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Biomarkers and Early Warning System

 
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A condition that disturbs cellular homeostasis represents a stress. Organisms have developed mechanisms to cope with and adapt to unexpected challenges and harsh conditions. To survive stress, cells induce signaling pathways to neutralize the disturbance and restore cellular homeostasis. Once homeostasis is restored, stress signaling is terminated. However, further increases in the magnitude and duration of stressful conditions will inversely disrupt the cellular homeostasis of marine organisms, ultimately resulting in physiological constraints. Since phenotype results ultimately from the expression of genes and gene complexes, understanding gene expression patterns evoked in response to environmental change could yield insights regarding the molecular basis of phenotype and the ability of organisms to restore cellular homeostasis.
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The underlying concept of "early warning biological indicators" is that effects can be detected which are, in fact, precursors to or indicate the onset of actual environmental impacts. While "early warning biological indicators" may not necessarily provide firm evidence of large scale environmental degradation, they provide an opportunity to determine whether intervention or further investigation is warranted. As such, early warning indicators can be defined as "the measurable biological responses to a particular stress, preceding the occurrence of potentially significant adverse effects on the organism of interest". The early warning  system contributes to the ultimate goal of multiple-stressor research which is the prediction of the combined effect of stressors. The creation of an early warning system based on cellular biomarkers by studying gene expression, molecular, biochemical, and physiological responses, all under field conditions, is one of our goals. 
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Overall, a complete and effective early warning system supports four main functions:
  1. Risk analysis 
  2. Monitoring and warning
  3. Dissemination and communication 
  4. Response capability
Working from the cell to organism we aim to forecast disturbances that adversely affect the stability of bivalve populations, providing time for the response system to prepare for the adverse event and to minimize its impact.