groups. Here, we investigate sex‐biased gene expression in two brown algal dioecious species, Fucus serratus and Fucus vesiculosus, where male heterogamety (XX/XY) has recently emerged. We find that in contrast to evolutionary distant plant and animal lineages, male‐biased genes do not experience high turnover rates, but instead reveal remarkable conservation of bias and expression levels between the two species, suggesting their importance in sexual differentiation. Genes with consistent male bias were enriched in functions related to gamete production, along with sperm competition and include three flagellar proteins under positive selection. We present one of the first reports, outside of the animal kingdom, showing that male‐biased genes display accelerated rates of coding sequence evolution compared with female‐biased or unbiased genes. Our results imply that evolutionary forces affect male and female sex‐biased genes differently on structural and regulatory levels, resulting in unique properties of differentially expressed transcripts during reproductive development in Fucus algae.

  • Modeling Aquaculture Suitability in a Climate Change Future
    Amy Mackintosh, , Griffin Hill, Mark Costello, Alexander Jueterbock, and Jorge Assis
    The Oceanography Society
    Aquaculture has become the primary supplier of fish for human consumption, with production increasing every year since 1990 (FAO, 2020). At the same time, up to 89% of the world’s capture fisheries are fully exploited, overexploited, or collapsed. While some fisheries may have increased yields due to climate change in the short term, global fisheries catch is projected to fall by 10% by 2050 (Barange et al., 2014; Ramos Martins et al., 2021). However, the security of aquaculture production will depend on how future climate change affects productive regions as species’ optimal climatic conditions shift poleward (Chaudhary et al., 2021). This makes the forecasting of climate impacts on key aquaculture species a top priority in order to facilitate adaptation of this industry.

  • Genome-scale signatures of adaptive gene expression changes in an invasive seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla
    Jin‐Xi Xiang, Mahasweta Saha, Kai‐Le Zhong, Quan‐Sheng Zhang, Di Zhang, Alexander Jueterbock, Stacy A. Krueger‐Hadfield, Gao‐Ge Wang, Florian Weinberger, and Zi‐Min Hu
    Wiley
    AbstractInvasive species can successfully and rapidly colonize new niches and expand ranges via founder effects and enhanced tolerance towards environmental stresses. However, the underpinning molecular mechanisms (i.e., gene expression changes) facilitating rapid adaptation to harsh environments are still poorly understood. The red seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla, which is native to the northwest Pacific but invaded North American and European coastal habitats over the last 100 years, provides an excellent model to examine whether enhanced tolerance at the level of gene expression contributed to its invasion success. We collected G. vermiculophylla from its native range in Japan and from two non‐native regions along the Delmarva Peninsula (Eastern United States) and in Germany. Thalli were reared in a common garden for 4 months at which time we performed comparative transcriptome (mRNA) and microRNA (miRNA) sequencing. MRNA‐expression profiling identified 59 genes that were differently expressed between native and non‐native thalli. Of these genes, most were involved in metabolic pathways, including photosynthesis, abiotic stress, and biosynthesis of products and hormones in all four non‐native sites. MiRNA‐based target‐gene correlation analysis in native/non‐native pairs revealed that some target genes are positively or negatively regulated via epigenetic mechanisms. Importantly, these genes are mostly associated with metabolism and defence capability (e.g., metal transporter Nramp5, senescence‐associated protein, cell wall‐associated hydrolase, ycf68 protein and cytochrome P450‐like TBP). Thus, our gene expression results indicate that resource reallocation to metabolic processes is most likely a predominant mechanism contributing to the range‐wide persistence and adaptation of G. vermiculophylla in the invaded range. This study, therefore, provides molecular insight into the speed and nature of invasion‐mediated rapid adaption.

  • Differences by origin in methylome suggest eco-phenotypes in the kelp Saccharina latissima
    Lydia Scheschonk, Kai Bischof, Martina Elisabeth Luise Kopp, and Alexander Jueterbock
    Wiley
    AbstractMost kelp species are of high ecological and economic importance worldwide, but are highly susceptible to rising ocean temperatures due to their sessile lifestyle. Due to interference with reproduction, development and growth, natural kelp forests have vanished in multiple regions after extreme summer heat waves. Furthermore, increasing temperatures are likely to decrease biomass production and, thus, reduce production security of farmed kelp. Epigenetic variation, and cytosine methylation as a heritable epigenetic trait, is a rapid means of acclimation and adaptation to environmental conditions, including temperature. While the first methylome of brown macroalgae has been recently described in the kelp Saccharina japonica, its functional relevance and contribution to environmental acclimation is currently unknown. The main objective of our study was to identify the importance of the methylome in the congener kelp species Saccharina latissima for temperature acclimation. Our study is the first to compare DNA methylation in kelp between wild populations of different latitudinal origin, and the first to investigate the effect of cultivation and rearing temperature on genome‐wide cytosine methylation. Origin appears to determine many traits in kelp, but it is unknown to what extent the effects of thermal acclimation may be overruled by lab‐related acclimation. Our results suggest that seaweed hatchery conditions have strong effects on the methylome and, thus, putatively on the epigenetically controlled characteristics of young kelp sporophytes. However, culture origin could best explain epigenetic differences in our samples suggesting that epigenetic mechanisms contribute to local adaptation of eco‐phenotypes. Our study is a first step to understand whether DNA methylation marks (via their effect on gene regulation) may be used as biological regulators to enhance production security and kelp restoration success under rising temperatures, and highlights the importance to match hatchery conditions to origin.

  • A review of reproduction in the seaweed genus Fucus (Ochrophyta, Fucales): Background for renewed consideration as a model organism
    William J. Hatchett, James A. Coyer, Kjersti Sjøtun, Alexander Jueterbock, and Galice Hoarau
    Frontiers Media SA
    The genusFucusdominates the intertidal and shallow subtidal rocky reefs of the North Atlantic and also is commonly found in the intertidal of the North Pacific. It likely diversified 12.2-2.7 mya into two genetically distinct lineages: Lineage 1 with one species in the North Pacific and two in the North Atlantic; and Lineage 2 found only in the North Atlantic (one species recently introduced into the North Pacific). With 10 accepted species,Fucusspp. (and the Fucales) are unique among algae in having a diplontic life cycle, whereby the only haploid stage is the single-celled gamete. Further,Fucusspp. produce eight eggs in each oogonium; have hermaphroditic and dioecious species in each lineage; display sperm:egg ratios differing by more than one order of magnitude; have synchronized and predictable release of gametes; are capable of self- and/or cross- fertilization and asexual (fragmentationviaadventitious branching) reproduction; readily hybridize in culture, as well as the field; and form ecads (free-living individuals with morphological variability linked to habitat) by hybridization or polyploidy. Consequently, the genus is an excellent model for a variety of studies in reproductive biology, employing laboratory and field manipulations as well as detailed genetic studies using the molecular ‘omics’. We review here the relevant literature in order to fully understand and appreciate the unique opportunities thatFucusspp. provide as model organisms for future studies of reproduction.

  • The invasive alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla in the native northwest Pacific under ocean warming: Southern genetic consequence and northern range expansion
    Yi-Jia Liu, Kai-Le Zhong, Alexander Jueterbock, Shimada Satoshi, Han-Gil Choi, Florian Weinberger, Jorge Assis, and Zi-Min Hu
    Frontiers Media SA
    Ocean warming is one of the most important factors in shaping the spatial distribution and genetic biodiversity of marine organisms worldwide. The northwest Pacific has been broadly illustrated as an essential seaweed diversity hotspot. However, few studies have yet investigated in this region on whether and how past and ongoing climate warming impacted the distribution and genetic pools of coastal seaweeds. Here, we chose the invasive species Gracilaria vermiculophylla as a model, and identified multiple genetic lineages in the native range through genome-scale microsatellite genotyping. Subsequently, by reconstructing decadal trends of sea surface temperature (SST) change between 1978 and 2018, we found that SST in northern Japan and the East China Sea indeed increased broadly by 0.25-0.4°C/decade. The projections of species distribution models (SDMs) under different future climate change scenarios (RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0 and RCP 8.5) indicated that a unique genetic pool of G. vermiculophylla at its current southern range limit (i.e. the South China Sea) is at high risk of disappearance, and that the populations at its current northern range limit (i.e. in Hokkaido region) will undergo poleward expansions, particularly by the year 2100. Such responses, along with this species’ limited dispersal potential, may considerably alter the contemporary distribution and genetic composition of G. vermiculophylla in the northwest Pacific, and ultimately threaten ecological services provided by this habitat-forming species and other associated functional roles.


  • Adaptation of Temperate Seagrass to Arctic Light Relies on Seasonal Acclimatization of Carbon Capture and Metabolism
    Alexander Jueterbock, Bernardo Duarte, James Coyer, Jeanine L. Olsen, Martina Elisabeth Luise Kopp, Irina Smolina, Sophie Arnaud-Haond, Zi-Min Hu, and Galice Hoarau
    Frontiers Media SA
    Due to rising global surface temperatures, Arctic habitats are becoming thermally suitable for temperate species. Whether a temperate species can immigrate into an ice-free Arctic depends on its ability to tolerate extreme seasonal fluctuations in daylength. Thus, understanding adaptations to polar light conditions can improve the realism of models predicting poleward range expansions in response to climate change. Plant adaptations to polar light have rarely been studied and remain unknown in seagrasses. If these ecosystem engineers can migrate polewards, seagrasses will enrich biodiversity, and carbon capture potential in shallow coastal regions of the Arctic. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the most widely distributed seagrass in the northern hemisphere. As the only seagrass species growing as far north as 70°N, it is the most likely candidate to first immigrate into an ice-free Arctic. Here, we describe seasonal (and diurnal) changes in photosynthetic characteristics, and in genome-wide gene expression patterns under strong annual fluctuations of daylength. We compared PAM measurements and RNA-seq data between two populations at the longest and shortest day of the year: (1) a Mediterranean population exposed to moderate annual fluctuations of 10–14 h daylength and (2) an Arctic population exposed to high annual fluctuations of 0–24 h daylength. Most of the gene expression specificities of the Arctic population were found in functions of the organelles (chloroplast and mitochondrion). In winter, Arctic eelgrass conserves energy by repressing respiration and reducing photosynthetic energy fluxes. Although light-reactions, and genes involved in carbon capture and carbon storage were upregulated in summer, enzymes involved in CO2 fixation and chlorophyll-synthesis were upregulated in winter, suggesting that winter metabolism relies not only on stored energy resources but also on active use of dim light conditions. Eelgrass is unable to use excessive amounts of light during summer and demonstrates a significant reduction in photosynthetic performance under long daylengths, possibly to prevent photoinhibition constrains. Our study identified key mechanisms that allow eelgrass to survive under Arctic light conditions and paves the way for experimental research to predict whether and up to which latitude eelgrass can potentially migrate polewards in response to climate change.

  • A concise review of the brown seaweed Sargassum thunbergii — a knowledge base to inform large-scale cultivation efforts
    Fu-Li Liu, Jing-Jing Li, Zhou-Rui Liang, Quan-Sheng Zhang, Feng-Juan Zhao, Alexander Jueterbock, Alan T. Critchley, Stephen L. Morrell, Jorge Assis, Yong-Zheng Tang,et al.
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

  • Bright spots as climate-smart marine spatial planning tools for conservation and blue growth
    Ana M. Queirós, Elizabeth Talbot, Nicola J. Beaumont, Paul J. Somerfield, Susan Kay, Christine Pascoe, Simon Dedman, Jose A. Fernandes, Alexander Jueterbock, Peter I. Miller,et al.
    Wiley
    AbstractMarine spatial planning that addresses ocean climate‐driven change (‘climate‐smart MSP’) is a global aspiration to support economic growth, food security and ecosystem sustainability. Ocean climate change (‘CC’) modelling may become a key decision‐support tool for MSP, but traditional modelling analysis and communication challenges prevent their broad uptake. We employed MSP‐specific ocean climate modelling analyses to inform a real‐life MSP process; addressing how nature conservation and fisheries could be adapted to CC. We found that the currently planned distribution of these activities may become unsustainable during the policy's implementation due to CC, leading to a shortfall in its sustainability and blue growth targets. Significant, climate‐driven ecosystem‐level shifts in ocean components underpinning designated sites and fishing activity were estimated, reflecting different magnitudes of shifts in benthic versus pelagic, and inshore versus offshore habitats. Supporting adaptation, we then identified: CC refugia (areas where the ecosystem remains within the boundaries of its present state); CC hotspots (where climate drives the ecosystem towards a new state, inconsistent with each sectors’ present use distribution); and for the first time, identified bright spots (areas where oceanographic processes drive range expansion opportunities that may support sustainable growth in the medium term). We thus create the means to: identify where sector‐relevant ecosystem change is attributable to CC; incorporate resilient delivery of conservation and sustainable ecosystem management aims into MSP; and to harness opportunities for blue growth where they exist. Capturing CC bright spots alongside refugia within protected areas may present important opportunities to meet sustainability targets while helping support the fishing sector in a changing climate. By capitalizing on the natural distribution of climate resilience within ocean ecosystems, such climate‐adaptive spatial management strategies could be seen as nature‐based solutions to limit the impact of CC on ocean ecosystems and dependent blue economy sectors, paving the way for climate‐smart MSP.

  • Intraspecific genetic variation matters when predicting seagrass distribution under climate change
    Zi‐Min Hu, Quan‐Sheng Zhang, Jie Zhang, Jamie M. Kass, Stefano Mammola, Pablo Fresia, Stefano G. A. Draisma, Jorge Assis, Alexander Jueterbock, Masashi Yokota,et al.
    Wiley
    AbstractSeagrasses play a vital role in structuring coastal marine ecosystems, but their distributional range and genetic diversity have declined rapidly in recent decades. To improve conservation of seagrass species, it is important to predict how climate change may impact their ranges. Such predictions are typically made with correlative species distribution models (SDMs), which can estimate a species’ potential distribution under present and future climatic scenarios given species’ presence data and climatic predictor variables. However, these models are typically constructed with species‐level data, and thus ignore intraspecific genetic variability, which can give rise to populations with adaptations to heterogeneous climatic conditions. Here, we explore the link between intraspecific adaptation and niche differentiation inThalassia hemprichii, a seagrass broadly distributed in the tropical Indo‐Pacific Ocean and a crucial provider of habitat for numerous marine species. By retrieving and re‐analysing microsatellite data from previous studies, we delimited two distinct phylogeographical lineages within the nominal species and found an intermediate level of differentiation in their multidimensional environmental niches, suggesting the possibility for local adaptation. We then compared projections of the species’ habitat suitability under climate change scenarios using species‐level and lineage‐level SDMs. In the Central Tropical Indo‐Pacific region, models for both levels predicted considerable range contraction in the future, but the lineage‐level models predicted more severe habitat loss. Importantly, the two modelling approaches predicted opposite patterns of habitat change in the Western Tropical Indo‐Pacific region. Our results highlight the necessity of conserving distinct populations and genetic pools to avoid regional extinction due to climate change and have important implications for guiding future management of seagrasses.

  • Priming of Marine Macrophytes for Enhanced Restoration Success and Food Security in Future Oceans
    Alexander Jueterbock, Antoine J. P. Minne, J. Mark Cock, Melinda A. Coleman, Thomas Wernberg, Lydia Scheschonk, Ralf Rautenberger, Jie Zhang, and Zi-Min Hu
    Frontiers Media SA
    Marine macrophytes, including seagrasses and macroalgae, form the basis of diverse and productive coastal ecosystems that deliver important ecosystem services. Moreover, western countries increasingly recognize macroalgae, traditionally cultivated in Asia, as targets for a new bio-economy that can be both economically profitable and environmentally sustainable. However, seagrass meadows and macroalgal forests are threatened by a variety of anthropogenic stressors. Most notably, rising temperatures and marine heatwaves are already devastating these ecosystems around the globe, and are likely to compromise profitability and production security of macroalgal farming in the near future. Recent studies show that seagrass and macroalgae can become less susceptible to heat events once they have been primed with heat stress. Priming is a common technique in crop agriculture in which plants acquire a stress memory that enhances performance under a second stress exposure. Molecular mechanisms underlying thermal priming are likely to include epigenetic mechanisms that switch state and permanently trigger stress-preventive genes after the first stress exposure. Priming may have considerable potential for both ecosystem restoration and macroalgae farming to immediately improve performance and stress resistance and, thus, to enhance restoration success and production security under environmental challenges. However, priming methodology cannot be simply transferred from terrestrial crops to marine macrophytes. We present first insights into the formation of stress memories in both seagrasses and macroalgae, and research gaps that need to be filled before priming can be established as new bio-engineering technique in these ecologically and economically important marine primary producers.

  • Detecting no natural hybridization and predicting range overlap in Saccharina angustata and Saccharina japonica
    Jie Zhang, Norishige Yotsukura, Alexander Jueterbock, Zi-Min Hu, Jorge Assis, Chikako Nagasato, Jianting Yao, and Delin Duan
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC

  • The Seagrass Methylome Is Associated With Variation in Photosynthetic Performance Among Clonal Shoots
    Alexander Jueterbock, Christoffer Boström, James A. Coyer, Jeanine L. Olsen, Martina Kopp, Anusha K. S. Dhanasiri, Irina Smolina, Sophie Arnaud-Haond, Yves Van de Peer, and Galice Hoarau
    Frontiers Media SA
    Evolutionary theory predicts that clonal organisms are more susceptible to extinction than sexually reproducing organisms, due to low genetic variation and slow rates of evolution. In agreement, conservation management considers genetic variation as the ultimate measure of a population’s ability to survive over time. However, clonal plants are among the oldest living organisms on our planet. Here, we test the hypothesis that clonal seagrass meadows display epigenetic variation that complements genetic variation as a source of phenotypic variation. In a clonal meadow of the seagrass Zostera marina, we characterized DNA methylation among 42 shoots. We also sequenced the whole genome of 10 shoots to correlate methylation patterns with photosynthetic performance under exposure to and recovery from 27°C, while controlling for somatic mutations. Here, we show for the first time that clonal seagrass shoots display DNA methylation variation that is independent from underlying genetic variation, and associated with variation in photosynthetic performance under experimental conditions. It remains unknown to what degree this association could be influenced by epigenetic responses to transplantation-related stress, given that the methylomes showed a strong shift under acclimation to laboratory conditions. The lack of untreated control samples in the heat stress experiment did not allow us to distinguish methylome shifts induced by acclimation from such induced by heat stress. Notwithstanding, the co-variation in DNA methylation and photosynthetic performance may be linked via gene expression because methylation patterns varied in functionally relevant genes involved in photosynthesis, and in the repair and prevention of heat-induced protein damage. While genotypic diversity has been shown to enhance stress resilience in seagrass meadows, we suggest that epigenetic variation plays a similar role in meadows dominated by a single genotype. Consequently, conservation management of clonal plants should consider epigenetic variation as indicator of resilience and stability.

  • Phylogeographic diversification and postglacial range dynamics shed light on the conservation of the kelp Saccharina japonica
    Jie Zhang, Jianting Yao, Zi‐Min Hu, Alexander Jueterbock, Norishige Yotsukura, Tatiana N. Krupnova, Chikako Nagasato, and Delin Duan
    Wiley
    AbstractStudies of postglacial range shifts could enhance our understanding of seaweed species’ responses to climate change and hence facilitate the conservation of natural resources. However, the distribution dynamics and phylogeographic diversification of the commercially and ecologically important kelp Saccharina japonica in the Northwest Pacific (NWP) are still poorly surveyed. In this study, we analyzed the evolutionary history of S. japonica using two mitochondrial markers and 24 nuclear microsatellites. A STRUCTURE analysis revealed two partially isolated lineages: lineage H, which is scattered along the coast of Japan; and lineage P, which occurs along the west coast of the Japan Sea. Ecological niche modeling projections to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) revealed that the southern coasts of the Japan Sea and the Pacific side of the Oshima and Honshu Peninsulas provided the most suitable habitats for S. japonica, implying that these regions served as ancient refugia during the LGM. Ancient isolation in different refugia may explain the observed divergence between lineages P and H. An approximate Bayesian computation analysis indicated that the two lineages experienced post‐LGM range expansion and that postglacial secondary contact occurred in Sakhalin. Model projections into the year 2,100 predicted that S. japonica will shift northwards and lose its genetic diversity center on the Oshima Peninsula in Hokkaido and Shimokita Peninsula in Honshu. The range shifts and evolutionary history of S. japonica improve our understanding of how climate change impacted the distribution range and diversity of this species and provide useful information for the conservation of natural resources under ongoing environmental change in the NWP.

  • Towards population genomics in non-model species with large genomes: A case study of the marine zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus
    Marvin Choquet, Irina Smolina, Anusha K. S. Dhanasiri, Leocadio Blanco-Bercial, Martina Kopp, Alexander Jueterbock, Arvind Y. M. Sundaram, and Galice Hoarau
    The Royal Society
    Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies and the development of genome-reduced representation protocols have opened the way to genome-wide population studies in non-model species. However, species with large genomes remain challenging, hampering the development of genomic resources for a number of taxa including marine arthropods. Here, we developed a genome-reduced representation method for the ecologically important marine copepodCalanus finmarchicus(haploid genome size of 6.34 Gbp). We optimized a capture enrichment-based protocol based on 2656 single-copy genes, yielding a total of 154 087 high-quality SNPs inC. finmarchicusincluding 62 372 in common among the three locations tested. The set of capture probes was also successfully applied to the congenericC. glacialis. Preliminary analyses of these markers revealed similar levels of genetic diversity between the twoCalanusspecies, while populations ofC. glacialisshowed stronger genetic structure compared toC. finmarchicus. Using this powerful set of markers, we did not detect any evidence of hybridization betweenC. finmarchicusandC. glacialis. Finally, we propose a shortened version of our protocol, offering a promising solution for population genomics studies in non-model species with large genomes.

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Roadmap to sustainably develop the European seaweed industry
    A Jueterbock, B Duarte, R Melo, H Hoarau-Heemstra, K Wigger, ...
     2025

  • The methylome of clonal seagrass shoots shows age-associated variation and differentiation of roots from other tissues
    AML Nilsen, G Hoarau, I Smolina, JA Coyer, C Bostrm, MEL Kopp, ...
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-General Subjects 1869 (2), 130748 2025

  • Turning the tide: a 2 C increase in heat tolerance can halve climate change induced losses in four cold-adapted kelp species.
    G Hill, C Gauci, J Assis, A Jueterbock
     2024

  • Evolutionary genomics of the emergence of brown algae as key components of coastal ecosystems
    F Denoeud, O Godfroy, C Cruaud, S Heesch, Z Nehr, N Tadrent, ...
    Cell 187 (24), 6943-6965. e39 2024

  • Thermal priming of Saccharina latissima: a promising strategy to improve seaweed production and restoration in future climates
    C Gauci, A Jueterbock, A Khatei, G Hoarau, I Bartsch
    Marine Ecology Progress Series 745, 59-71 2024

  • Application of the brown macroalga Saccharina latissima (Laminariales, Phaeophyceae) as a feed ingredient for livestock: A review
    S Dhakal, AO Jterbock, X Lei, P Khanal
    Animal Nutrition 2024

  • Future trends of marine fish biomass distributions from the North Sea to the Barents Sea
    C Gord-Vilaseca, MJ Costello, M Coll, A Jterbock, H Reiss, ...
    Nature Communications 15 (1), 5637 2024

  • The evolutionary consequences of interactions between the epigenome, the genome and the environment
    P Baduel, I Sammarco, R Barrett, M Coronado‐Zamora, A Crespel, ...
    Evolutionary Applications 17 (7), e13730 2024

  • Chloroplast DNA methylation in the kelp Saccharina latissima is determined by origin and possibly influenced by cultivation
    L Scheschonk, AML Nilsen, K Bischof, A Jueterbock
    Evolutionary Applications 17 (7), e13744 2024

  • Deep-ocean seaweed dumping for carbon sequestration: Questionable, risky, and not the best use of valuable biomass
    T Chopin, BA Costa-Pierce, M Troell, CL Hurd, MJ Costello, S Backman, ...
    One Earth 7 (3), 359-364 2024

  • Kelp breeding in China: Challenges and opportunities for solutions
    ZM Hu, TF Shan, QS Zhang, FL Liu, A Jueterbock, G Wang, ZM Sun, ...
    Reviews in Aquaculture 16 (2), 855-871 2024

  • Niche comparison and range shifts for two Kappaphycus species in the Indo-Pacific Ocean under climate change
    YQ Du, A Jueterbock, M Firdaus, AQ Hurtado, D Duan
    Ecological Indicators 154, 110900 2023

  • Over 20% of marine fishes shifting in the North and Barents Seas, but not in the Norwegian Sea
    C Gord-Vilaseca, L Pecuchet, M Coll, H Reiss, A Jterbock, MJ Costello
    PeerJ 11, e15801 2023

  • Range‐edge populations of seaweeds show niche unfilling and poor adaptation to increased temperatures
    S Hernndez, AG Garca, F Arenas, MP Escribano, A Jueterbock, ...
    Journal of Biogeography 50 (4), 780-791 2023

  • Genome‐scale signatures of adaptive gene expression changes in an invasive seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla
    JX Xiang, M Saha, KL Zhong, QS Zhang, D Zhang, A Jueterbock, ...
    Molecular Ecology 32 (3), 613-627 2023

  • Modeling Aquaculture Suitability in a Climate Change Future
    JA Amy Leigh Mackintosh , Griffin Goldstein Hill, Mark John Costello ...
    Oceanography 2023

  • Evolutionary dynamics of sex-biased gene expression in a young XY system: insights from the brown alga genus Fucus
    APL William J. Hatchett, Alexander O. Jueterbock, Martina Kopp, James A ...
    New Phytologist 2023

  • Ensuring environmental safety–necessary monitoring practices for seaweed cultivation and harvesting in the Baltic Sea
    I Bārda, A Ikauniece, A Armoškaite, E Arvaniti, FR Barboza, A Jterbock, ...
     2022

  • Prediction of the dynamic distribution for Eucheuma denticulatum (Rhodophyta, Solieriaceae) under climate change in the Indo-Pacific Ocean
    Y Du, J Zhang, A Jueterbock, D Duan
    Marine Environmental Research 180, 105730 2022

  • A Review of Reproduction in the Seaweed Genus Fucus (Ochrophyta, Fucales): Background for Renewed Consideration as a Model Organism
    WJ Hatchett, JA Coyer, K Sjtun, A Jueterbock, G Hoarau
    Frontiers in Marine Science, 2282 2022

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • The genome of the seagrass Zostera marina reveals angiosperm adaptation to the sea
    JL Olsen, P Rouz, B Verhelst, YC Lin, T Bayer, J Collen, E Dattolo, ...
    Nature 530 (7590), 331-335 2016
    Citations: 551

  • Calculations of population differentiation based on GST and D: forget GST but not all of statistics!
    G Gerlach, A Jueterbock, P Kraemer, J Deppermann, P Harmand
    Molecular ecology 19 (18), 3845-3852 2010
    Citations: 416

  • Climate change impact on seaweed meadow distribution in the North Atlantic rocky intertidal
    A Jueterbock, L Tyberghein, H Verbruggen, JA Coyer, JL Olsen, ...
    Ecology and evolution 3 (5), 1356-1373 2013
    Citations: 241

  • Climate change impacts on seagrass meadows and macroalgal forests: an integrative perspective on acclimation and adaptation potential
    B Duarte, I Martins, R Rosa, AR Matos, MY Roleda, TBH Reusch, ...
    Frontiers in Marine Science 5, 190 2018
    Citations: 214

  • The fate of the Arctic seaweed Fucus distichus under climate change: an ecological niche modeling approach
    A Jueterbock, I Smolina, JA Coyer, G Hoarau
    Ecology and Evolution 6 (6), 1712-1724 2016
    Citations: 159

  • Improving transferability of introduced species’ distribution models: new tools to forecast the spread of a highly invasive seaweed
    H Verbruggen, L Tyberghein, GS Belton, F Mineur, A Jueterbock, ...
    PLoS One 8 (6), e68337 2013
    Citations: 145

  • Thermal stress resistance of the brown alga Fucus serratus along the North-Atlantic coast: acclimatization potential to climate change
    A Jueterbock, S Kollias, I Smolina, JMO Fernandes, JA Coyer, JL Olsen, ...
    Marine Genomics 13, 27-36 2014
    Citations: 97

  • Genomic divergence between the migratory and stationary ecotypes of A tlantic cod
    BO Karlsen, K Klingan, Emblem, TE Jrgensen, A Jueterbock, ...
    Molecular ecology 22 (20), 5098-5111 2013
    Citations: 76

  • Phylogeographic differentiation versus transcriptomic adaptation to warm temperatures in Zostera marina, a globally important seagrass
    A Jueterbock, SU Franssen, N Bergmann, J Gu, JA Coyer, TBH Reusch, ...
    Molecular ecology 25 (21), 5396-5411 2016
    Citations: 65

  • Bright spots as climate‐smart marine spatial planning tools for conservation and blue growth
    AM Queirs, E Talbot, NJ Beaumont, PJ Somerfield, S Kay, C Pascoe, ...
    Global Change Biology 27 (21), 5514-5531 2021
    Citations: 56

  • The seagrass methylome is associated with variation in photosynthetic performance among clonal shoots
    A Jueterbock, C Bostrm, JA Coyer, JL Olsen, M Kopp, AKS Dhanasiri, ...
    Frontiers in plant science 11, 571646 2020
    Citations: 50

  • Intraspecific genetic variation matters when predicting seagrass distribution under climate change
    ZM Hu, QS Zhang, J Zhang, JM Kass, S Mammola, P Fresia, ...
    Molecular Ecology 30 (15), 3840-3855 2021
    Citations: 48

  • Variation in thermal stress response in two populations of the brown seaweed, Fucus distichus, from the Arctic and subarctic intertidal
    I Smolina, S Kollias, A Jueterbock, JA Coyer, G Hoarau
    Royal Society Open Science 3 (1), 150429 2016
    Citations: 44

  • Genomic scans detect signatures of selection along a salinity gradient in populations of the intertidal seaweed Fucus serratus on a 12 km scale
    JA Coyer, G Hoarau, G Pearson, C Mota, A Jterbock, T Alpermann, ...
    Marine genomics 4 (1), 41-49 2011
    Citations: 39

  • Towards population genomics in non-model species with large genomes: a case study of the marine zooplankton Calanus finmarchicus
    M Choquet, I Smolina, AKS Dhanasiri, L Blanco-Bercial, M Kopp, ...
    Royal Society open science 6 (2), 180608 2019
    Citations: 37

  • Priming of marine macrophytes for enhanced restoration success and food security in future oceans
    A Jueterbock, AJP Minne, JM Cock, MA Coleman, T Wernberg, ...
    Frontiers in Marine Science 8, 658485 2021
    Citations: 35

  • Pre-zygotic isolation in the macroalgal genus Fucus from four contact zones spanning 100–10 000 years: a tale of reinforcement?
    G Hoarau, JA Coyer, M Giesbers, A Jterbock, JL Olsen
    Royal Society Open Science 2 (2), 140538 2015
    Citations: 29

  • Package ‘DEMEtics’
    A Jueterbock, P Kraemer, G Gerlach, J Deppermann, MA Jueterbock
    Molecular Ecology 19, 3845-3852 2012
    Citations: 26

  • Phylogeographic diversification and postglacial range dynamics shed light on the conservation of the kelp Saccharina japonica
    DD Jie Zhang, Jianting Yao, Zi‐Min Hu, Alexander Jueterbock, Norishige ...
    Evolutionary Applications, 1-13 2019
    Citations: 23

  • Decadal stability in genetic variation and structure in the intertidal seaweed Fucus serratus (Heterokontophyta: Fucaceae)
    A Jueterbock, JA Coyer, JL Olsen, G Hoarau
    BMC Evolutionary Biology 18 (94) 2018
    Citations: 19