Parental priming for ocean acidification resilience in cultured Manila clams: mechanistic insights gained through transcriptome analysis.

Bivalve aquaculture is a growing sector worldwide, producing sustainable animal protein to meet growing demand from consumers. Yet, the industry remains vulnerable to environmental changes that can impact their product across life stages, especially at the vulnerable larval stage. Parental priming, or the exposure of broodstock to adverse environmental conditions as they undergo gametogenesis, holds promise as a method to increase resilience in bivalve offspring. We examined the impacts of low-pH priming on Manila clam broodstock and its impacts on broodstock physiology and larval outcomes in a hatchery setting. Based on different larval phenotypes resulting from the two broodstock pH conditions, we investigated the impact of maternal effects by sequencing the transcriptomes of eggs produced by females that experienced low-pH priming or ambient conditions.