Open AccessDiel transcriptional oscillations of light-sensitive regulatory elements in open-ocean eukaryotic plankton communities
Author(s) -
Sacha Coesel,
Bryndan P. Durham,
Ryan D Groussman,
Sarah K. Hu,
David A. Caron,
Rhonda Morales,
François Ribalet,
Virginia Armbrust
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2011038118
Subject(s) - diel vertical migration , plankton , biology , endosymbiosis , marine bacteriophage , phytoplankton , light cycle , blue light , ecology , oceanography , circadian rhythm , bacteria , gene , genetics , geology , nutrient , neuroscience , plastid , physics , chloroplast , optics
Significance Most organisms coordinate key biological events to coincide with the day/night cycle. These diel oscillations are entrained through the activity of light-sensitive photoreceptors that allow organisms to respond rapidly to changes in light exposure. In the ocean, the plankton community must additionally contend with dramatic changes in the quantity and quality of light over depth. Here, we show that the predominantly blue-light field in the open-ocean environment may have driven expansion of blue light-sensitive regulatory elements in open-ocean eukaryotic plankton derived from secondary and tertiary endosymbiosis. The diel transcription of genes encoding light-sensitive elements indicate that photosynthetic and heterotrophic marine protists respond to and anticipate fluctuating light conditions in the dynamic marine environment.