Exploring the over-wintering and over-summering mechanisms of Ulva prolifera from physiological and transcriptome perspectives and their impacts on green tides

Since 2007, the South Yellow Sea region of China has endured the world's largest recurrent green tide disaster for 18 consecutive years, resulting in substantial economic losses and ecological risks. Ulva prolifera the dominant species in these green tides, demonstrates remarkable tolerance to both elevated and reduced temperatures, with its thermal adaptation mechanisms critically linked to seasonal outbreak dynamics. This study established three temperature regimes (5 °C, 20 °C, and 30 °C) based on recent extreme temperature records from the Yellow Sea region to systematically evaluate growth rates, photosynthetic performance, pigment profiles, antioxidant enzyme activities, and transcriptomic responses of U. prolifera. Results revealed optimal growth at 15–25 °C, with significant growth inhibition beyond this range. Elevated temperature (30 °C) induced modest increases in photosynthetic fluorescence parameters and pigment content, coupled with pronounced enhancement of peroxidase (POD) activity. Conversely, low-temperature exposure (5 °C) substantially suppressed both photosynthetic efficiency and pigment levels, while eliciting only marginal POD activation. Transcriptomic profiling demonstrated distinct survival strategies: Low temperatures triggered the activation of the protein synthesis pathway and basal metabolic maintenance to prolong viability, whereas high temperatures activated antioxidant defenses and metabolic reprogramming to sustain photosynthetic function and nutrient cycling. Machine learning analysis revealed that proteins related to protein modification and cell differentiation exhibited strong responses under temperature stress. These temperature-responsive regulatory networks underpin the seasonal proliferation patterns of U. prolifera green tides. The findings advance mechanistic understanding of its overwintering and summer endurance strategies, offering critical theoretical frameworks for ecological management and mitigation technologies.