Phaeobacter inhibens induces apoptosis-like programmed cell death in calcifying Emiliania huxleyi.

ABSTRACT: The model coccolithophore, Emiliania huxleyi, forms expansive blooms dominated by the calcifying cell type, which produce calcite scales called coccoliths. Blooms last several weeks, after which the calcified algal cells rapidly die, descending into the deep ocean. E. huxleyi bloom collapse is attributed to E. huxleyi viruses (EhVs) that infect and kill calcifying cells, while other E. huxleyi pathogens, such as bacteria belonging to the roseobacter clade, are overlooked. EhVs kill calcifying E. huxleyi by inducing production of bioactive viral-glycosphingolipids (vGSLs), which trigger algal programmed cell death (PCD). The roseobacter Phaeobacter inhibens was recently shown to interact with and kill the calcifying cell type of E. huxleyi, but the mechanism of algal death remains unelucida

SUBMITTER: Bramucci AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6426857 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature