Project description:To identify the molecular components involved in diatom cell division, global transcript level changes were monitored over the silicon-synchronized cell cycle the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana.
Project description:Transcript levels of all T. pseudonana genes was measured every twelve hours throughout the batch (non-chemostatic) growth of axenic cells grown in large glass bioreactors on a 12hr:12hr dark:light cycle for five days. The data were analyzed to reveal the physiological and regulatory changes that recurred in this diatom when transitioning between dark and light conditions, as well as from exponential phase to stationary, nutrient limited conditions. The longitudinal experiment was performed with two replicates, at 400 and 800ppm CO2.
Project description:To characterize the transcript level component of metabolic regulation, genome-wide transcript level changes were documented in the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana over a time-course of silicon starvation. Growth, cell cycle progression, chloroplast replication, fatty acid composition, pigmentation, and photosynthetic parameters were characterized alongside lipid accumulation. Extensive coordination of large suites of genes was observed, highlighting the existence of clusters of co-regulated genes as a key feature of global gene regulation in T. pseudonana. The identity of key enzymes for carbon metabolic pathway inputs (photosynthesis) and outputs (growth and storage) reveals these clusters are organized to synchronize these processes.
Project description:T. pseudonana tiling arrays were used to validate gene models and to predict new genes in the genome of this diatom. The tiling array data validated transcription of about 41% (4,653) of the 11,390 computationally predicted genes. An additional 1,132 transcripts were identified that did not correspond to modeled genes with few of these transcripts (<17%) predicted to encode proteins with homology (e-value < 10-05) to publicly available proteins. These newly identified transcripts have an average length of 1,549 bp, comparable to the average length of the computationally derived genes. Whole genome tiling arrays were conducted under silicon replete and deplete growth conditions to identify new genes involved in the synthesis of the diatom silica cell wall. Keywords: silicon, stress response, cell wall
Project description:Transcriptomic profiling of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana at normal and elevated CO2 levels and at normal and elevated light levels. Common reference total RNA (Agilent Quick-Amp Cy3-labeled) was used in all arrays as an internal standard.
Project description:Phytoplankton and bacteria form the base of marine ecosystems and their interactions drive global biogeochemical cycles. The effect of bacteria and bacteria-produced compounds on diatoms range from synergistic to pathogenic and can affect the physiology and transcriptional patterns of the interacting diatom. Here, we investigate physiological and transcriptional changes in the marine diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana induced by extracellular metabolites of a known antagonistic bacterium Croceibacter atlanticus. Mono-cultures of C. atlanticus released compounds that inhibited diatom cell division and elicited a distinctive phenotype of enlarged cells with multiple plastids and nuclei, similar to what was observed when the diatom was co-cultured with the live bacteria. The extracellular C. atlanticus metabolites induced transcriptional changes in diatom pathways that include recognition and signaling pathways, cell cycle regulation, carbohydrate and amino acid production, as well as cell wall stability. Phenotypic analysis showed a disruption in the diatom cell cycle progression and an increase in both intra- and extracellular carbohydrates in diatom cultures after bacterial exudate treatment. The transcriptional changes and corresponding phenotypes suggest that extracellular bacterial metabolites, produced independently of direct bacterial-diatom interaction, may modulate diatom metabolism in ways that support bacterial growth.
