Ocean acidificationf affects the bioenergetics of marine mussels as revealed by high-coverage quantitative metabolomics

Ocean acidification has become a major ecological and environmental problem in the world, whereas the impact mechanism of ocean acidification in marine bivalves is not fully understood. Cellular energy allocation (CEA) ap-proach and high-coverage metabolomic techniques were used to investigate the acidification effects on the energy me-tabolism of mussels. The thick shell mussels Mytilus coruscus were exposed to seawater pH 8.1 (control) and pH 7.7 (acidification) for 14 days and allowed to recover at pH 8.1 for 7 days. The levels of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins significantly decreased in the digestive glands of the mussels exposed to acidification. The 14-day acidification expo-sure increased the energy demands of mussels, resulting in increased electron transport system (ETS) activity and de-creased cellular energy allocation (CEA). Significant carry-over effects were observed on all cellular energy parameters except the concentration of carbohydrates and cellular energy demand (Ec) after 7 days of recovery. Metabolomic anal-ysis showed that acidification affected the phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism, and glycine, serine and threonine metabolism. Correlation analysis showed that mussel

Automated summary

Ocean acidification is a major environmental problem, and its impact on the energy metabolism of marine bivalves is not fully understood. This study investigated the effects of acidification on mussel energy metabolism using cellular energy allocation (CEA) approach and metabolomic techniques. The results showed that acidification decreased the levels of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins in the mussels' digestive glands. Acidification also increased energy demands, electron transport system activity, and decreased cellular energy allocation. Significant carry-over effects were observed, and acidification affected various metabolic pathways. Correlations between energy metabolism and metabolomics were found.