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Symbiodinium transcriptome and global responses of cells to immediate changes in light intensity when grown under autotrophic or mixotrophic conditions
Author(s) -
Xiang Tingting,
Nelson William,
Rodriguez Jesse,
Tolleter Dimitri,
Grossman Arthur R.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the plant journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.058
H-Index - 269
eISSN - 1365-313X
pISSN - 0960-7412
DOI - 10.1111/tpj.12789
Subject(s) - symbiodinium , biology , transcriptome , endosymbiosis , autotroph , sea anemone , symbiosis , gene , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , gene expression , genetics , plastid , chloroplast , bacteria
Summary Symbiosis between unicellular dinoflagellates (genus Symbiodinium ) and their cnidarian hosts (e.g. corals, sea anemones) is the foundation of coral reef ecosystems. Dysfunction of this symbiosis under changing environmental conditions has led to global reef decline. Little information is known about Symbiodinium gene expression and mechanisms by which light impacts host–symbiont associations. To address these issues, we generated a transcriptome from axenic Symbiodinium strain SSB 01. Here we report features of the transcriptome, including occurrence and length distribution of spliced leader sequences, the functional landscape of encoded proteins and the impact of light on gene expression. Expression of many Symbiodinium genes appears to be significantly impacted by light. Transcript encoding cryptochrome 2 declined in high light while some transcripts for Regulators of Chromatin Condensation ( RCC 1) declined in the dark. We also identified a transcript encoding a light harvesting Acp PC protein with homology to Chlamydomonas LHCSR 2. The level of this transcript increased in high light autotrophic conditions, suggesting that it is involved in photo‐protection and the dissipation of excess absorbed light energy. The most extensive changes in transcript abundances occurred when the algae were transferred from low light to darkness. Interestingly, transcripts encoding several cell adhesion proteins rapidly declined following movement of cultures to the dark, which correlated with a dramatic change in cell surface morphology, likely reflecting the complexity of the extracellular matrix. Thus, light‐sensitive cell adhesion proteins may play a role in establishing surface architecture, which may in turn alter interactions between the endosymbiont and its host.