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Sokolova, Inna, Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Chair of Researchsokolova-inna

Physiological mechanisms of environmental adaptation and stress tolerance in marine organisms.

Phone, Office: 704.687.8532
Phone, Lab: 704.687.8523
Office: Woodward 381C
Email:

Academic Degrees

  • Ph.D. Zoology, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia (1997)

  • B.S. Biology, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia (1991)

Professional Experience

  • 2011-present: Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
  • 2008-2011: Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

  • 2002-2008: Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC

  • 2001-2002: Post-doctoral Fellow, University of Guelph, Guelph ON, Canada

  • 1999-2001: Alexander von Humboldt Post-doctoral Fellow, Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

  • 1997-2001: Research Fellow, White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

Courses Taught:

  • BIOL 3144 Ecology

  • BIOL 4600 Senior Seminar

  • BIOL 4000/5000 Comparative Animal Physiology

  • BIOL 4000/5000 Environmental Toxicology and Health

  • BIOL 6000/8000 Environmental Toxicology and Health

Laboratory Courses:

  • BIOL 2111 Cell Biology Lab

  • BIOL 3144L Ecology Laboratory

    • Web designer for BIOL3144L Ecology Lab

 

Environmental Physiology and Toxicology of Aquatic Ectotherms

In today’s world, geological forces have combined with past and present human activities to cause an extremely rapid environmental change, one that is often too strong and too fast to permit the long process of evolutionary adaptation that can require many generations to complete. The population survival and distribution of many species in this rapidly changing world will depend on their abilities to cope with stress and to quickly adjust their physiology to environmental change. The overarching research goal of Dr. Sokolova’s lab is to understand the effects of environmental stress on marine organisms, to identify physiological and molecular mechanisms of their stress adaptation and tolerance, and to predict the potential consequences of the environmental change to their populations. We are interested in effects of such diverse stressors as parasites and diseases, marine pollution, oxygen deficiency (hypoxia and anoxia), temperature stress and ocean acidification. We focus on the role of energy metabolism in stress adaptations and tolerance, because matching metabolic demand with energy supply is a key factor for sustained activity, reproduction and survival of all organisms – from bacteria to humans, and metabolic misbalance is a major factor setting limits of stress tolerance and implicated in disease and pathology.  We use an integrative approach by analyzed the stressor effects on different levels – from on molecular, subcellular (mitochondrial) and cellular responses to the effects on the whole-organism physiology and bioenergetics and the potential population-level consequences of these effects.

 

Research areas

Research in our lab is focused in the three main areas:

Environmental Physiology and Toxicology
Metabolic Physiology and Bioenergetics
Invertebrate Immunology and Host-Parasite Relationships

 

Current Research Projects

Effects of ocean acidification and global warming on marine bivalves. Global climate change, which is to a large extent driven by anthropogenically-released CO2, is expected to lead to significant changes in species distribution and abundance around the globe. Two factors associated with the rise in atmospheric CO2 are of particular importance to marine ecosystems: 1) warming due to the CO2-driven greenhouse effect, and 2) acidification of the sea water and reduction in the degree of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) saturation. These changes can have adverse effects on marine organisms, especially on calcifiers that build their endo- or exoskeletons of CaCO3, such as bivalve mollusks that are ecosystem builders in coastal regions as well as a key species for marine fisheries and aquaculture. We study the effects of elevated temperature and CO2 levels on biomineralization, growth and energy metabolism of three common bivalve species. We determine the effects of elevated temperature and high CO2 on shell formation and growth, survival, energy metabolism, as well as structural and mechanical properties of shells in the bivalves. These studies are important for assessing the potential ecological and economic impacts of global climate change in estuaries and coastal zones of the ocean.

Interactive effects of multiple stressors in estuaries and coastal zones on marine bivalves. This research project is focused on physiological and molecular mechanisms of interactive effects of temperature stress (such as expected in the case of the global climate change), anoxia and metal pollution on physiology and bioenergetics of a model marine ectotherm, the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica. We used integrative approach to analyze the effects of cadmium exposure and temperatures (in the environmentally relevant ranges), as well as anoxia and re-oxygenation stress on the whole-organism respiratory physiology, bioenergetics and metabolism along with the detailed analysis of the potential mechanisms of these effects at cellular, subcellular (mitochondrial) and molecular levels.

Apoptosis and immune defense in oysters. Dermo disease caused by the obligatory intracellular protozoan Perkinsus marinus is a major factor responsible for extensive oyster mortalities along the entire eastern US seaboard, threatening both aquacultured and wild populations of oysters. To alleviate these devastating effects there is an urgent need to develop efficient means of control and prevention of Dermo disease, which requires knowledge of the molecular mechanisms how the parasite evades the host immune defense. Apoptosis (also called programmed cell death or cell suicide) plays a key role in immunity by eliminating diseased cells and cells containing pathogens such as Perkinsus. In our lab, we study the role of apoptosis as an immune defense mechanism in oysters, and investigate the mechanisms by which the parasite can suppress this immune defense. We hope that these studies will not only shed a new important light on the functioning of the invertebrate immune systems but also provide novel avenues to combat a major foe of eastern oysters (and of the oyster industry) – the Dermo disease.

 

Funding:

Selected Recent Publications

*Indicates a student co-author

  • Sokolova I.M. (2011). Surviving thermal extremes: Temperature adaptations in animals. Nature Education Knowledge (in press).
  • Sokolova I.M. (2011). Metabolic arrest as an adaptation to extreme stress in molluscs. Nature Education Knowledge (in press).
  • Kurochkin I.O.*, Etzkorn M., Buchwalter D., Leamy L. and Sokolova I.M. (2011). Top-down control analysis of the cadmium effects on molluskan mitochondria and the role of oxidative stress in cadmium-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 300:R21-R31.
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Froelich B.*, Williams T.*, Sokolov E.P., Oliver J.D., Sokolova I.M. (2011). Interactive effects of cadmium and hypoxia on metabolic responses and bacterial loads of eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica Gmelin. Chemosphere 82(3): 377-89.
  • Chapman R.W., Mancia A., Beal M., Veloso A., Rathburn C., Blair A., Holland A.F.,  Warr G.W., Didinato G. , Sokolova I.M., Wirth E.,  Sanger D. (2011). The transcriptomic responses of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, to environmental conditions. Molecular Ecology 20: 1431–1449.
  • Piontkivska H., Chung J.-S., Ivanina A.V.*, Sokolov E.P., Techa S.*, Sokolova I.M. (2011). Molecular characterization and mRNA expression of two key enzymes of hypoxia-sensing pathways in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin): Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and HIF-prolyl hydroxylase 2 (PHD2). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology D: Genomics and Proteomics 6: 103-114.
  • Foster B.*, Grewal S.*, Graves O., Hughes F.M. Jr, Sokolova I.M. (2011). Copper exposure affects hemocyte apoptosis and Perkinsus marinus infection in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin). Fish and Shellfish Immunology 31:341-349.
  • Hughes F.M., Foster B., Grewal S., Sokolova I.M. (2010). Apoptosis as a host defense mechanism in Crassostrea virginica and its modulation by Perkinsus marinus. Fish and Shellfish Immunology 29(2):247-257.
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Sokolov E.P., Sokolova I.M. (2010). Effects of cadmium on anaerobic energy metabolism and mRNA expression during air exposure and recovery of an intertidal mollusk Crassostrea virginica. Aquatic Toxicology 99:330-342.
  • Lannig G., Eilers S., Pörtner H.O., Sokolova I.M., Bock C. (2010). Impact of ocean acidification on energy metabolism of oyster, Crassostrea gigas – Changes in metabolic pathways and thermal response. Marine Drugs 8(8), 2318-2339.
  • Beniash E., Ivanina A.*, Lieb N.S.*, Kurochkin I.*, Sokolova I.M. (2010). Elevated levels of carbon dioxide affect metabolism and shell formation in oysters Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin). Marine Ecology Progress Series 419:95-108.
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Eilers S.*, Kurochkin I.O.*, Chung J.S., Techa S.*, Piontkivska H., Sokolov E.P., Sokolova I.M. (2010). Effects of cadmium exposure and intermittent anoxia on nitric oxide metabolism in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica. Journal of Experimental Biology 213, 433-444.
  • Cherkasov A. S., Taylor C.*, Sokolova I.M. (2010). Seasonal variation in mitochondrial responses to cadmium and temperature in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin) from different latitudes. Aquatic Toxicology 97(1): 68-78.
  • Kurochkin I.O.*, Ivanina A.V.*, Eilers S.*, Downs C.A., May L.A., Sokolova I.M. (2009). Cadmium affects metabolic responses to prolonged anoxia and reoxygenation in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica. American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 297: R1262-R1272.
  • Sokolova I.M. (2009). Apoptosis in molluscan immune defense. Invertebrate Survival Journal 6: 49-58 (invited review). Open Access: http://www.isj.unimo.it/articoli/ISJ183.pdf
  • Kern B., Ivanina A.V.*, Piontkivska H., Sokolov E.P., Sokolova I.M. (2009). Molecular characterization and expression of a novel homolog of uncoupling protein 5 (UCP5) from the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin) (Bivalvia: Ostreidae). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology D 4: 121-127.
  • Granovitch A.I., Yagunova E.B.*, Maximovich A.N.*, Sokolova I.M.(2009). Elevated female fecundity as a possible compensatory mechanism in response to trematode infestation in populations of Littorina saxatilis (Olivi). International Journal of Parasitology 39: 1011-1019.
  • Ivanina A.I.*, Taylor C.*, Sokolova I.M. (2009). Effects of elevated temperature and cadmium exposure on stress protein response in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin). Aquatic Toxicology 91: 245-254.
  • Sokolova I.M. (2008). Poikilotherms. In: S. E. Jorgensen & B. D. Fath (eds). Encyclopedia of Ecology, 1st Edition, Elsevier B.V., Oxford. Pp. 2851-2854. (invited chapter).
  • Sokolova I.M. (2008). Temperature regulation. In: S. E. Jorgensen & B. D. Fath (eds). Encyclopedia of Ecology, 1st Edition, Elsevier B.V., Oxford. Pp. 3509-3516. (invited chapter).
  • Sokolova I.M., Lannig G. (2008). Interactive effects of metal pollution and temperature on metabolism in aquatic ectotherms: Implications of global climate change. Climate Research 37: 181-201. (invited review).
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Habinck E.*, Sokolova I.M. (2008). Differential sensitivity to cadmium of key mitochondrial enzymes in the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica Gmelin (Bivalvia: Ostreidae). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C 148: 72-79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpc.2008.03.009
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Sokolova I.M. (2008). Effects of cadmium exposure on expression and activity of P-glycoprotein in eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica Gmelin. Aquatic Toxicology 88:19-28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2008.02.014
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Sokolova I.M., Sukhotin A.A. (2008). Oxidative stress and expression of chaperones in aging mollusks. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 150: 53-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpb.2008.01.005
  • Lannig G., Bock C., Cherkasov A.*, Pörtner H.O., Sokolova I.M. (2008). Cadmium-dependent oxygen limitation affects temperature tolerance in eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin). American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 294:1338-1346. http://ajpregu.physiology.org/cgi/reprint/294/4/R1338
  • Ivanina A.V.*, Cherkasov A.S.*, Sokolova I.M. (2008). Effects of cadmium on cellular protein and glutathione synthesis and expression of stress proteins in eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica Gmelin. Journal of Experimental Biology 211: 577-586. http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/211/4/577
  • Sanni B.*, Williams K.*, Sokolov E.P., Sokolova I.M. (2008). Effects of acclimation temperature and cadmium exposure on mitochondrial aconitase and LON protease from a model marine ectotherm, Crassostrea virginica. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C 147: 101 - 112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpc.2007.08.005
  • Cherkasov A.S.*, Grewal S.*, Sokolova I.M. (2007). Combined effects of temperature and cadmium exposure on haemocyte apoptosis and cadmium accumulation in the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin). Journal of Thermal Biology 32 (3): 162 - 170.
  • Cherkasov A.S.*, Overton, R.A. Jr*, Sokolov E.P., Sokolova I.M. (2007). Temperature-dependent effects of cadmium and purine nucleotides on mitochondrial aconitase from a marine ectotherm, Crassostrea virginica: a role of temperature in oxidative stress and allosteric enzyme regulation. Journal of Experimental Biology 210: 46-55. http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/210/1/46
  • Featured on "Inside JEB" http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/210/1/ii
  • Lannig G., Flores J.F., Sokolova I.M. (2006). Temperature-dependent stress response in oysters, Crassostrea virginica: Pollution reduces temperature tolerance in oysters. Aquatic Toxicology 79: 278-287.
  • Cherkasov A.S.*, Ringwood A.H., Sokolova I.M. (2006). Effects of cadmium exposure on mitochondrial function are modulated by acclimation temperature in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica Gmelin (Bivalvia: Ostreidae). Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 25: 2461-2469.
  • Lannig G., Cherkasov A.S.*, Sokolova I.M. (2006). Temperature-dependent effects of cadmium on mitochondrial and whole-organism bioenergetics of oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Marine Environmental Research 62: S79-S82.
  • Sokolova I.M., Oliver J.D., Leamy L.J. (2006). An AFLP approach to identify genetic markers associated with resistance to Vibrio vulnificus and Perkinsus marinus in eastern oysters. Journal of Shellfish Research 25: 95-100.
  • Cherkasov A.S.*, Biswas P.K., Ridings D.M., Ringwood A.H., Sokolova I.M. (2006). Effects of acclimation temperature and cadmium exposure on cellular energy budgets in a marine mollusk Crassostrea virginica: Linking cellular and mitochondrial responses. Journal of Experimental Biology 209:1274-1284.
  • Sokolova I.M., Leamy L., Harrison M.*, Oliver J.D. (2005). Intrapopulational variation in Vibrio vulnificus levels in Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin 1971) is associated with the host size but not with disease status or developmental stability. Journal of Shellfish Research 24: 503-508.
  • Sokolova I.M., Ringwood A.H., Johnson C.* (2005). Tissue-specific accumulation of cadmium in subcellular compartments of eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica Gmelin (Bivalvia: Ostreidae). Aquatic Toxicology 74: 218-228. http://www.sciencedirect.com/ (doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2005.05.012)
  • Sokolova I.M., Sokolov E.P., Ponnappa K.M.* (2005).Cadmium exposure affects mitochondrial bioenergetics and gene expression of key mitochondrial proteins in the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica Gmelin (Bivalvia: Ostreidae). Aquatic Toxicology 73: 242- 255. http://www.sciencedirect.com/
  • Sokolova I.M., Sokolov E.P. (2005). Evolution of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins: Novel invertebrate UCP homologues suggest early evolutionary divergence of the UCP family. FEBS Letters 579: 313-317 http://www.febsletters.org/article/PIIS0014579304015340/abstract
  • Sokolova I.M., Evans S.*, Hughes F.M. (2004). Cadmium-induced apoptosis in oyster hemocytes involves disturbance of cellular energy balance but no mitochondrial permeability transition. Journal of Experimental Biology 207: 3369-3380. http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/207/19/3369
  • Sokolova I.M. (2004). Cadmium effects on mitochondrial function are enhanced by elevated temperatures in a marine poikilotherm, Crassostrea virginica Gmelin (Bivalvia: Ostreidae). Journal of Experimental Biology 207: 2639-2648. http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/207/15/2639.pdf

 

 

 

 

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