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Transcriptional coordination of physiological responses in N annochloropsis oceanica CCMP 1779 under light/dark cycles
Author(s) -
Poliner Eric,
Panchy Nicholas,
Newton Linsey,
Wu Guangxi,
Lapinsky Andrew,
Bullard Blair,
Zienkiewicz Agnieszka,
Benning Christoph,
Shiu ShinHan,
Farré Eva M.
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.12944
Subject(s) - nannochloropsis , photosynthesis , transcriptome , gene , lipid metabolism , biology , cell division , biochemistry , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , cell , gene expression , algae
Summary Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP 1779 is a marine unicellular stramenopile and an emerging reference species for basic research on oleogenic microalgae with biotechnological relevance. We investigated its physiology and transcriptome under light/dark cycles. We observed oscillations in lipid content and a predominance of cell division in the first half of the dark phase. Globally, more than 60% of the genes cycled in N. oceanica CCMP 1779, with gene expression peaking at different times of the day. Interestingly, the phase of expression of genes involved in certain biological processes was conserved across photosynthetic lineages. Furthermore, in agreement with our physiological studies we found the processes of lipid metabolism and cell division enriched in cycling genes. For example, there was tight coordination of genes involved in the lower part of glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis and lipid production at dawn preceding lipid accumulation during the day. Our results suggest that diel lipid storage plays a key role for N. oceanica CCMP 1779 growth under natural conditions making this alga a promising model to gain a basic mechanistic understanding of triacylglycerol production in photosynthetic cells. Our data will help the formulation of new hypotheses on the role of cyclic gene expression in cell growth and metabolism in Nannochloropsis .