Differential transcriptional responses of carotenoid biosynthesis genes in the marine green alga Tetraselmis suecica exposed to redox and non-redox active metals.
Ramaraj SathasivamJang-Seu KiPublished in: Molecular biology reports (2019)
The green microalga, Tetraselmis suecica, is commonly used in scientific, industrial, and aquacultural purposes because of its high stress tolerance and ease of culture in wide spectrums of environments. We hypothesized that carotenoids help to protect Tetraselmis cells from environmental stress by regulating genes in biosynthetic pathways. Here, we determined three major carotenogenic genes, phytoene synthase (PSY), phytoene desaturase (PDS), and β-lycopene cyclase (LCY-B) in T. suecica, and examined the physiological parameters and gene expression responses when exposed to redox-active metals and non-redox-active metals. Phylogenetic analyses of each gene indicated that T. suecica clustered well with other green algae. Real-time PCR analysis showed that TsPSY, TsPDS, and TsLCY-B genes greatly responded to the redox-active metals in CuSO4 followed by CuCl2, but not to the non-redox-active metals. The redox-active metals strongly affected the physiology of the cells, as determined by cell counting, reactive oxygen species (ROS) imaging, and photosynthetic efficiency. This suggests that carotenoids protect the cells from oxidative damage caused by metals, thereby contributing to cell survival under various stress conditions.
Keyphrases
- human health
- health risk
- health risk assessment
- gene expression
- genome wide
- reactive oxygen species
- risk assessment
- genome wide identification
- heavy metals
- dna methylation
- electron transfer
- bioinformatics analysis
- induced apoptosis
- stem cells
- real time pcr
- dna damage
- cell death
- signaling pathway
- climate change
- copy number
- drinking water
- bone marrow
- mass spectrometry
- oxidative stress
- fluorescence imaging
- heat shock protein
- heat shock
- pi k akt