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To gel or not to gel: differential expression of carrageenan-related genes between the gametophyte and tetasporophyte life cycle stages of the red alga Chondrus crispus.

ABSTRACT: Chondrus crispus is a marine red alga with sulfated galactans, called carrageenans, in its extracellular matrix. Chondrus has a complex haplodiplontic life cycle, alternating between male and female gametophytes (n) and tetrasporophytes (2n). The Chondrus life cycle stages are isomorphic; however, a major phenotypic difference is that carrageenan composition varies significantly between the tetrasporophytes (mainly lambda-carrageenan) and the gametophytes (mainly kappa/iota-carrageenans). The disparity in carrageenan structures, which confer different chemical properties, strongly suggests differential regulation of carrageenan-active genes between the phases of the Chondrus life cycles. We used a combination of taxonomy, biochemistry and molecular biology to characterize the tetrasporophytes and male and female gametophytes from Chondrus individuals isolated from the rocky seashore off the northern coast of France. Transcriptomic analyses reveal differential gene expression of genes encoding several galactose-sulfurylases, carbohydrate-sulfotransferases, glycosyltransferases, and one family 16 glycoside hydrolase. Differential expression of carrageenan-related genes was found primarily between gametophytes and tetrasporophytes, but also between the male and female gametophytes. The differential expression of these multigenic genes provides a rare glimpse into cell wall biosynthesis in algae. Furthermore, it strongly supports that carrageenan metabolism holds an important role in the physiological differentiation between the isomorphic life cycle stages of Chondrus.

SUBMITTER: Lipinska AP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7359372 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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To gel or not to gel: differential expression of carrageenan-related genes between the gametophyte and tetasporophyte life cycle stages of the red alga Chondrus crispus.

Lipinska Agnieszka P AP Collén Jonas J Krueger-Hadfield Stacy A SA Mora Theo T Ficko-Blean Elizabeth E

Scientific reports 20200713 1

Chondrus crispus is a marine red alga with sulfated galactans, called carrageenans, in its extracellular matrix. Chondrus has a complex haplodiplontic life cycle, alternating between male and female gametophytes (n) and tetrasporophytes (2n). The Chondrus life cycle stages are isomorphic; however, a major phenotypic difference is that carrageenan composition varies significantly between the tetrasporophytes (mainly lambda-carrageenan) and the gametophytes (mainly kappa/iota-carrageenans). The di ...[more]

PMID: 32661246

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Project description:Chondrus crispus is a common red macroalga living on the rocky shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a long research history, being a major source of carrageenan, a thickener widely used in the food industry, but also for physiological and ecological studies. To establish it as a model for red algae, its genome has been sequenced, allowing the development of molecular tools such as quantification of gene expression, including RNAseq and RT-qPCR. To determine appropriate genes for RT-qPCR normalization, the expression of 14 genes was monitored in 18 conditions using two sets of algal samples: samples from the sequenced strain, cultured and stressed in laboratory conditions and C. crispus collected on the shore and stressed in situ. The expression stability of the genes between the samples was evaluated by comparing the Ct range and using the programs geNorm and NormFinder. The candidate genes encoded translation related proteins (initiation factors IF4A-1 and IF4A-2, elongation factor EF1α and eRF3, an eukaryotic polypeptide chain release factor), cytoskeleton proteins (two β-tubulins, α-tubulin and actin), enzymes involved in the pentose phosphate pathway (glucose 6-phosphate deshydrogenase), protein recycling process (ubiquitin and ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme) and glycolysis (isocitrate dehydrogenase). The two sets of samples showed different expression patterns. Most of the genes were stable in the algae cultivated in the laboratory, whereas environmental samples showed a more important variation in gene expression. When analyzing the two sets separately, the ranking of the most stables genes were different from one method to another. When considering all samples, the two statistical methods were concordant, revealing translation initiation factor 4A-2 and eukaryotic polypeptide chain release factor 3 as pertinent normalization genes. This study highlights thus the importance of testing reference genes according to the experiments as well as the genetic and physiological background of the organism.

Dataset Information

To gel or not to gel: differential expression of carrageenan-related genes between the gametophyte and tetasporophyte life cycle stages of the red alga Chondrus crispus.

Publications

To gel or not to gel: differential expression of carrageenan-related genes between the gametophyte and tetasporophyte life cycle stages of the red alga Chondrus crispus.

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