Isolation and characterization of carbonic anhydrases from the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) isozymes were identified and isolated from three strains of Phaeodactylum tricornutum [University of Texas Culture Collection (UTEX 640), North Eastern Pacific Culture Collection at the University of British Columbia B31 and Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa 1052/1A]. External (CA_ext) and internal CA activity was detected by potentiometric assay of intact cells and cell homogenates of air and high CO₂-grown cells. CA_ext was detected only in UTEX 640 grown under CO₂-limited conditions and present in trace amounts in cells grown on high CO₂. CA isozymes in cells extracts were separated by cellulose acetate electrophoresis and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. All three strains had two CA bands in common, while UTEX 640 had a third, faster-running band which was absent from extracts of high CO₂-grown cells and thus was the external isozyme. The internal CA isoforms of the UTEX 640 strain were shown to have molecular masses of 28 and 25 kDa, and the external 24 kDa. A fourth CA_ext isozyme with a molecular weight of 23.5 kDa was later detected using a polyclonal CA antibody. The CA isozymes were low-CO₂-inducible proteins because Western blot analysis, using a polyclonal antibody, indicated that CA expression was repressed in high CO₂-grown cells. CA localization, using both immunofluorescence and immunogold techniques, with air-grown cells indicated that the CA_ext was located in the periplasmic space and on the cell membrane, whereas in high CO₂-grown cells only internal CA was detected.     

Complex repeat structures and novel features in the mitochondrial genomes of the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana

The mitochondrial genome of the raphid pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum has several novel features compared with the mitochondrial genomes of the centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana and the araphid pennate diatom Synedra acus. It is almost double the size (77,356 bp) due to a 35,454 bp sequence block consisting of an elaborate combination of direct repeats, making it the largest stramenopile (heterokont) mitochondrial genome known. In addition, the cox1 gene has a +1 translational frameshift involving Pro codons CCC and CCT, the first translational frameshift to be detected in an algal mitochondrial genome. The nad9 and rps14 genes are fused by the insertion of an in-frame sequence and cotranscribed. The nad11 gene is split into two parts corresponding to the FeS and molybdate-binding domains, but both parts are still on the mitochondrial genome, in contrast to the brown algae where the second domain appears to have been transferred to the nucleus. In contrast to P. tricornutum, the repeat region of T. pseudonana consists of a much smaller 4790 bp string of almost identical double-hairpin elements, evidence of slipped-strand mispairing and active gene conversion. The diatom mitochondrial genomes have undergone considerable gene rearrangement since the three lineages of diatoms diverged, but all three have kept their repeat regions segregated from their relatively compact coding regions.     

Triacylglycerol accumulation and profiling in the model diatoms Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (Baccilariophyceae) during starvation

Although substantial economic barriers exist, marine diatoms such as Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum hold promise as feedstock for biodiesel because of their ability to manufacture and store triacylglycerols (TAGs). The recent sequencing of these two marine diatom genomes by the United States Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and the development of improved systems for genetic manipulation should allow a more systematic approach to understanding and maximizing TAG production. However, in order to best utilize these genomes and genetic tools, we must first gain a deeper understanding of the nutrient-mediated regulation of TAG anabolism. By determining both the yield and molecular species distribution of TAGs we will, in the future, be able to fully characterize the effects of genetic manipulation. Here, we lay the groundwork for understanding TAG production in T. pseudonana and P. tricornutum, as a function of nitrate and silicate depletion. Diatoms were starved of either nitrate or silicate, and TAGs were extracted with hexane from lyophilized samples taken at various time intervals following starvation. The timing of TAG production and the relative abundance of TAGs were estimated by fluorescence spectroscopy using Nile red and the total yield per biomass determined by gravimetric assay. TAGs were analyzed using thin layer chromatography, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to identify the major TAG species produced during the growth curve. Under our conditions, the TAG yield from T. pseudonana is about 14–18% of total dry weight. The TAG yield from P. tricornutum is about 14% of total dry weight. Silicate-starved T. pseudonana accumulated an average of 24% more TAGs than those starved for nitrate; however, the chemotypes of the TAGs produced were generally similar regardless of the starvation condition employed.     

Redox regulation of carbonic anhydrases via thioredoxin in chloroplast of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Thioredoxins (Trxs) are important regulators of photosynthetic fixation of CO(2) and nitrogen in plant chloroplasts. To date, they have been considered to play a minor role in controlling the Calvin cycle in marine diatoms, aquatic primary producers, although diatoms possess a set of plastidic Trxs. In this study we examined the influences of the redox state and the involvement of Trxs in the enzymatic activities of pyrenoidal carbonic anhydrases, PtCA1 and PtCA2, in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. The recombinant mature PtCA1 and -2 (mPtCA1 and -2) were completely inactivated following oxidation by 50 μm CuCl(2), whereas DTT activated CAs in a concentration-dependent manner. The maximum activity of mPtCAs in the presence of 6 mm reduced DTT increased significantly by addition of 10 μm Trxs from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtTrx-f2 and -m2) and 5 μm Trxs from P. tricornutum (PtTrxF and -M). Analyses of mPtCA activation by Trxs in the presence of DTT revealed that the maximum mPtCA1 activity was enhanced ～3-fold in the presence of Trx, whereas mPtCA2 was only weakly activated by Trxs, and that PtTrxs activate PtCAs more efficiently compared with AtTrxs. Site-directed mutagenesis of potential disulfide-forming cysteines in mPtCA1 and mPtCA2 resulted in a lack of oxidative inactivation of both mPtCAs. These results reveal the first direct evidence of a target of plastidic Trxs in diatoms, indicating that Trxs may participate in the redox control of inorganic carbon flow in the pyrenoid, a focal point of the CO(2)-concentrating mechanism.     

Production of BMAA and DAB by diatoms (Phaeodactylum tricornutum,Chaetoceros sp., Chaetoceros calcitrans and,Thalassiosira pseudonana) and bacteria isolated from a diatom culture

Microalgae have previously been reported to contain β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), and the global presence of these primary producers has been associated with the widespread occurrence of BMAA in marine organisms. It has been repeatedly shown that filter-feeding bivalves accumulate phytoplankton species and their toxins. In this study, the concentrations of total soluble BMAA and DAB as a function of growth phase were observed for four non-axenic diatom species (i.e. Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chaetoceros sp., Chaetoceros calcitrans and Thalassiosira pseudonana). These strains had previously been shown to contain BMAA using a highly selective HILIC-MS/MS method. BMAA cell quota appeared to be species-specific, however, highest BMAA concentrations were always obtained during the stationary growth phase, for all four species, suggesting that BMAA is a secondary metabolite. While DAB was detected in a bacterial culture isolated from a culture of P. tricornutum, the presence or absence of a bacterial population did not influence production of BMAA and DAB by P. tricornutum, i.e. no significant difference was noted for BMAA and DAB production between axenic and non-axenic cultures. The presence of DAB in bacteria had previously been shown, and raised the question as to whether DAB observed in many species of microalgae may arise from the non-axenic culture conditions or from the microalgae themselves.     

Characterization of the acylglycerols and resulting biodiesel derived from vegetable oil and microalgae (Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum)

Algal biofuels are a growing interest worldwide due to their potential in terms of sustainable greenhouse gas displacement and energy production. This article describes a comparative survey of biodiesel production and conversion yields of biodiesel via alkaline transesterification of acylglycerols extracted from the microalgae Thalassiosira pseudonana and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, grown under silicate or nitrate limitation, and that of model vegetable oils: soybean, and rapeseed oil. Acylglycerols were extracted with n-hexane and the total yield per biomass was determined by gravimetric assay. Under our conditions, the total acylglycerol yield from the microalgae studied was 13-18% of total dry weight. The biodiesel samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector to determine quantitative information of residual glycerol, mono-, di-, and tri-acylglycerol concentrations in the biodiesel. All of the algal-based biodiesel demonstrated less mono-, di-, and tri-acylglycerol concentrations than the vegetable-based biodiesel under identical transesterification conditions. The fatty acid compositions of all the feedstock oils and their resultant biodiesel were also analyzed and reported. Based on the fatty acid methyl ester compositions of our samples we qualitatively assessed the suitability of the algal-derived biodiesel in terms of cetane number (CN), cold-flow properties, and oxidative stability.     

Physiological and molecular biological characterization of intracellular carbonic anhydrase from the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

A single intracellular carbonic anhydrase (CA) was detected in air-grown and, at reduced levels, in high CO(2)-grown cells of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum (UTEX 642). No external CA activity was detected irrespective of growth CO(2) conditions. Ethoxyzolamide (0.4 mM), a CA-specific inhibitor, severely inhibited high-affinity photosynthesis at low concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon, whereas 2 mM acetazolamide had little effect on the affinity for dissolved inorganic carbon, suggesting that internal CA is crucial for the operation of a carbon concentrating mechanism in P. tricornutum. Internal CA was purified 36.7-fold of that of cell homogenates by ammonium sulfate precipitation, and two-step column chromatography on diethylaminoethyl-sephacel and p-aminomethylbenzene sulfone amide agarose. The purified CA was shown, by SDS-PAGE, to comprise an electrophoretically single polypeptide of 28 kD under both reduced and nonreduced conditions. The entire sequence of the cDNA of this CA was obtained by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends method and indicated that the cDNA encodes 282 amino acids. Comparison of this putative precursor sequence with the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified CA indicated that it included a possible signal sequence of up to 46 amino acids at the N terminus. The mature CA was found to consist of 236 amino acids and the sequence was homologous to beta-type CAs. Even though the zinc-ligand amino acid residues were shown to be completely conserved, the amino acid residues that may constitute a CO(2)-binding site appeared to be unique among the beta-CAs so far reported.     

三角褐指藻对黑暗胁迫的生理响应

为了研究黑暗条件对三角褐指藻生长及生化组成的影响,并探讨三角褐指藻对黑暗环境的生长适应能力,我们对该藻进行12 d的黑暗处理,着重测定了藻细胞密度、生物量、叶绿素a、可溶性糖和蛋白含量等指标。结果表明,三角褐指藻对黑暗环境表现出一定的适应性忍耐能力,在12 d的长期黑暗胁迫条件下依然可以存活,而藻细胞生化组成对黑暗的响应程度很可能是该藻得以维持细胞低水平生长的主要原因。随着黑暗处理时间的延长,三角褐指藻生长状况受抑制的程度增大,其生长及生化组成与对照组相比发生了极显著的变化。实验结束时,黑暗处理下的藻细胞密度和生物量分别降低到2.93×10⁵ cells·ml^-1和0.011 g·ml^-1,仅为对照的8.0%和37.3%。同样地,黑暗环境也明显地抑制了三角褐指藻体内生化物质的合成与积累,黑暗处理12 d时藻细胞的叶绿素a、可溶性糖和蛋白含量分别比对照降低了约89%、87%和85%。研究结果可为海洋微藻种质的筛选、种质资源库的构建及微藻生物资源的综合开发利用提供参考依据。     

Interaction of toxic trace metals and mechanisms of detoxification in the planktonic diatoms Ditylum brightwellii and Thalassiosira pseudonana

Abstract: Effects of cadmium (10 nM), copper (80 nM) and zinc (150 nM) additions were studied in the marine diatom Ditylum brightwellii and the riverine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana . Defense against oxidative stress via cellular thiol (SH) pools and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activation, detoxification via phytochelatins and cell damage were monitored in metal-exposed exponential-phase cells and controls, grown in estuarine medium. Total SH and reduced + oxidized glutathione (GSH + GSSG) in T. pseudonana were much higher than in D. brightwellii . In T. pseudonana , total SH and GSH decreased at 322 nM Zn, and GSH increased at 80 nM Cu but decreased at 119 nM Cu. GSH:GSSG ratios were low, while phytochelatins were not detectable in metal-exposed D. brightwellii . Cd-exposed T. pseudonana made more phytochelatins than Cu-exposed cells, and in different proportions. At 322 nM Zn, SOD activity decreased in T. pseudonana . Zn caused a major, and Cu a minor increase of SOD activity in D. brightwellii ; inhibition of photosynthesis was observed in Cu-exposed D. brightwellii , probably due to oxidative damage. The C:N ratios were higher and protein contents lower in Cu-exposed cells of both species, which might indicate excretion due to a loss of cell membrane integrity. From these results, it is hypothesized that T. pseudonana has evolved an effective detoxification mechanism as a result of a more severe exposure to toxic metals in rivers and estuaries. In contrast, D. brightwellii , a marine-estuarine species, cannot adjust well to metal exposure. Its poor defense against metal toxicity was marked by low SH-contents.     

Bicarbonate transport and extracellular carbonic anhydrase in marine diatoms

In this article, we present new laboratory results examining the relative importance of HCO⁻₃ transport and extracellular carbonic anhydrase (eCA) in 17 marine diatom species. We observed significant variability in both HCO⁻₃ transport and eCA expression across a range of diatom species with different cell morphologies. All species we examined took up HCO⁻₃ through a direct transport mechanism, with the fraction of HCO⁻₃ transport ranging from 40 to 95% of total C uptake. eCA expression also varied significantly, with catalytic enhancement factors ranging approximately 10-fold among species. There was a significant positive correlation between HCO⁻₃ transport and eCA expression among the test species. However, neither HCO⁻₃ transport nor eCA expression was significantly correlated to cell growth rates or surface area to volume ratios. We did observe weak positive trends between the ratio of C demand:supply and HCO⁻₃ utilization/eCA expression, but these were not statistically significant. We are thus unable to provide a mechanistic explanation for the apparent variability in HCO⁻₃ transport and eCA expression in marine diatoms. This variability may, nonetheless, have important implications for the physiological ecology of oceanic diatoms.     

PCB effects on production of carbohydrates,lipids and proteins in marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

• 1.1. Aroclor 1254 had an influence on biochemical composition of phytoplankton Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
• 2.2. Total lipid content of Arocolor 1254 treated phytoplankton ranged from 90 to 40%, total carbohydrates from 5 to 50%, while protein content was almost unchanged.
• 3.3. The observed rapid and significant increase in lipid content (150%) within the first 24 hr could be ascribed to their protective role.

     

Cyclic electron transfer in photosystem II in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum

In Phaeodactylum tricornutum Photosystem II is unusually resistant to damage by exposure to high light intensities. Not only is the capacity to dissipate excess excitations in the antenna much larger and induced more rapidly than in other organisms, but in addition an electron transfer cycle in the reaction center appears to prevent oxidative damage when secondary electron transport cannot keep up with the rate of charge separations. Such cyclic electron transfer had been inferred from oxygen measurements suggesting that some of its intermediates can be reduced in the dark and can subsequently compete with water as an electron donor to Photosystem II upon illumination. Here, the proposed activation of cyclic electron transfer by illumination is confirmed and shown to require only a second. On the other hand the dark reduction of its intermediates, specifically of tyrosine Y(D), the only Photosystem II component known to compete with water oxidation, is ruled out. It appears that the cyclic electron transfer pathway can be fully opened by reduction of the plastoquinone pool in the dark. Oxygen evolution reappears after partial oxidation of the pool by Photosystem I, but the pool itself is not involved in cyclic electron transfer.