Marine diatoms change their gene expression profile when exposed to microscale turbulence under nutrient replete conditions.

ABSTRACT: Diatoms are a fundamental microalgal phylum that thrives in turbulent environments. Despite several experimental and numerical studies, if and how diatoms may profit from turbulence is still an open question. One of the leading arguments is that turbulence favours nutrient uptake. Morphological features, such as the absence of flagella, the presence of a rigid exoskeleton and the micrometre size would support the possible passive but beneficial role of turbulence on diatoms. We demonstrate that in fact diatoms actively respond to turbulence in non-limiting nutrient conditions. TURBOGEN, a prototypic instrument to generate natural levels of microscale turbulence, was used to expose diatoms to the mechanical stimulus. Differential expression analyses, coupled with microscopy inspections, ena

SUBMITTER: Amato A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5476593 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature