Project description:Copper (Cu) plays an essential role in cellular metabolism and limits phytoplankton growth and production in parts of the open sea. Whole transcriptome analysis provides a powerful tool to explore gene expression profiles and cellular metabolic pathways regulated by Cu. In this study, we identified Cu-regulated genes by profiling the transcriptomes of an oceanic diatom, Thalassiosira oceanica 1005, adapted to survive in a Cu-limited and Cu-replete environment. The results provide insights to the mechanisms of adaptation and acclimation of T. oceanica to low Cu environments.
Project description:Enhanced vertical stratification brought about by warming of the ocean surface is expected to reduce vertical circulation and nutrient input with knock-on effects for phytoplankton. Increased nutrient limitation is one predicted outcome, but the response of phytoplankton is uncertain because long-term adaptation to nutrient limitation has not been studied. We used Cu as a model catalytic nutrient to explore the adaptive response of an oceanic diatom to continuous nutrient deprivation. Thalassiosira oceanica was maintained under Cu-limiting and sufficient conditions for more than 2000 generations and the evolved populations evaluated for physiological traits in a reciprocal transplant experiment. Adaptation to low Cu concentration increased Cu use efficiency, so that under Cu-limiting conditions T. oceanica maintained significantly faster rates of net C assimilation and growth than the control and ancestral populations.
Project description:The oceanic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia granii was cultured in the laboratory under steady-state iron-replete and iron-limited conditions. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses were performed to determine how this organism reorganizes major metabolic processes as a function of iron supply.
Project description:Iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) are essential metal micronutrients that are necessary for many redox reactions. The uptake of these metals is tightly regulated in plants. Some redox processes can alternatively use Fe-containing proteins or Cu-containing proteins, depending on nutritional status. Copper deficiency can rescue a Cucumis melo Fe uptake deficient mutant, and Fe deficiency can result in increased accumulation of Cu. However, the system responsible for Fe-deficiency-regulated Cu-uptake is unknown. To understand the genes and gene networks associated with Fe-deficiency regulated Cu uptake and Fe-Cu cross-talk, we conducted transcriptomic profiling of roots and rosettes of spl7 (a Cu uptake deficient mutant in arabidopsis) and Col-0 (WT) grown under Fe, Cu and simultaneous Fe and Cu deficiency conditions.
Project description:Diatoms are responsible for ~40% of marine primary productivity1, fueling the oceanic carbon cycle and contributing to natural carbon sequestration in the deep ocean2. Diatoms rely on energetically expensive carbon concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to fix carbon efficiently at modern levels of CO23–5. How diatoms may respond over the short and long-term to rising atmospheric CO2 remains an open question. Here we use nitrate-limited chemostats to show that the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana rapidly responds to increasing CO2 by differentially expressing gene clusters that regulate transcription and chromosome folding and subsequently reduces transcription of photosynthesis and respiration gene clusters under steady-state elevated CO2. These results suggest that exposure to elevated CO2 first causes a shift in regulation and then a metabolic rearrangement. Genes in one CO2-responsive cluster included CCM and photorespiration genes that share a putative cyclic-AMP responsive cis-regulatory sequence, implying these genes are co-regulated in response to CO2 with cAMP as an intermediate messenger. We verified cAMP-induced down-regulation of CCM gene δ-CA3 in nutrient-replete diatom cultures by inhibiting the hydrolysis of cAMP. These results indicate an important role for cAMP in down-regulating CCM and photorespiration genes under elevated CO2 and provide insights into mechanisms of diatom acclimation in response to climate change.
Project description:Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of single-stranded non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) that are 20-24 nucleotides (nt) in length. Extensive studies have indicated that miRNAs play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. With more copper (Cu) and copper-containing compounds used as bactericides and fungicides in viticulture, Cu stress has become one of the serious environmental problems that affect plant growth and development. In order to uncover the hidden response mechanisms of Cu stress, many Cu-responsive miRNAs have been detected in several plant species. However, there have been few reports about the grapevine miRNAs in response to Cu. Results: Here, two small RNA libraries were constructed from Cu-treated and water-treated (control) leaves of 'Summer Black' grapevine. Following high-throughput sequencing and filtering, 158 known vvi-miRNAs and 98 novel vvi-miRNAs were identified in the two libraries. Among these, 24 could only be detected in the treatment, and 63 were only detected in the control. Additionally, 100 known vvi-miRNAs were found to be clearly responsive to Cu, among which 96 were down-regulated and four were up-regulated; 47 novel vvi-miRNAs were found to be clearly responsive to Cu, among which 35 were down-regulated and 12 were up-regulated. Subsequently, expression patterns of a set of Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). There existed some consistency in expression levels of Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs between high-throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR assays. In addition, 92 putative targets for 79 known vvi-miRNAs and 51 putative targets for 22 novel vvi-miRNAs were predicted, and most of the targets are involved in multiple biological processes including transcriptional regulation and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Conclusions: In this study, 147 Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs were identified using high-throughput sequencing, and their target genes were predicted, which will be helpful to understanding the molecular mechanisms of miRNAs in response to Cu stress. Furthermore, this work can also provide a foundation for further study of the networks of miRNAs involved in grapevine plant growth and breeding some Cu-tolerant grapevine cultivars. Mixed 'Summer Black' grapevine young leaves (2 weeks old), large leaves (5 weeks old), and old leaves (9 week old) in randomly-selected plants from both the Cu-treated and control groups were collected for high-throughput sequencing. Subsequently, we carried out the analysis of Solexa sequencing data, and performed the research of regulatory modes of grapevine miRNAs on their target genes during Cu stress.
Project description:Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of single-stranded non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) that are 20-24 nucleotides (nt) in length. Extensive studies have indicated that miRNAs play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. With more copper (Cu) and copper-containing compounds used as bactericides and fungicides in viticulture, Cu stress has become one of the serious environmental problems that affect plant growth and development. In order to uncover the hidden response mechanisms of Cu stress, many Cu-responsive miRNAs have been detected in several plant species. However, there have been few reports about the grapevine miRNAs in response to Cu. Results: Here, two small RNA libraries were constructed from Cu-treated and water-treated (control) leaves of 'Summer Black' grapevine. Following high-throughput sequencing and filtering, 158 known vvi-miRNAs and 98 novel vvi-miRNAs were identified in the two libraries. Among these, 24 could only be detected in the treatment, and 63 were only detected in the control. Additionally, 100 known vvi-miRNAs were found to be clearly responsive to Cu, among which 96 were down-regulated and four were up-regulated; 47 novel vvi-miRNAs were found to be clearly responsive to Cu, among which 35 were down-regulated and 12 were up-regulated. Subsequently, expression patterns of a set of Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). There existed some consistency in expression levels of Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs between high-throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR assays. In addition, 92 putative targets for 79 known vvi-miRNAs and 51 putative targets for 22 novel vvi-miRNAs were predicted, and most of the targets are involved in multiple biological processes including transcriptional regulation and response to biotic and abiotic stresses. Conclusions: In this study, 147 Cu-responsive vvi-miRNAs were identified using high-throughput sequencing, and their target genes were predicted, which will be helpful to understanding the molecular mechanisms of miRNAs in response to Cu stress. Furthermore, this work can also provide a foundation for further study of the networks of miRNAs involved in grapevine plant growth and breeding some Cu-tolerant grapevine cultivars.
Project description:The physiological adaptations of diatoms to cope with Cu limitation are largely unknown. In the present study we investigated the response to Cu limitation in two strains of the model open ocean diatom T. oceanica (CCMP 1003 and CCMP 1005), focusing on physiological and proteomic changes in the photosynthetic apparatus. Our results show remarkable differences between the adaptations of TO05 and TO03 to low Cu, highlighting significant intra specific variations.