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Plant peptide hormones are engaged in the regulation of plant developmental programs and immunity. PAMP-Induced Peptide (PIP) hormones are new class of signaling peptide with diverse functional roles in the regulation of plant development and stress responses. In this study, we have investigated the function of PAMP-Induced secreted Peptide-Like 6 (PIPL6) as an amplifier of plant immunity against necrotrophic fungal pathogens inArabidopsis thaliana. We have applied an integrated omics approach to unveil the function and downstream signaling pathways initiated by PIPL6.PIPL6is highly and transiently induced by treatment with different elicitors. Exogenous application of synthetic peptide designed from the C-terminal conserved domain of PIPL6 resulted in strong transcriptional induction of many genes involved in the regulation of plant immunity. Further gene expression analysis revealed that induction of marker genes by PIPL6 peptide requires the receptor-like kinase 7 (RLK7). Immunoblotting and gene expression analysis demonstrated that exogenous applications of PIPL6 peptide activates MAPK6, MAPK3, and WRKY33 module in an RLK7-dependent manner. The levels of salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, camalexin, and glucosinolates were differentially regulated inPIPL6knock-down and overexpression lines challenged by necrotrophic pathogenBotrytis cinerea. Bioassays using the necrotrophic fungal pathogensBotrytis cinereaandAlternaria brassicaeshowed thatpipl6knock-down lines were more susceptible to these pathogens whilePIPL6overexpression lines exhibited enhanced resistance. Altogether, these results indicate that the PIPL6 peptide functions as a new damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) and acts as an amplifier of Arabidopsis immunity.

Summary The CRISPR/Cas9 system is an RNA‐guided sequence‐specific genome editing tool, which has been adopted for single or multiple gene editing in a wide range of organisms. When working with gene families with functional redundancy, knocking out multiple genes within the same family may be required to generate a phenotype. In this study, we tested the possibility of exploiting the known tolerance of Cas9 for mismatches between the single‐guide RNA (sgRNA) and target site to simultaneously introduce indels in multiple homologous genes in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. As a proof of concept, we designed two sgRNAs that could potentially target the same six light‐harvesting complex (LHC) genes belonging to the LHCF subgroup. Mutations in up to five genes were achieved simultaneously using a previously established CRISPR/Cas9 system for P. tricornutum. A visible colour change was observed in knockout mutants with multiple LHCF lesions. A combination of pigment, LHCF protein and growth analyses was used to further investigate the phenotypic differences between the multiple LHCF mutants and WT. Furthermore, we used the two same sgRNAs in combination with a variant of the existing Cas9 where four amino acids substitutions had been introduced that previously have been shown to increase Cas9 specificity. A significant reduction of off‐target editing events was observed, indicating that the altered Cas9 functioned as a high‐fidelity (HiFi) Cas9 nuclease.

International audience; The chloroplast signal recognition particle 54 kDa (CpSRP54) protein is a member of the CpSRP pathway known to target proteins to thylakoid membranes in plants and green algae. Loss of CpSRP54 in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum lowers the accumulation of a selection of chloroplast encoded subunits of photosynthetic complexes, indicating a role in the co-translational part of the CpSRP pathway. In contrast to plants/green algae, absence of CpSRP54 does not have a negative effect on the content of light-harvesting antenna complex proteins and pigments in P. tricornutum, indicating that the diatom CpSRP54 protein has not evolved to function in the post-translational part of the CpSRP pathway. Cpsrp54 knockout mutants display altered photophysiological responses, with a stronger induction of photoprotective mechanisms and lower growth rates compared to wild type when exposed to increased light intensities. Nonetheless, their phenotype is relatively mild, thanks to activation of mechanisms alleviating the loss of CpSRP54, involving upregulation of chaperones. We conclude that plants, green algae and diatoms have evolved differences in the pathways for co-translational and post-translational insertion of proteins into the thylakoid membranes.

The aquaculture industry has been dealing with salmon lice problems forming serious threats to salmonid farming. Several treatment approaches have been used to control the parasite. Treatment effectiveness must be optimized, and the systematic genetic differences between subpopulations must be studied to monitor louse species and enhance targeted control measures. We have used IIb-RAD sequencing in tandem with a random forest classification algorithm to detect the regional genetic structure of the Norwegian salmon lice and identify important markers for sex differentiation of this species. We identified 19,428 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 95 individuals of salmon lice. These SNPs, however, were not able to distinguish the differential structure of lice populations. Using the random forest algorithm, we selected 91 SNPs important for geographical classification and 14 SNPs important for sex classification. The geographically important SNP data substantially improved the genetic understanding of the population structure and classified regional demographic clusters along the Norwegian coast. We also uncovered SNP markers that could help determine the sex of the salmon louse. A large portion of the SNPs identified to be under directional selection was also ranked highly important by random forest. According to our findings, there is a regional population structure of salmon lice associated with the geographical location along the Norwegian coastline.

The aquaculture industry has been dealing with salmon lice problems forming serious threats to salmonid farming. Several treatment approaches have been used to control the parasite. Treatment effectiveness must be optimized, and the systematic genetic differences between subpopulations must be studied to monitor louse species and enhance targeted control measures. We have used IIb-RAD sequencing in tandem with a random forest classification algorithm to detect the regional genetic structure of the Norwegian salmon lice and identify important markers for sex differentiation of this species. We identified 19,428 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 95 individuals of salmon lice. These SNPs, however, were not able to distinguish the differential structure of lice populations. Using the random forest algorithm, we selected 91 SNPs important for geographical classification and 14 SNPs important for sex classification. The geographically important SNP data substantially improved the genetic understanding of the population structure and classified regional demographic clusters along the Norwegian coast. We also uncovered SNP markers that could help determine the sex of the salmon louse. A large portion of the SNPs identified to be under directional selection was also ranked highly important by random forest. According to our findings, there is a regional population structure of salmon lice associated with the geographical location along the Norwegian coastline.

The family of chloroplast ALBINO3 (ALB3) proteins function in the insertion and assembly of thylakoid membrane protein complexes. Loss of ALB3b in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum leads to a striking change of cell color from the normal brown to green. A 75% decrease of the main fucoxanthin-chlorophyll a/c-binding proteins was identified in the alb3b strains as the cause of changes in the spectral properties of the mutant cells. The alb3b lines exhibit a truncated light-harvesting antenna phenotype with reduced amounts of light-harvesting pigments and require a higher light intensity for saturation of photosynthesis. Accumulation of photoprotective pigments and light-harvesting complex stress-related proteins was not negatively affected in the mutant strains, but still the capacity for nonphotochemical quenching was lower compared with the wild type. In plants and green algae, ALB3 proteins interact with members of the chloroplast signal recognition particle pathway through a Lys-rich C-terminal domain. A novel conserved C-terminal domain was identified in diatoms and other stramenopiles, questioning if ALB3b proteins have the same interaction partners as their plant/green algae homologs. © 2019. This is the authors' accepted and refereed manuscript to the article. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/DOI:10.1104/pp.19.00868

Coastal countries have traditionally relied on the existing marine resources (e.g., fishing, food, transport, recreation, and tourism) as well as tried to support new economic endeavors (ocean energy, desalination for water supply, and seabed mining). Modern societies and lifestyle resulted in an increased demand for dietary diversity, better health and well-being, new biomedicines, natural cosmeceuticals, environmental conservation, and sustainable energy sources. These societal needs stimulated the interest of researchers on the diverse and underexplored marine environments as promising and sustainable sources of biomolecules and biomass, and they are addressed by the emerging field of marine (blue) biotechnology. Blue biotechnology provides opportunities for a wide range of initiatives of commercial interest for the pharmaceutical, biomedical, cosmetic, nutraceutical, food, feed, agricultural, and related industries. This article synthesizes the essence, opportunities, responsibilities, and challenges encountered in marine biotechnology and outlines the attainment and valorization of directly derived or bio-inspired products from marine organisms. First, the concept of bioeconomy is introduced. Then, the diversity of marine bioresources including an overview of the most prominent marine organisms and their potential for biotechnological uses are described. This is followed by introducing methodologies for exploration of these resources and the main use case scenarios in energy, food and feed, agronomy, bioremediation and climate change, cosmeceuticals, bio-inspired materials, healthcare, and well-being sectors. The key aspects in the fields of legislation and funding are provided, with the emphasis on the importance of communication and stakeholder engagement at all levels of biotechnology development. Finally, vital overarching concepts, such as the quadruple helix and Responsible Research and Innovation principle are highlighted as important to follow within the marine biotechnology field. The authors of this review are collaborating under the European Commission-funded Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Ocean4Biotech – European transdisciplinary networking platform for marine biotechnology and focus the study on the European state of affairs., This publication is based upon work from COST Action CA18238 (Ocean4Biotech), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) program.AR, KK, and TR: the publication is part of a project that has received funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 774499 – GoJelly project. AR and KK: this research was funded by the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding P1-0245 and P1-0237). AR: this publication has been produced with financial assistance of the Interreg MED Programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (Project No. 7032, internal ref. 8MED20_4.1_SP_001) – B-Blue project. AB: acknowledges the support from the Research Council of Norway through the grant 267474 from the HAVBRUK2 program. MLC: acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (UIDB/04326/2020), the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (MAR2020 OSTEOMAR/16-02-01-FMP-0057 and ALGASOLE/16.02.01-FMP-0058), the European Regional Development Fund (Atlantic Area BLUEHUMAN/EAPA/151/2016 and INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal ALGARED+), and the European Commision (H2020-MSCA-ITN BIOMEDAQU/766347). MFC: wishes to acknowledge the funding from CEEC program supported by FCT/MCTES (CEECIND/02968/2017); ACTINODEEPSEA project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031045) co-financed by COMPETE 2020, Portugal 2020, ERDF and FCT; Strategic Funding UIDB/04423/2020 and UIDP/04423/2020 through national funds provided by FCT and ERDF. MC: financial support from the Programme of the Institute of Oceanology, PAS (grant no. II.3) and National Science Centre in Poland (project number NCN 2016/21/B/NZ9/02304). MCu: acknowledges the funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain (SAF2009-0839 and RTA 2015-00010-C03-02) and INTERREG-MAC2/1.1b/279 (AHIDAGRO). AD-M: acknowledge financial support from INTERREG-MAC/1.1b/042 (BIOTRANSFER2) and Agustín de Betancourt Programme (Cabildo de Tenerife and Universidad de La Laguna). AD: work has been supported by the ERDF Activity 1.1.1.2 “Post-doctoral Research Aid” of the Specific Aid Objective 1.1.1, Operational Programme “Growth and Employment” (No. 1.1.1.2/VIAA/1/16/048). RJF: funding for this research was provided under the Marine Research Programme 2014–2020, through the Marine Institute of Ireland under grant PBA/MB/16/01 “A National Marine Biodiscovery Laboratory of Ireland (NMBLI)” and through the Food Institutional Research Measure, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Ireland under grant issue 17/F/260 (MaraBioActive). SG: this work was supported by the Applied Molecular Biosciences Unit-UCIBIO which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UID/Multi/04378/2019). SG thanks financial support provided by FCT/MCTES through grant IF/00700/2014 and OceanTresaures project PTDC/QUIQUI/119116/2010. NID: wishes to acknowledge the funding from the Croatian Science Foundation Project CELLSTRESS (IP-2018-01-5840). MMa and TD: we wish to acknowledge funding from the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) and the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) under grant no. 239 (SPINAQUA project). AM-G: acknowledges the financial contribution from the project BYTHOS funded by the European Union’s Interreg V-A Italia-Malta Programme under project code C1-1.1-9. HM-M: financial support from National Science Centre in Poland 2016/21/B/NZ9/02304 and 2017/25/B/NZ9/00202. MMe: this work has been supported by the French Government, through the UCAJEDI Investments in the Future project managed by the National Research Agency (ANR) with the reference number ANR-15-IDEX-01. MMe: thanks the Canceropôle Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region for the financial support provided to the MetaboCell project. DO: supported by the Doctorate Study program in Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Marine Research Institute, Klaipėda University, Lithuania. CR: we gratefully acknowledge the Research Council of Norway, the Møre and Romsdal County Council and Møreforsking AS for their financial contributions through the PROMAC (244244; www.promac.no), the Norwegian Seaweed Biorefinery Platform (294946; http://seaweedplatform.no/), and the Blå-Grønn (55031) projects. ER: this work benefited from financial support from the PACA Canceropôle, the National Cancer Institute, the PACA Regional Council and the French Government, managed by the National Research Agency as part of the Université Côte d’AzurJEDI Investissement d’Avenir project (ANR-15-IDEX-01). JS: work was supported by the Slovenian Research Agency (P4-0127 and J4-1771). IS: financial support from Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (project CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/17_048/0007323). XT: the tool “RRI Roadmap” was developed as part of the European Horizon 2020 project MARINA “Marine Knowledge Sharing Platform for Federating Responsible Research and Innovation Communities” under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 710566 (2016–2019). OT: his contribution is carried out with the support of the Marine Institute and is funded under the Marine Research Programme by the Irish Government (Grant-Aid Agreement No. PBA/MB/16/01).

Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) is a crucial enzyme involved in tyrosine biosynthesis, having roles in neurological and physiological processes. The purpose of PAH has received little attention in crustaceans despite extensive investigations in other arthropods. Here, we characterize the PAH gene for the first time in the parasite Lepeophtheirus salmonis, a copepod that is responsible for huge economic losses in salmonid fish farming. Phylogenetic and sequence analyses confirmed that LsPAH is closely related to the metazoan PAH with conserved ACT regulatory and catalytic domains. Temporal expression patterns revealed that LsPAH is expressed throughout all developmental stages peaking during the copepodite stages, suggesting an essential role in developmental physiology. We used RNAi to knockdown LsPAH expression in the nauplius I stage to study developmental function during the larval stages. PAH knockdown impaired larval development, molting and swimming ability with severe morphological defects. This study provides insight into the role of PAH in copepods and demonstrates the importance of this metabolic gene in salmon louse growth and development. Copyright © 2020 Guragain, Sporsheim, Skjesol, Båtnes, Olsen, Bones and Winge. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

The glucosinolate-myrosinase system is a well-known plant chemical defence system. Two functional myrosinase-encoding genes, THIOGLUCOSIDASE 1 (TGG1) and THIOGLUCOSIDASE 2 (TGG2), express in aerial tissues of Arabidopsis. TGG1 expresses in guard cells (GCs) and is also a highly abundant protein in GCs. Recently, by studying wild type (WT), tgg single, and double mutants, we showed a novel association between the glucosinolate-myrosinase system defence system, and a physical barrier, the cuticle. In the current study, using imaging techniques, we further analysed stomata and ultrastructure of GCs of WT, tgg1, tgg2 single, and tgg1 tgg2 double mutants. The tgg mutants showed distinctive features of GCs. The GCs of tgg1 and tgg1 tgg2 mutants showed vacuoles that had less electron-dense granular material. Both tgg single mutants had bigger stomata complexes. The WT and tgg mutants also showed variations for cell wall, chloroplasts, and starch grains of GCs. Abscisic acid (ABA)-treated stomata showed that the stomatal aperture was reduced in tgg1 single and tgg1 tgg2 double mutants. The data provides a basis to perform comprehensive further studies to find physiological and molecular mechanisms associated with ultrastructure differences in tgg mutants. We speculate that the absence of myrosinase alters the endogenous chemical composition, hence affecting the physical structure of plants and the plants’ physical defence barriers.

International audience; Intertidal benthic diatoms experience a highly variable light regime, which especially challenges these organisms to cope with excess light energy during low tide. Non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence (NPQ) is one of the most rapid mechanisms diatoms possess to dissipate excess energy. Its capacity is mainly defined by the xanthophyll cycle (XC) and Light-Harvesting Complex X (LHCX) proteins. Whereas the XC and its relation to NPQ have been relatively well-studied in both planktonic and benthic diatoms, our current knowledge about LHCX proteins and their potential involvement in NPQ regulation is largely restricted to planktonic diatoms. While recent studies using immuno-blotting have revealed the presence of light regulated LHCX proteins in benthic diatom communities and isolates, nothing is as yet known about the diversity, identity and transcriptional regulation or function of these proteins. We identified LHCX genes in the draft genome of the model benthic diatom Seminavis robusta and followed their transcriptional regulation during a day/night cycle and during exposure to high light conditions. The S. robusta genome contains 17 LHCX sequences, which is much more than in the sequenced planktonic model diatoms (4-5), but similar to the number of LHCX genes in the sea ice associated diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus. LHCX diversification in both species, however, appears to have occurred independently. Interestingly, the S. robusta genome contains LHCX genes that are related to the LHCX6 of the model centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana, which are lacking in the well-studied pennate model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. All investigated LHCX genes, with exception of SrLHCX6, were upregulated during the daily dark-light transition. Exposure to 2,000 µmol photons m −2 s −1 , furthermore, increased transcription of all investigated LHCX genes. Our data suggest that the diversification and involvement of several light regulated LHCX genes in the photophysiology of S. robusta may represent an adaptation to the complex and highly variable light environment this benthic diatom species can be exposed to.

Glucosinolates are defense-related secondary metabolites found in Brassicaceae. When Brassicaceae come under attack, glucosinolates are hydrolyzed into different forms of glucosinolate hydrolysis products (GHPs). Among the GHPs, isothiocyanates are the most comprehensively characterized defensive compounds, whereas the functional study of nitriles, another group of GHP, is still limited. Therefore, this study investigates whether 3-butenenitrile (3BN), a nitrile, can trigger the signaling pathways involved in the regulation of defense responses in Arabidopsis thaliana against biotic stresses. Briefly, the methodology is divided into three stages, (i) evaluate the physiological and biochemical effects of exogenous 3BN treatment on Arabidopsis, (ii) determine the metabolites involved in 3BN-mediated defense responses in Arabidopsis, and (iii) assess whether a 3BN treatment can enhance the disease tolerance of Arabidopsis against necrotrophic pathogens. As a result, a 2.5 mM 3BN treatment caused lesion formation in Arabidopsis Columbia (Col-0) plants, a process found to be modulated by nitric oxide (NO). Metabolite profiling revealed an increased production of soluble sugars, Krebs cycle associated carboxylic acids and amino acids in Arabidopsis upon a 2.5 mM 3BN treatment, presumably via NO action. Primary metabolites such as sugars and amino acids are known to be crucial components in modulating plant defense responses. Furthermore, exposure to 2.0 mM 3BN treatment began to increase the production of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) phytohormones in Arabidopsis Col-0 plants in the absence of lesion formation. The production of SA and JA in nitrate reductase loss-of function mutant (nia1nia2) plants was also induced by the 3BN treatments, with a greater induction for JA. The SA concentration in nia1nia2 plants was lower than in Col-0 plants, confirming the previously reported role of NO in controlling SA production in Arabidopsis. A 2.0 mM 3BN treatment prior to pathogen assays effectively alleviated the leaf lesion symptom of Arabidopsis Col-0 plants caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum and Botrytis cinerea and reduced the pathogen growth on leaves. The findings of this study demonstrate that 3BN can elicit defense response pathways in Arabidopsis, which potentially involves a coordinated crosstalk between NO and phytohormone signaling.

Diatoms are major components of phytoplankton and play a key role in the ecology of aquatic ecosystems. These algae are of great scientific importance for a wide variety of research areas, ranging from marine ecology and oceanography to biotechnology. During the last 20 years, the availability of genomic information on selected diatom species and a substantial progress in genetic manipulation, strongly contributed to establishing diatoms as molecular model organisms for marine biology research. Recently, tailored TALEN endonucleases and the CRISPR/Cas9 system were utilized in diatoms, allowing targeted genetic modifications and the generation of knockout strains. These approaches are extremely valuable for diatom research because breeding, forward genetic screens by random insertion, and chemical mutagenesis are not applicable to the available model species Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana, which do not cross sexually in the lab. Here, we provide an overview of the genetic toolbox that is currently available for performing stable genetic modifications in diatoms. We also discuss novel challenges that need to be addressed to fully exploit the potential of these technologies for the characterization of diatom biology and for metabolic engineering. © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Plant Cell Reports. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00299-018-2334-1. Locked until 23.08.2019 due to the copyright restrictions.

The two IDA-LIKE signalling peptides, IDL6 and IDL7, suppress expression of a number of stress-related transcription factors; functional studies suggest a role in modulation of stress-induced ROS signalling., Small signalling peptides have emerged as important cell to cell messengers in plant development and stress responses. However, only a few of the predicted peptides have been functionally characterized. Here, we present functional characterization of two members of the IDA-LIKE (IDL) peptide family in Arabidopsis thaliana, IDL6 and IDL7. Localization studies suggest that the peptides require a signal peptide and C-terminal processing to be correctly transported out of the cell. Both IDL6 and IDL7 appear to be unstable transcripts under post-transcriptional regulation. Treatment of plants with synthetic IDL6 and IDL7 peptides resulted in down-regulation of a broad range of stress-responsive genes, including early stress-responsive transcripts, dominated by a large group of ZINC FINGER PROTEIN (ZFP) genes, WRKY genes, and genes encoding calcium-dependent proteins. IDL7 expression was rapidly induced by hydrogen peroxide, and idl7 and idl6 idl7 double mutants displayed reduced cell death upon exposure to extracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS). Co-treatment of the bacterial elicitor flg22 with IDL7 peptide attenuated the rapid ROS burst induced by treatment with flg22 alone. Taken together, our results suggest that IDL7, and possibly IDL6, act as negative modulators of stress-induced ROS signalling in Arabidopsis.

Benthic diatoms are the main primary producers in shallow freshwater and coastal environments, fulfilling important ecological functions such as nutrient cycling and sediment stabilization. However, little is known about their evolutionary adaptations to these highly structured but heterogeneous environments. Here, we report a reference genome for the marine biofilm-forming diatom Seminavis robusta, showing that gene family expansions are responsible for a quarter of all 36,254 protein-coding genes. Tandem duplications play a key role in extending the repertoire of specific gene functions, including light and oxygen sensing, which are probably central for its adaptation to benthic habitats. Genes differentially expressed during interactions with bacteria are strongly conserved in other benthic diatoms while many species-specific genes are strongly upregulated during sexual reproduction. Combined with re-sequencing data from 48 strains, our results offer insights into the genetic diversity and gene functions in benthic diatoms., Available genomics studies have mostly focused on planktonic centric diatom. Here, the authors report the genome assembly of the marine biofilm-forming diatom Seminavis robusta and the resequencing data of a panel of accessions to reveal their evolutionary adaptations.

Highlights • Avicennia marina plants tolerate exposure to mild oil contamination in soil and they can survive at higher concentrations. • Oil contaminated soil induced stronger transcriptional responses in leaves than in roots of A. marina. • Our suggested biomarker PPOA showed a significant up-regulation in leaves under all tested oil concentrations, Mangrove plants, which inhabit and form sensitive ecosystems in the intertidal zones of tropical and subtropical coastlines, though vulnerable to petroleum pollution, still maintain their growth under oil contamination. To elucidate the molecular response of mangrove plants to crude oil–sediment mixture, seeds of Avicennia marina were planted and grown on 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and10 % (w/w) oil-contaminated soil. Plant biomass was highly affected from 3.05 ± 0.28 (Control) to 0.50 ± .07 (10 %) and from 3.47 ± 0.12 to 1.88 ± 0.08 in 2 and 4 months old plants respectively. The expression analysis of 11genes belonging to detoxification pathways in the roots and leaves of 2 and 4 month-old plants was evaluated by qRT-PCR. Our results showed changes in expression levels of Fe-SOD, Mn-SOD, CAT, PRX, PPOs, GSTs, and NAP2 whose products are involved in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and xenobiotic detoxification. PPOA showed the highest expression induction of 43 ± 1.15, followed by CAT (12.61 ± 3.25) and PPOB (6.38 ± 1.34) in leaves of 2 months old seedlings grown on 7.5, 10 and 7.5 % oil contaminated soil respectively. PPOA (39.23 ± 2.1), PRX (32.13 ± 1.2) as well as PPOB (26.11 ± 1.3) showed the highest expression induction in leaves of 4 months old plants grown in 2.5 % oil contaminated soil. Our data indicated that PPOA can be a good biomarker candidate gene for long term exposure to oil contamination in A. marina.

Phosphorus (P) is one of the limiting macronutrients for algal growth in marine environments. Microalgae have developed adaption mechanisms to P limitation that involve remodelling of internal phosphate resources and accumulation of lipids. Here, we used in silico analyses to identify the P stress regulator PtPSR (Phaeodactylum tricornutum Phosphorus Starvation Response) in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. ptpsr mutant lines were generated using gene editing and characterised by various molecular, genetics and biochemical tools. PtPSR belongs to a clade of Myb transcription factors that are conserved in stramenopiles and distantly related to plant P stress regulators. PtPSR bound specifically to a conserved cis-regulatory element found in the regulatory region of P stress-induced genes. ptpsr knock-out mutants showed reduction in cell growth under P limitation. P stress responses were impaired in ptpsr mutants compared with wild-type, including reduced induction of P stress response genes, near to complete loss of alkaline phosphatase activity and reduced phospholipid degradation. We conclude that PtPSR is a key transcription factor influencing P scavenging, phospholipid remodelling and cell growth in adaption to P stress in diatoms. © 2019 The Authors New Phytologist © 2019 New Phytologist Trust This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Circadian rhythm of stomatal aperture is mainly regulated by light/darkness. Blue and red light induce stomatal opening through different mechanisms that are mediated by special receptors. ROP2, a member of Rho GTPase family in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsisthaliana), has been found to negatively regulate light-induced stomatal opening. However, the upstream guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) RopGEFs have not been revealed, and it is unclear which photoreceptor is required for the action of RopGEFs-ROPs. Here, we showed that RopGEF2 acted as a negative regulator in phytochrome B (phyB)-mediated red light-induced stomatal opening. Meanwhile, ROP7, another member of ROP family, acting redundantly with ROP2, was regulated by RopGEF2 in this process. RopGEF2 interacted with ROP7 and ROP2 and enhanced their intrinsic nucleotide exchange rates. Furthermore, the direct interactions between phyB and RopGEF2 were detected in vitro and in plants, and phyB enhanced the GEF activity of RopGEF2 toward both ROP7 and ROP2 under light. In addition, RopGEF4 functioned redundantly with RopGEF2 in red light-induced stomatal opening by activating both ROP7 and ROP2, and RopGEF2/RopGEF4 acted genetically downstream of phyB; however, the GEF activity of RopGEF4 was not directly enhanced by phyB. These results revealed that red light-activated phyB enhances the GEF activities of RopGEF2 and RopGEF4 directly or indirectly, and then activate both ROP7 and ROP2 in guard cells. The negative mechanism triggered by phyB prevents the excessive stomatal opening under red light.

Algae of the genus Nannochloropsis are attractive organisms for use in biotechnology due to their high lipid content. Genetic manipulation of marine Nannochloropsis species has already been reported; however, tools have not yet been developed to transform Nannochloropsis limnetica, the only known freshwater species of this genus. To establish N. limnetica as a model laboratory strain, we first tested the effects of 11 different antibiotics on growth of N. limnetica and the marine species N. oceanica and N. gaditana. These three microalgae responded very differently to antibiotic treatments, both in liquid cultures and on agar plates. In general, N. limnetica exhibited a much higher sensitivity to antibiotics than the marine strains, thus offering the potential for a large set of antibiotic resistance genes that may be applicable as artificial selection markers after transformation. We also developed a simple protocol using lysozyme to obtain high yields of viable N. limnetica protoplasts, as confirmed by flow cytometry and electron microscopy.

Glucosinolates are plant secondary metabolites with important roles in plant defence against pathogens and pests and are also known for their health benefits. Understanding how environmental factors affect the level and composition of glucosinolates is therefore of importance in the perspective of climate change. In this study we analysed glucosinolates in Arabidopsis thaliana accessions when grown at constant standard (21 °C), moderate (15 °C) and low (9 °C) temperatures during three generations. In most of the tested accessions moderate and pronounced chilling temperatures led to higher levels of glucosinolates, especially aliphatic glucosinolates. Which temperature yielded the highest glucosinolate levels was accession-dependent. Transcriptional profiling revealed also accession-specific gene responses, but only a limited correlation between changes in glucosinolate-related gene expression and glucosinolate levels. Different growth temperatures in one generation did not consistently affect glucosinolate composition in subsequent generations, hence a clear transgenerational effect of temperature on glucosinolates was not observed.

Benthic diatoms are the main primary producers in shallow freshwater and coastal environments, fulfilling important ecological functions such as nutrient cycling and sediment stabilization. However, little is known about their evolutionary adaptations to these highly structured but heterogeneous environments. Here, we report a reference genome for the marine biofilm-forming diatom Seminavis robusta, showing that gene family expansions are responsible for a quarter of all 36,254 protein-coding genes. Tandem duplications play a key role in extending the repertoire of specific gene functions, including light and oxygen sensing, which are probably central for its adaptation to benthic habitats. Genes differentially expressed during interactions with bacteria are strongly conserved in other benthic diatoms while many species-specific genes are strongly upregulated during sexual reproduction. Combined with re-sequencing data from 48 strains, our results offer insights into the genetic diversity and gene functions in benthic diatoms.

Small post-translationally modified peptides are important signalling components of plant defence responses against phytopathogens, acting as both positive and negative modulators. PAMP-INDUCED SECRETED PEPTIDE (PIP) 1 and 2 have been shown to amplify plant immunity. Here we investigate the role of the related peptide PIP3 in the regulation of immune response in Arabidopsis. Treatment with synthetic PIP peptides led to similar transcriptome reprogramming, indicating an effect on innate immunity-related processes and phytohormones, including jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signalling. PIP3 overexpressing (OX) plants showed enhanced growth inhibition in response to flg22 exposure. In addition, flg22-induced production of reactive oxygen species and callose deposition was significantly reduced in PIP3-OX plants. Interestingly, PIP3-OX plants showed increased susceptibility toward both Botrytis cinerea and the biotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Expression of both JA and salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis and signalling genes was more induced during B. cinerea infection in PIP3-OX plants compared with wild-type plants. Promoter and ChIP-seq analyses indicated that the transcription factors WRKY18, WRKY33, and WRKY40 cooperatively act as repressors for PIP3. The results point to a fine-tuning role for PIP3 in modulation of immunity through the regulation of SA and JA biosynthesis and signalling pathways in Arabidopsis.

The quality and relative amounts of dietary lipids may affect the health and growth of cultured Atlantic salmon. So far, little is known about their effects on the performance of the fish immune system during early life stages and, in particular their importance in the transition from endogenous nutrition (yolk) in the alevin stage to exogenous nutrition in the later fry stage. We investigated the immunomodulatory effects of fish oil, vegetable oil and phospholipid-rich oil in feeds for farmed Atlantic salmon using a transcriptomic approach. The experiment allowed a fine-scale monitoring of gene expression profiles in two tissues, the pyloric caeca of the intestine and the liver, in a 94 days-long first feeding experiment. The analysis of transcriptional profiles revealed that first feeding induced a strong immunomodulation in the pyloric caeca after 48 days of feeding, lasting up to day 94 and possibly beyond. On the other hand, the differential effect of the three dietary regimes was negligible. We interpret this upregulation, undetectable in liver, as a potentiation of the immune system upon the first contact of the digestive system with exogenous feed. This process involved a complex network of gene products involved in both cellular and humoral immunity. We identified the classical pathway of the complement system, acting at the crossroads between innate and adaptive immunity, as a key process modulated in response to the switch from endogenous to exogenous nutrition. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material.

Small post-translationally modified peptides are important signalling components of plant defence responses against phytopathogens, acting both as positive and negative modulators. PAMP-INDUCED SECRETED PEPTIDE (PIP) 1 and 2 has been shown to amplify plant immunity. Here we investigate the role of the related peptide PIP3 in the regulation of immune response in Arabidopsis. Treatment with synthetic PIP peptides led to similar transcriptome reprogramming, indicating an effect on innate immunity-related processes and phytohormones, including jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signalling. PIP3 overexpressing (OX) plants showed enhanced growth inhibition in response to flg22 exposure. In addition, flg22-induced production of reactive oxygen species and callose deposition were significantly reduced in PIP3-OX plants. Interestingly, PIP3-OX plants showed increased susceptibility both toward Botrytis cinerea and the biotrophic pathogen Pseudomonas syringae. Expression of both JA and salicylic acid biosynthesis and signalling genes was more induced during B. cinerea infection in PIP3-OX plants compared with wild-type plants. Promoter and ChIP-seq analyses indicated that the transcription factors WRKY18, WRKY33 and WRKY40 cooperatively act as repressors for PIP3. The results point to a fine-tuning role for PIP3 in modulation of immunity through the regulation of SA and JA biosynthesis and signalling pathways in Arabidopsis. © The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com

The in vivo functions of Atlantic salmon fatty acyl desaturases (fads2), Δ6fads2-a, Δ6fads2-b, Δ6fads2-c and Δ5fads2 in long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LC-PUFA) synthesis in salmon and fish in general remains to be elucidated. Here, we investigate in vivo functions and in vivo functional redundancy of salmon fads2 using two CRISPR-mediated partial knockout salmon, Δ6abc/5Mt with mutations in Δ6fads2-a, Δ6fads2-b, Δ6fads2-c and Δ5fads2, and Δ6bcMt with mutations in Δ6fads2-b and Δ6fads2-c. F0 fish displaying high degree of gene editing (50–100%) were fed low LC-PUFA and high LC-PUFA diets, the former containing reduced levels of eicosapentaenoic (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic (22:6n-3) acids but higher content of linoleic (18:2n-6) and alpha-linolenic (18:3n-3) acids, and the latter containing high levels of 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 but reduced compositions of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3. The Δ6abc/5Mt showed reduced 22:6n-3 levels and accumulated Δ6-desaturation substrates (18:2n-6, 18:3n-3) and Δ5-desaturation substrate (20:4n-3), demonstrating impaired 22:6n-3 synthesis compared to wildtypes (WT). Δ6bcMt showed no effect on Δ6-desaturation compared to WT, suggesting Δ6 Fads2-a as having the predominant Δ6-desaturation activity in salmon, at least in the tissues analyzed. Both Δ6abc/5Mt and Δ6bcMt demonstrated significant accumulation of Δ8-desaturation substrates (20:2n-6, 20:3n-3) when fed low LC-PUFA diet. Additionally, Δ6abc/5Mt demonstrated significant upregulation of the lipogenic transcription regulator, sterol regulatory element binding protein-1 (srebp-1) in liver and pyloric caeca under reduced dietary LC-PUFA. Our data suggest a combined effect of endogenous LC-PUFA synthesis and dietary LC-PUFA levels on srebp-1 expression which ultimately affects LC-PUFA synthesis in salmon. Our data also suggest Δ8-desaturation activities for salmon Δ6 Fads2 enzymes.

The cotton army worm Spodoptera litura Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a destructive pest of various field crops and vegetables in Pakistan. Development of biopesticide is an attractive strategy to minimize the problems of pest resistance, environmental pollution and human health concerns. The isolates of S. litura nucleopolyhedroviruses (SltNPV) were collected from infected larvae fed on natural cotton crops. The NPV was isolated from the larvae and viral occlusion bodies (VOBs) were detected using a light microscope. The toxicity of native isolates against S. litura also studied by testing different concentrations (1 x 102 POB (Polyhedral occlusion bodies) mL-1- 1 x 1010 POB mL-1) from the occlusion bodies produced from NPV isolates against 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th instar larvae of S. litura. The rapid and sensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used for the molecular detection of NPV gene from native NPV diseased insect. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis were performed to compare SlNPV- FSD15 based on Lef-8 with other Lef-8 genes sequences clearly showed that our SlNPV-FSD15 isolate belongs to Spodoptera litura associated NPVs. The biological activities of this NPV isolates were investigated under laboratory condition. The highest mortality of S. litura was observed at early instars. Against second instars of S. litura, LC50 values of NPV isolate ranged from 1.92×103 to 3.64×103OB/ml with LT50 values of 69.30 h to 72.80 h, respectively. This study showed highly effectiveness and provides an opportunity to cut down the use of synthetic approaches and develop safe biological/microbial insecticides from NPV isolates, which in future may effectively control S. litura. © 2018 Zoological Society of Pakistan. This is the authors' accepted and refereed manuscript to the article. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjz/2018.50.6.2229.2237

Plants within the Brassicales order generate glucosinolate hydrolysis products that can exert different biological effects on several organisms. Here, we evaluated the physiological effects of one of these compounds, benzyl cyanide (phenylacetonitrile), when exogenously applied on Arabidopsis thaliana. Treatment with benzyl cyanide led to a dose-dependent reduction of primary root length and total biomass. Further morphological changes like elongated hypocotyls, epinastic cotyledons, and increased formation of adventitious roots resembled a severe auxin-overproducer phenotype. The elevated auxin response was confirmed by histochemical staining and gene expression analysis of auxin-responsive genes. Nitriles are converted by specific enzymes, nitrilases (NIT1-3), to their corresponding carboxylic acids. The nitrilase mutants nit1 and nit2 tolerated benzyl cyanide treatments better than the wild type, with nit2 being less resistant than nit1. A NIT2RNAi line suppressing several nitrilases was resistant to all tested benzyl cyanide concentrations. When exposed to phenylacetic acid (PAA) – the corresponding carboxylic acid of benzyl cyanide – wild type and mutant seedlings were, however, equally susceptible and showed a more severe auxin phenotype than upon cyanide treatment. Here, we demonstrate that the auxin-like effects triggered by benzyl cyanide on Arabidopsis are due to its nitrilase-mediated conversion to the natural auxin PAA.

We have previously shown that K-selection and microbial stability in the rearing water increases survival and growth of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae, and that recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are compatible with this. Here, we have assessed how water treatment influenced the larval microbiota and host responses at the gene expression level. Cod larvae were reared with two different rearing water systems: a RAS and a flow-through system (FTS). The water microbiota was examined using a 16S rDNA PCR/DGGE strategy. RNA extracted from larvae at 8, 13, and 17 days post hatching was used for microbiota and microarray gene expression analysis. Bacterial cDNA was synthesized and used for 16S rRNA amplicon 454 pyrosequencing of larval microbiota. Both water and larval microbiota differed significantly between the systems, and the larval microbiota appeared to become more dissimilar between systems with time. In total 4 phyla were identified for all larvae: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. The most profound difference in larval microbiota was a high abundance of Arcobacter (Epsilonproteobacteria) in FTS larvae (34 ± 9% of total reads). Arcobacter includes several species that are known pathogens for humans and animals. Cod larval transcriptome responses were investigated using an oligonucleotide gene expression microarray covering approximately 24,000 genes. Interestingly, FTS larvae transcriptional profiles revealed an overrepresentation of upregulated transcripts associated with responses to pathogens and infections, such as c1ql3-like, pglyrp-2-like and zg16, compared to RAS larvae. In conclusion, distinct water treatment systems induced differences in the larval microbiota. FTS larvae showed up-regulation of transcripts associated with responses to microbial stress. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that RAS promotes K-selection and microbial stability by maintaining a microbial load close to the carrying capacity of the system, and ensuring long retention times for both bacteria and water in the system. Copyright © 2018 Vestrum, Attramadal, Winge, Li, Olsen, Bones, Vadstein and Bakke. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

The mechanism of essentiality of dietary phospholipid (PL) for larval fish is not clear. The main objective of the present study was to determine if the PL requirement of Atlantic cod larvae was due to any genetic impairment caused by functional immaturity. Cod larvae were sampled at 1, 3, 8, 13, 17, 18, 30, 42 and 60 days post hatch (dph) for transcriptome analysis using a recently developed microarray. The fatty acid profile and gene expression levels of cod larvae at 17 dph were compared after feeding differently enriched rotifers, which contained different DHA levels in PL. No significant differences (p

Differentially evolved responses to various stress conditions in plants are controlled by complex regulatory circuits of transcriptional activators, and repressors, such as transcription factors (TFs). To understand the general and condition-specific activities of the TFs and their regulatory relationships with the target genes (TGs), we have used a homogeneous stress gene expression dataset generated on ten natural ecotypes of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, during five single and six combined stress conditions. Knowledge-based profiles of binding sites for 25 stress-responsive TF families (187 TFs) were generated and tested for their enrichment in the regulatory regions of the associated TGs. Condition-dependent regulatory sub-networks have shed light on the differential utilization of the underlying network topology, by stress-specific regulators and multifunctional regulators. The multifunctional regulators maintain the core stress response processes while the transient regulators confer the specificity to certain conditions. Clustering patterns of transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) have re- flected the combinatorial nature of transcriptional regulation, and suggested the putative role of the homotypic clusters of TFBS towards maintaining transcriptional robustness against cis-regulatory mutations to facilitate the preservation of stress response processes. The Gene Ontology enrichment analysis of the TGs reflected sequential regulation of stress response mechanisms in plants. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Periodic light-dark cycles govern the timing of basic biological processes in organisms inhabiting land as well as the sea, where life evolved. Although prominent marine phytoplanktonic organisms such as diatoms show robust diurnal rhythms in growth, cell cycle and gene expression, the molecular foundations controlling these processes are still obscure. By exploring the regulatory landscape of diatom diurnal rhythms, we unveil the function of aPhaeodactylum tricornutumbHLH-PAS protein,PtbHLH1a, in the regulation of light-dependent diurnal rhythms. Peak expression ofPtbHLH1amRNA occurs toward the end of the light period and it adjusts to photoperiod changes. Ectopic over-expression ofPtbHLH1a results in lines showing a phase shift in diurnal cell fluorescence, compared to the wild-type cells, and with altered cell cycle progression and gene expression. Reduced oscillations in gene expression are also observed in overexpression lines compared to wild-type in continuous darkness, showing that the regulation of rhythmicity byPtbHLH1a is not directly dependent on light inputs and cell division.PtbHLH1a homologs are widespread in diatom genomes which may indicate a common function in many species. This study adds new elements to understand diatom biology and ecology and offers new perspectives to elucidate timekeeping mechanisms in marine organisms belonging to a major, but underinvestigated branch of the tree of life.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTMost organisms experience diurnal light-dark changes and show rhythms of basic biological processes such that they occur at optimal times of the day. The ocean harbours a huge diversity of organisms showing light-dependent rhythms, but their molecular foundations are still largely unknown. In this study, we discover a novel protein,PtbHLH1a that regulates cell division, gene expression and the diurnal timing of these events in the marine diatomPhaedoactylum tricornutum. The identification ofPtbHLH1a-like genes in many diatom species suggests a conserved function in diurnal rhythm regulation in the most species-rich group of algae in the ocean. This study unveils critical features of diatom biology and advances the field of marine rhythms and their environmental regulation.

We have previously shown that K-selection and microbial stability in the rearing water increases survival and growth of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae, and that recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) are compatible with this. Here, we have assessed how water treatment influenced the larval microbiota and host responses at the gene expression level. Cod larvae were reared with two different rearing water systems: a RAS and a flow-through system (FTS). The water microbiota was examined using a 16S rDNA PCR/DGGE strategy. RNA extracted from larvae at 8, 13, and 17 days post hatching was used for microbiota and microarray gene expression analysis. Bacterial cDNA was synthesized and used for 16S rRNA amplicon 454 pyrosequencing of larval microbiota. Both water and larval microbiota differed significantly between the systems, and the larval microbiota appeared to become more dissimilar between systems with time. In total 4 phyla were identified for all larvae: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. The most profound difference in larval microbiota was a high abundance of Arcobacter (Epsilonproteobacteria) in FTS larvae (34 ± 9% of total reads). Arcobacter includes several species that are known pathogens for humans and animals. Cod larval transcriptome responses were investigated using an oligonucleotide gene expression microarray covering approximately 24,000 genes. Interestingly, FTS larvae transcriptional profiles revealed an overrepresentation of upregulated transcripts associated with responses to pathogens and infections, such as c1ql3-like, pglyrp-2-like and zg16, compared to RAS larvae. In conclusion, distinct water treatment systems induced differences in the larval microbiota. FTS larvae showed up-regulation of transcripts associated with responses to microbial stress. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that RAS promotes K-selection and microbial stability by maintaining a microbial load close to the carrying capacity of the system, and ensuring long retention times for both bacteria and water in the system.

The various applications of Ag(I) generated the necessity to obtain Ag(I)-accumulating organisms for the removal of surplus Ag(I) from contaminated sites or for the concentration of Ag(I) from Ag(I)-poor environments. In this study we obtained Ag(I)-accumulating cells by expressing plant metallothioneins (MTs) in the model Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The cDNAs of seven Arabidopsis thaliana MTs (AtMT1a, AtMT1c, AtMT2a, AtMT2b, AtMT3, AtMT4a and AtMT4b) and four Noccaea caerulescens MTs (NcMT1, NcMT2a, NcMT2b and NcMT3) fused to myrGFP displaying an Nterminal myristoylation sequence for plasma membrane targeting were expressed in S. cerevisiae and checked for Ag(I)-related phenotype. The transgenic yeast cells were grown in copper-deficient media to ensure the expression of the plasma membrane high-affinity Cu(I) transporter Ctr1, and also to elude the copper-related inhibition of Ag(I) transport into the cell. All plant MTs expressed in S. cerevisiae conferred Ag(I) tolerance to the yeast cells. Among them, myrGFP-NcMT3 afforded Ag(I) accumulation under high concentration (10–50 μM), while myrGFP-AtMT1a conferred increased accumulation capacity under low (1 μM) or even trace Ag(I) (0.02–0.05 μM). The ability to tolerate high concentrations of Ag(I) coupled with accumulative characteristics and robust growth showed by some of the transgenic yeasts highlighted the potential of these strains for biotechnology applications. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Upon tissue damage the plant secondary metabolites glucosinolates can generate various hydrolysis products, including isothiocyanates (ITCs). Their role in plant defence against insects and pest and their potential health benefits have been well documented, but our knowledge regarding the endogenous molecular mechanisms of their effect in plants is limited. Here we investigated the effect of allyl-isothiocyanate (AITC) on Arabidopsis thaliana mutants impaired in homeostasis of the low-molecular weight thiol glutathione. We show that glutathione is important for the AITC-induced physiological responses, since mutants deficient in glutathione biosynthesis displayed a lower biomass and higher root growth inhibition than WT seedlings. These mutants were also more susceptible than WT to another ITC, sulforaphane. Sulforaphane was however more potent in inhibiting root growth than AITC. Combining AITC with the glutathione biosynthesis inhibitor L-buthionine-sulfoximine (BSO) led to an even stronger phenotype than observed for the single treatments. Furthermore, transgenic plants expressing the redox-sensitive fluorescent biomarker roGFP2 indicated more oxidative conditions during AITC treatment. Taken together, we provide genetic evidence that glutathione plays an important role in AITC-induced growth inhibition, although further studies need to be conducted to reveal the underlying mechanisms. © The Author(s) 2018. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The CRISPR/Cas9 technology has opened the possibility for targeted genome editing in various organisms including diatom model organisms. One standard method for delivery of vectors to diatom cells is by biolistic particle bombardment. Recently delivery by conjugation was added to the tool-box. An important difference between these methods is that biolistic transformation results in transgene integration of vector DNA into the algae genome, whereas conjugative transformation allows the vector to be maintained as an episome in the recipient cells. In this study, we have used both transformation methods to deliver the CRISPR/Cas9 system to the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum aiming to induce mutations in a common target gene. This allowed us to compare the two CRISPR/Cas9 delivery systems with regard to mutation efficiency, and to assess potential problems connected to constitutive expression of Cas9. We found that the percentage of CRISPR-induced targeted biallelic mutations are similar for both methods, but an extended growth period might be needed to induce biallelic mutations when the CRISPR/Cas9 system is episomal. Independent of the CRISPR/Cas9 vector system, constitutive expression of Cas9 can cause re-editing of mutant lines with small indels. Complications associated with the biolistic transformation system like the permanent and random integration of foreign DNA into the host genome and unstable mutant lines caused by constitutive expression of Cas9 can be avoided using the episomal CRISPR/Cas9 system. The episomal vector can be eliminated from the diatom cells by removal of selection pressure, resulting in transient Cas9 expression and non-transgenic mutant lines. Depending on legislation, such lines might be considered as non-GMOs. © The Author(s) 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Plants within the Brassicales order generate glucosinolate hydrolysis products that can exert different biological effects on several organisms. Here, we evaluated the physiological effects of one of these compounds, benzyl cyanide (phenylacetonitrile), when exogenously applied on Arabidopsis thaliana. Treatment with benzyl cyanide led to a dose-dependent reduction of primary root length and total biomass. Further morphological changes like elongated hypocotyls, epinastic cotyledons, and increased formation of adventitious roots resembled a severe auxin-overproducer phenotype. The elevated auxin response was confirmed by histochemical staining and gene expression analysis of auxin-responsive genes. Nitriles are converted by specific enzymes, nitrilases (NIT1-3), to their corresponding carboxylic acids. The nitrilase mutants nit1 and nit2 tolerated benzyl cyanide treatments better than the wild type, with nit2 being less resistant than nit1. A NIT2RNAi line suppressing several nitrilases was resistant to all tested benzyl cyanide concentrations. When exposed to phenylacetic acid (PAA) – the corresponding carboxylic acid of benzyl cyanide – wild type and mutant seedlings were, however, equally susceptible and showed a more severe auxin phenotype than upon cyanide treatment. Here, we demonstrate that the auxin-like effects triggered by benzyl cyanide on Arabidopsis are due to its nitrilase-mediated conversion to the natural auxin PAA. Copyright © 2018 Urbancsok, Bones and Kissen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).

International audience; Molecular mechanisms of phosphorus (P) limitation are of great interest for understanding algal production in aquatic ecosystems. Previous studies point to P limitation-induced changes in lipid composition. As, in microalgae, the molecular mechanisms of this specific P stress adaptation remain unresolved, we reveal a detailed phospholipid-recycling scheme inNannochloropsis oceanicaand describe important P acquisition genes based on highly corresponding transcriptome and lipidome data. Initial responses to P limitation showed increased expression of genes involved in P uptake and an expansion of the P substrate spectrum based on purple acid phosphatases. Increase in P trafficking displayed a rearrangement between compartments by supplying P to the chloroplast and carbon to the cytosol for lipid synthesis. We propose a novel phospholipid-recycling scheme for algae that leads to the rapid reduction of phospholipids and synthesis of the P-free lipid classes. P mobilization through membrane lipid degradation is mediated mainly by two glycerophosphoryldiester phosphodiesterases and three patatin-like phospholipases A on the transcriptome level. To compensate for low phospholipids in exponential growth,N. oceanicasynthesized sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol and diacylglyceroltrimethylhomoserine. In this study, it was shown that anN. oceanicastrain has a unique repertoire of genes that facilitate P acquisition and the degradation of phospholipids compared with other stramenopiles. The novel phospholipid-recycling scheme opens new avenues for metabolic engineering of lipid composition in algae.

Isothiocyanates (ITCs), the biologically important glucosinolate breakdown products, can present health-promoting effects, play an important role in plant defense and affect plant cellular mechanisms. Here, we evaluated the biological effects of ITCs on Arabidopsis thaliana by assessing growth parameters after long-term exposure to low concentrations of aliphatic and aromatic ITCs, ranging from 1 to 1000 µM. Treatment with the aliphatic allylisothiocyanate (allyl-ITC) led to a significant reduction of root length and fresh weight in a dose-dependent manner and affected the formation of lateral roots. To assess the importance of a hormonal crosstalk in the allyl-ITC-mediated growth reduction, the response of auxin and ethylene mutants was investigated, but our results did not allow us to confirm a role for these hormones. Aromatic ITCs generally led to a more severe growth inhibition than the aliphatic allyl-ITC. Interestingly, we observed a correlation between the length of their side chain and the effect these aromatic ITCs caused on Arabidopsis thaliana, with the greatest inhibitory effect seen for 2-phenylethyl-ITC. Root growth recovered when seedlings were removed from exposure to ITCs. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. (CC BY 4.0).