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ABSTRACT: Background
"Red tides" are harmful algal blooms caused by dinoflagellate microalgae that accumulate toxins lethal to other organisms, including humans via consumption of contaminated seafood. These algal blooms are driven by a combination of environmental factors including nutrient enrichment, particularly in warm waters, and are increasingly frequent. The molecular, regulatory, and evolutionary mechanisms that underlie the heat stress response in these harmful bloom-forming algal species remain little understood, due in part to the limited genomic resources from dinoflagellates, complicated by the large sizes of genomes, exhibiting features atypical of eukaryotes.Results
We present the de novo assembled genome (~ 4.75 Gbp with 85,849 protein-coding genes), transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome from Prorocentrum cordatum, a globally abundant, bloom-forming dinoflagellate. Using axenic algal cultures, we study the molecular mechanisms that underpin the algal response to heat stress, which is relevant to current ocean warming trends. We present the first evidence of a complementary interplay between RNA editing and exon usage that regulates the expression and functional diversity of biomolecules, reflected by reduction in photosynthesis, central metabolism, and protein synthesis. These results reveal genomic signatures and post-transcriptional regulation for the first time in a pelagic dinoflagellate.Conclusions
Our multi-omics analyses uncover the molecular response to heat stress in an important bloom-forming algal species, which is driven by complex gene structures in a large, high-G+C genome, combined with multi-level transcriptional regulation. The dynamics and interplay of molecular regulatory mechanisms may explain in part how dinoflagellates diversified to become some of the most ecologically successful organisms on Earth.
SUBMITTER: Dougan KE
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10666404 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Dougan Katherine E KE Deng Zhi-Luo ZL Wöhlbrand Lars L Reuse Carsten C Bunk Boyke B Chen Yibi Y Hartlich Juliane J Hiller Karsten K John Uwe U Kalvelage Jana J Mansky Johannes J Neumann-Schaal Meina M Overmann Jörg J Petersen Jörn J Sanchez-Garcia Selene S Schmidt-Hohagen Kerstin K Shah Sarah S Spröer Cathrin C Sztajer Helena H Wang Hui H Bhattacharya Debashish D Rabus Ralf R Jahn Dieter D Chan Cheong Xin CX Wagner-Döbler Irene I
Genome biology 20231123 1
<h4>Background</h4>"Red tides" are harmful algal blooms caused by dinoflagellate microalgae that accumulate toxins lethal to other organisms, including humans via consumption of contaminated seafood. These algal blooms are driven by a combination of environmental factors including nutrient enrichment, particularly in warm waters, and are increasingly frequent. The molecular, regulatory, and evolutionary mechanisms that underlie the heat stress response in these harmful bloom-forming algal specie ...[more]