Dataset Information

The plastid genome of Najas flexilis: adaptation to submersed environments is accompanied by the complete loss of the NDH complex in an aquatic angiosperm.

ABSTRACT: The re-colonization of aquatic habitats by angiosperms has presented a difficult challenge to plants whose long evolutionary history primarily reflects adaptations to terrestrial conditions. Many aquatics must complete vital stages of their life cycle on the water surface by means of floating or emergent leaves and flowers. Only a few species, mainly within the order Alismatales, are able to complete all aspects of their life cycle including pollination, entirely underwater. Water-pollinated Alismatales include seagrasses and water nymphs (Najas), the latter being the only freshwater genus in the family Hydrocharitaceae with subsurface water-pollination. We have determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the plastid genome of Najas flexilis. The plastid genome of N. flexilis is a circular AT-rich DNA molecule of 156 kb, which displays a quadripartite structure with two inverted repeats (IR) separating the large single copy (LSC) from the small single copy (SSC) regions. In N. flexilis, as in other Alismatales, the rps19 and trnH genes are localized in the LSC region instead of within the IR regions as in other monocots. However, the N. flexilis plastid genome presents some anomalous modifications. The size of the SSC region is only one third of that reported for closely related species. The number of genes in the plastid is considerably less. Both features are due to loss of the eleven ndh genes in the Najas flexilis plastid. In angiosperms, the absence of ndh genes has been related mainly to the loss of photosynthetic function in parasitic plants. The ndh genes encode the NAD(P)H dehydrogenase complex, believed essential in terrestrial environments, where it increases photosynthetic efficiency in variable light intensities. The modified structure of the N. flexilis plastid genome suggests that adaptation to submersed environments, where light is scarce, has involved the loss of the NDH complex in at least some photosynthetic angiosperms.

SUBMITTER: Peredo EL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3701688 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The plastid genome of Najas flexilis: adaptation to submersed environments is accompanied by the complete loss of the NDH complex in an aquatic angiosperm.

Peredo Elena L EL King Ursula M UM Les Donald H DH

PloS one 20130704 7

The re-colonization of aquatic habitats by angiosperms has presented a difficult challenge to plants whose long evolutionary history primarily reflects adaptations to terrestrial conditions. Many aquatics must complete vital stages of their life cycle on the water surface by means of floating or emergent leaves and flowers. Only a few species, mainly within the order Alismatales, are able to complete all aspects of their life cycle including pollination, entirely underwater. Water-pollinated Ali ...[more]

PMID: 23861923

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Project description:The globally distributed green microalga Chlorella vulgaris (Chlorophyta) colonizes aquatic and terrestrial habitats, but the molecular mechanisms underpinning survival in these two contrasting environments are far from understood. Here, we compared the authentic strain of C. vulgaris from an aquatic habitat with a strain from a terrestrial high alpine habitat previously determined as Chlorella mirabilis. Molecular phylogeny of SSU rDNA (823 bp) showed that the two strains differed by one nucleotide only. Sequencing of the ITS2 region confirmed that both strains belong to the same species, but to distinct ribotypes. Therefore, the terrestrial strain was re-assessed as C. vulgaris. To study the response to environmental conditions experienced on land, we assessed the effects of irradiance and temperature on growth, of temperature on photosynthesis and respiration, and of desiccation and rehydration on photosynthetic performance. In contrast to the aquatic strain, the terrestrial strain tolerated higher temperatures and light conditions, had a higher photosynthesis-to-respiration ratio at 25°C, still grew at 30°C and was able to fully recover photosynthetic performance after desiccation at 84% relative humidity. The two strains differed most in their response to the dehydration/rehydration treatment, which was further investigated by untargeted GC-MS-based metabolite profiling to gain insights into metabolic traits differentiating the two strains. The two strains differed in their allocation of carbon and nitrogen into their primary metabolites. Overall, the terrestrial strain had higher contents of readily available nitrogen-based metabolites, especially amino acids and the polyamine putrescine. Dehydration and rehydration led to differential regulation of the amino acid metabolism, the tricarboxylic acid cycle and sucrose metabolism. The data are discussed with a view to differences in phenotypic plasticity of the two strains, and we suggest that the two genetically almost identical C. vulgaris strains are attractive models to study mechanisms that protect from abiotic stress factors, which are more frequent in terrestrial than aquatic habitats, such as desiccation and irradiation.

Dataset Information

The plastid genome of Najas flexilis: adaptation to submersed environments is accompanied by the complete loss of the NDH complex in an aquatic angiosperm.

Publications

The plastid genome of Najas flexilis: adaptation to submersed environments is accompanied by the complete loss of the NDH complex in an aquatic angiosperm.

Similar Datasets

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