Ions channels/transporters and chloroplast regulation.
International audience; Ions play fundamental roles in all living cells and their gradients are often essential to fuel transports, to regulate enzyme activities and to transduce energy within and between cells. Their homeostasis is therefore an essential component of the cell metabolism. Ions must be imported from the extracellular matrix to their final subcellular compartments. Among them, the chloroplast is a particularly interesting example because there, ions not only modulate enzyme activities, but also mediate ATP synthesis and actively participate in the building of the photosynthetic structures by promoting membrane-membrane interaction. In this review, we first provide a comprehen…
The Water to Water Cycles in Microalgae.
In oxygenic photosynthesis, light produces ATP plus NADPH via linear electron transfer, i.e. the in-series activity of the two photosystems: PSI and PSII. This process, however, is thought not to be sufficient to provide enough ATP per NADPH for carbon assimilation in the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Thus, it is assumed that additional ATP can be generated by alternative electron pathways. These circuits produce an electrochemical proton gradient without NADPH synthesis, and, although they often represent a small proportion of the linear electron flow, they could have a huge importance in optimizing CO2 assimilation. In Viridiplantae, there is a consensus that alternative electron flow comp…
Supplementary Fig. 4 A Respiration and photosynthesis in P. tricornutum cells from Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
Direct assessment of oxygen consumption by a polarographic approach in both phototrophy (black bar) and mix-otrophy (red bar). B. Fluorescent based-assay to monitoring the changes in respiration using the Redox Dye A in presence of the selected compounds (see methods).
Mixotrophy in diatoms: Molecular mechanism and industrial potential
Diatoms are microalgae well known for their high variability and high primary productivity, being responsible for about 20% of the annual global carbon fixation. Moreover, they are interesting as potential feedstocks for the production of biofuels and high-value lipids and carotenoids. Diatoms exhibit trophic flexibility and, under certain conditions, they can grow mixotrophically by combing photosynthesis and respiration. So far, only a few species of diatoms have been tested for their mixotrophic metabolism; in some cases, they produced more biomass and with higher lipid content when grown under this condition. Phaeodactylum tricornutum is the most studied diatom species for its mixotroph…
Supplementary Fig. 1 Quantitative analysis of P. tricornutum glycerolipids from Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
TAG profile in a total lipid extract from cells grown in replete conditions (A) and deplete conditions (B) in both mixotrophic and phototrophic mode. Glycerolipids are expressed in nmol / mg of dry cells. Each result is the average of two biological replicates ± SD. PHOT: light in N-replete condition; PHOTO-N: light in N-deplete condi-tion; MIX: light+glycerol in N-replete condition; MIX-N: light+glycerol in N-deplete condition.
Autochthonous microalgae grown in municipal wastewaters as a tool for effectively removing nitrogen and phosphorous
Abstract Microalgae have promising applications in wastewater treatment because of their ability to use inorganic compounds such as nitrates and phosphates as nutrients for their growth. Microalgae are applied to the secondary and tertiary bio-treatment with two benefits: i) pollutants removal from wastewater; ii) production of microalgal biomass, that can be exploited as a source of biomass and biomolecules. In the present work, four different microalgal strains (two from culture collections and two isolated from Sicilian littoral) were tested in municipal sewage bioremediation. The sewage of a municipal plant, already processed with primary treatment, was used for the cultivation of micro…
Biological and chemical characterization of new isolated halophilic microorganisms from saltern ponds of Trapani, Sicily
Abstract Halophilic microorganisms inhabiting hypersaline environments such as salt lakes, Dead Sea, or salt evaporation ponds, have acquired specific cell adaptation to grow within stressful conditions. In this study, we isolated heterotrophic and autotrophic microorganisms from several saltern ponds located at the Natural Reserve “Saline di Trapani e Paceco”, Sicily, Italy. The aim of the study was to investigate the biotechnological potential of new microbial strains from saltern ponds, by capturing their biological and chemical diversity. After the isolation and identification of the sampled strains, their growth capacity was determined under low and high salinity conditions. The metabo…
Supplementary Fig. 2 Membrane lipid composition in P. tricornutum from Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
Lipid analysis of cells grow in N-replete conditions and N-deplete conditions in both mixotrophic and phototrophic mode. Each result is the average of two biological replicates ± SD. SQDG, sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol; DGDG, digalactosyldiacylglycerol; MGDG, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol; PC, phosphatidylcholine; PHOT: light in N-replete condition; PHOTO-N: light in N-deplete condition; MIX: light+glycerol in N-replete condition; MIX-N: light+glycerol in N-deplete condition.
Combined effect of nutrient and flashing light frequency for a biochemical composition shift in Nannochloropsis gaditana grown in a quasi-isoactinic reactor
Artificial lighting may be an interesting opportunity for the cultivation of microalgae as an alternative to natural sunlight. In particular, light emitting diodes (LEDs) can be employed to tailor the lighting to the microalgal culture in a controlled mode in order to create flashing light. In order to establish the effect of the flashing frequency on growth and biochemical composition of a model microalga, a quasi-isoactinic reactor, in which the light distribution is almost homogeneous, was set up. In this work, it was employed for the cultivation of the heterokont Nannochloropsis gaditana in two growth media with limiting and nonlimiting nutrients. The combined effect of nutrient concent…
A systems-wide understanding of photosynthetic acclimation in algae and higher plants
The ability of phototrophs to colonise different environments relies on robust protection against oxidative stress, a critical requirement for the successful evolutionary transition from water to land. Photosynthetic organisms have developed numerous strategies to adapt their photosynthetic apparatus to changing light conditions in order to optimise their photosynthetic yield, which is crucial for life on Earth to exist. Photosynthetic acclimation is an excellent example of the complexity of biological systems, where highly diverse processes, ranging from electron excitation over protein protonation to enzymatic processes coupling ion gradients with biosynthetic activity, interact on drasti…
Membrane glycerolipid remodeling triggered by nitrogen and phosphorus starvation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
International audience; Diatoms constitute a major phylum of phytoplankton biodiversity in ocean water and freshwater ecosystems. They are known to respond to some chemical variations of the environment by the accumulation of triacylglycerol, but the relative changes occurring in membrane glycerolipids have not yet been studied. Our goal was first to define a reference for the glycerolipidome of the marine model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a necessary prerequisite to characterize and dissect the lipid metabolic routes that are orchestrated and regulated to build up each subcellular membrane compartment. By combining multiple analytical techniques, we determined the glycerolipid profil…
Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
Diatoms are prominent marine microalgae, interesting not only from an ecological point of view, but also for their possible use in biotechnology applications. They can be cultivated in phototrophic conditions, using sunlight as the sole energy source. Some diatoms, however, can also grow in a mixotrophic mode, wherein both light and external reduced carbon contribute to biomass accumulation. In this study, we investigated the consequences of mixotrophy on the growth and metabolism of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum , using glycerol as the source of reduced carbon. Transcriptomics, metabolomics, metabolic modelling and physiological data combine to indicate that glycerol affect…
Supplementary Fig. 3 Quantification of intracellular pyruvate by a fluorescence-based method from Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum
A. Pyruvate standard curve. B. Quantification of intracellular pyruvate in cells grown in phototrophy (PHOT) and mixotrophy (MIX).
Energetic coupling between plastids and mitochondria drives CO2 assimilation in diatoms.
International audience; Diatoms are one of the most ecologically successful classes of photosynthetic marine eukaryotes in the contemporary oceans. Over the past 30 million years, they have helped to moderate Earth's climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, sequestering it via the biological carbon pump and ultimately burying organic carbon in the lithosphere. The proportion of planetary primary production by diatoms in the modern oceans is roughly equivalent to that of terrestrial rainforests. In photosynthesis, the efficient conversion of carbon dioxide into organic matter requires a tight control of the ATP/NADPH ratio which, in other photosynthetic organisms, relies prin…
Mixotrophy in a Local Strain of Nannochloropsis granulata for Renewable High-Value Biomass Production on the West Coast of Sweden
A local strain of Nannochloropsis granulata (Ng) has been reported as the most productive microalgal strain in terms of both biomass yield and lipid content when cultivated in photobioreactors that simulate the light and temperature conditions during the summer on the west coast of Sweden. To further increase the biomass and the biotechnological potential of this strain in these conditions, mixotrophic growth (i.e., the simultaneous use of photosynthesis and respiration) with glycerol as an external carbon source was investigated in this study and compared with phototrophic growth that made use of air enriched with 1–2% CO2. The addition of either glycerol or CO2-enriched air stimulated the…
Boosting Biomass Quantity and Quality by Improved Mixotrophic Culture of the Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Diatoms are photoautotrophic unicellular algae and are among the most abundant, adaptable, and diverse marine phytoplankton. They are extremely interesting not only for their ecological role but also as potential feedstocks for sustainable biofuels and high-value commodities such as omega fatty acids, because of their capacity to accumulate lipids. However, the cultivation of microalgae on an industrial scale requires higher cell densities and lipid accumulation than those found in nature to make the process economically viable. One of the known ways to induce lipid accumulation in Phaeodactylum tricornutum is nitrogen deprivation, which comes at the expense of growth inhibition and lower c…
Cultivation and biochemical characterization of isolated Sicilian microalgal species in salt and temperature stress conditions
Abstract In the last years, the possibility to exploit autochthone microalgae in regional applications has been explored. The regional-based microalgal industry may bring several benefits, as autochthone microalgae are already adapted to the biotic and abiotic stresses of their environment. In this work, this concept was applied to Sicily, in which three microalgal strains were collected from the coastline. Monoalgal strains were then isolated and molecular characterization was performed for the species determination. Three of them, two strains of Chlorella and one of Dunaliella, were cultivated in lab-scale in four different conditions: Low Temperature-Low Salt (LT-LS), High-Temperature-Lo…
Supplementary Fig. 5 Screening of mixotrophic efficiency by biolog and redox dye assay in P. tricornutum from Investigating mixotrophic metabolism in the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
A. OD750 nm changes (relative to phototrophic growth) of P. tricornutum cells grown for 6 days in BiologTM plates P1 and PM2A that contains 190 carbon compounds (see methods). Each data point represents a different com-pound. B. Growth profile of P. tricornutum on few selected compounds (at 20 mM) and a phototrophic control in 100 mL flasks. C. Areas under the growth curves of Supplementary Fig. 5B normalized to the area of the curve of phototrophic growth.