Project description:Abstract Hypersaline lakes are of immense ecological value as they niche some of the most exclusive extremophilic communities dominated by bacterial and archaeal domains, with few eukaryotic algal representatives. A handful reports describe Picocystis as a key primary producer with great production rates in extremely saline habitats. An extremely haloalkaliphilic picoalgal strain, Picocystis salinarum SLJS6 isolated from hypersaline lake Sambhar, Rajasthan, India, grew robustly in an enriched soda lake medium containing mainly Na2CO3, 50 g/L; NaHCO3, 50g/L, NaCl, 50 g/L (salinity ≈150 ‰) at pH 10. To elucidate the molecular basis of such tolerance to high inorganic carbon and NaCl concentrations, a high-throughput LFQ (label-free quantitation) based quantitative proteomics approach was applied. Out of the total 383 proteins identified in treated samples, 225 were Differentially abundant proteins (DAPs), of which 150 were statistically significant (p value <0.05) including 70 upregulated and 64 downregulated proteins after 3 days of salt and alkalinity stress. Gene ontology analysis was done to annotate and classify the DAPs into functional groups. The analysis linked most DAPs to photosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, glucose metabolism and ribosomal structural components envisaging that photosynthesis and ATP synthesis were central to the alkalinity-salinity response. Key components of photosynthetic machinery like photosystem reaction centres, ATP synthase, Rubisco, Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase were significantly upregulated. Enzymes Peptidylprolyl isomerases (PPIase), important for correct protein folding showed remarkable marked-up regulation along with other chaperon proteins indicating their role in alleviating stress. Enhanced photosynthetic activity exhibited by Picocystis salinarum in highly saline-alkaline condition is noteworthy as photosynthesis is suppressed by salt stress in most photosynthetic organisms. This study provided the first evidence of a tailored regulatory mechanism of alkalinity and salt tolerance in extremophilic alga P. salinarum, potentially unraveling the basis of resilience in this not so known organism and paves the way for a promising future production host and model or¬ganism for deciphering the molecular mechanisms of os¬motic stress responses.
Project description:Fosmid clones with transport-mediated genes imparting salt tolerance to E. coli, constructed from metagenomic DNA of brine waters of Sambhar Lake, India
Project description:Halophilic microorganisms have long been known to survive within the brine inclusions of salt crystals, as evidenced by their pigmentation. However, the molecular mechanisms allowing this survival has remained an open question for decades. While protocols for the surface sterilization of halite (NaCl) have enabled isolation of cells and DNA from within halite brine inclusions, “-omics” based approaches have faced two main technical challenges: (1) removal of all contaminating organic biomolecules (including proteins) from halite surfaces, and (2) performing selective biomolecule extractions directly from cells contained within halite brine inclusions with sufficient speed to avoid modifications in gene expression during extraction. In this study, we present methods to resolve these two technical challenges. In addition, we apply these methods to perform the first examination of the early acclimation of a model haloarchaeon (Halobacterium salinarum NRC-1) to halite brine inclusions. Examinations of the proteome of Halobacterium cells two months post-evaporation revealed a high degree of similarity with stationary phase liquid cultures, but with a sharp down-regulation of ribosomal proteins. Low quantities of RNA from halite brine inclusions corroborate the hypothesis of low transcriptional and translational activities. While proteins for central metabolism were part of the shared proteome between liquid cultures and halite brine inclusions, proteins involved in cell mobility (archaellum, gas vesicles) were either absent or less abundant in halite samples. Proteins unique to cells within brine inclusions included transporters, suggesting modified interactions between cells and the surrounding brine inclusions microenvironment. The methods and hypotheses presented here enable future studies of the survival of halophiles in both culture model and natural halite systems.