Project description:RNA populations in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Keywords: Highly parallel pyrosequencing Small RNAs were prepared from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii total extracts,ligated to a 3' adaptor and a 5' acceptor sequentially, and then RT-PCR amplified. PCR products were reamplified using a pair of 454 cloning primers and provided to 454 Life Sciences (Branford, CT) for sequencing. For technical details, see Tao Zhao, Guanglin Li, Shijun Mi, Shan Li, Gregory J. Hannon, Xiu-Jie Wang, and Yijun Qi. 2007. A Complex System of Small RNAs in the Unicellular Green Alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Genes & Development
Project description:endogenous small RNAs from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii strain J3(mt-) vegetative cells Keywords: High throughput 454 small RNA sequencing
Project description:Linear tetrapyrrole (bilin)-based phytochrome sensors optimize photosynthetic light capture by mediating massive gene reprogramming in land plants, yet surprisingly, many sequenced chlorophyte (green) algae lack phytochrome genes. Previous studies on the heme oxygenase (hmox1) mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii suggest that bilin biosynthesis in plastids is needed for regulation of a limited nuclear gene network implicated in oxygen detoxification during dark to light transitions. The hmox1 mutant is unable to grow photoautotrophically and poorly acclimates to increased illumination even in the presence of acetate. Here we show that these phenotypes reflect the reduced accumulation of PSI reaction centers as well as a loss of PSI and PSII antennae complexes during photoacclimation. Phenotypically, the hmox1 mutant is similar to the chlorophyll biosynthesis mutants, gun4, crd1 and cth1. However, many of the hmox1 phenotypes can be rescued by the application of exogenous biliverdin IXα, the bilin product of HMOX1; this rescue is independent of photosynthesis but strongly dependent upon blue light. RNA-Seq comparisons of hmox1, 4A+ wild type and two genetically complemented lines also reveal that bilins restore regulation of a small network of photosynthesis-associated nuclear genes. These include genes responsible for chlorophyll biosynthesis (CHLI1/2), PSI light-harvesting (LHCA4) and naphthoquinone metabolism (MEN2), all of which show reduced photoinduction in the hmox1 mutant. We propose that a bilin-based, blue light sensory system is responsible for the maintenance of a functional photosynthetic apparatus in light-grown C. reinhardtii. This critical and possibly ancestral role for bilins may be responsible for retention of bilin biosynthesis in all eukaryotic photosynthetic species.
Project description:We analysed global gene expression changes in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in response to 1h UV-B, applied at the same low level that was seen to promote subsequent UV-B stress tolerance, in order to elucidate the transcriptional reprogramming that leads to UV-B acclimation. mRNA profiles generated by deep sequencing from triplicate replicate Chlamydomonas reinhardtii samples sourced from independent cultures either protected from UV-B or exposed to 1h acclimation-level UV-B.
Project description:The absence of oxygen (O2) is a stress condition for aerobic organisms and requires extensive acclimation responses. Previously, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has been used as a reference organism for understanding these acclimation responses. In this work, we use RNA-Seq for a whole genome view of the acclimation of the organism to dark-anoxic conditions. To distinguish the responses dependent on the COPPER RESPONSE REGULATOR 1 (CRR1), which is also involved in hypoxic gene regulation, we compared the transcriptome of crr1 mutants to that of complemented strains. Nearly 10% of the genome (~ 1,400 genes) are affected by hypoxia based on pairwise comparisons of all strains and two time-points. Comparing transcript profiles from early (hypoxic) with those from late (anoxic) time-points indicated that the cells activated oxidative energy generation pathways before employing fermentative enzymes. Probable substrates included not only carbohydrates but also amino acids and fatty acids (FAs). Lipid profiling of the C. reinhardtii cells revealed that they degraded FAs but also accumulated triacylglycerols (TAGs). In contrast to N-deprived cells, the TAGs accumulating in hypoxic cells are enriched in desaturated FAs, which distinguishes the contribution of individual pathways for Chlamydomonas TAG accumulation. In crr1 mutants, about 140 genes were aberrantly regulated , re-affirming the importance of CRR1 for the hypoxic response, but indicating also the contribution of additional O2-sensors and signaling strategies to account for the remaining differentially regulated transcripts. We conclude that nitric oxide (NO) dependent signaling cascades, employing both known and novel components, are operative in C. reinhardtii.
Project description:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exposed to various concentrations of silver For this experiment,C. reinhardtii were exposed to (4) different concentrations of silver, as biological triplicates
Project description:This study aims at investigating the link between internalized inorganic or methyl Hg and the global expression of genes, obtained by high-throughput sequencing (RNA-Seq), in the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Algal cells were exposed two hours in a simplified artificial medium spiked with series of inorganic Hg concentrations (0.1, 1, 100 nM Hg) or series of methyl Hg concentrations (0.05, 0.5, 5, 50 nM CH3Hg).