Along with human activities, an overwhelming amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) has been released into the atmosphere and subsequently absorbed by the ocean through the air–sea interface, leading to a significant decrease in oceanic pH, known as global ocean acidification (OA). Over time, the continued pH decrease, together with a major change in the carbonate system, has created serious risks for a wide range of marine organisms and the ecosystem, and therefore the near-future OA scenario is increasingly and intensively emphasized. As the ecologically dominant species in various oceanic environments such as estuaries and the coral reef, marine mollusks are at great risk due to the altered innate immune response under the near-future OA condition. Furthermore, because infectious disease in marine mollusks is the result of the joint action of host and pathogenic microbes, the impacts of the OA on the host, microbes, and their interactions may also affect the immune response of marine mollusks. In addition, other environmental stressors, such as high temperature, hypoxia, and pollutants, may exert combined impacts of OA on the immunity of marine mollusks. Thus, this chapter focuses on the following fields: (1) the impacts of OA on the cellular and humoral immune response of marine mollusks; (2) the potential affecting mechanisms of OA on the immunity of marine mollusks; (3) the host–microbe interactions in marine mollusks under OA scenario; and (4) the combined effects of OA and other environmental stressors on the immunity of marine mollusks.
Zhang W., Shi W. & Liu G., 2024. Ecophysiology and ocean acidification in marine mollusks: from molecule to behavior. In: Wang Y. (Ed.), Chapter 5 – Impacts of ocean acidification on the immunity and host–microbe interactions in marine mollusks, pp. 161-197. Elsevier: Academic Press. Chapter (restricted access).
