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Salinity Stress Acclimation Strategies in Chlamydomonas sp. Revealed by Physiological, Morphological and Transcriptomic Approaches

Authors :
Chiara Lauritano
Emma Bazzani
Eleonora Montuori
Francesco Bolinesi
Olga Mangoni
Gennaro Riccio
Angela Buondonno
Maria Saggiomo
Source :
Marine Drugs, Vol 22, Iss 8, p 351 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Climate changes may include variations in salinity concentrations at sea by changing ocean dynamics. These variations may be especially challenging for marine photosynthetic organisms, affecting their growth and distribution. Chlamydomonas spp. are ubiquitous and are often found in extreme salinity conditions. For this reason, they are considered good model species to study salinity adaptation strategies. In the current study, we used an integrated approach to study the Chlamydomonas sp. CCMP225 response to salinities of 20‰ and 70‰, by combining physiological, morphological, and transcriptomic analyses, and comparing differentially expressed genes in the exponential and stationary growth phases under the two salinity conditions. The results showed that the strain is able to grow under all tested salinity conditions and maintains a surprisingly high photosynthetic efficiency even under high salinities. However, at the highest salinity condition, the cells lose their flagella. The transcriptomic analysis highlighted the up- or down-regulation of specific gene categories, helping to identify key genes responding to salinity stress. Overall, the findings may be of interest to the marine biology, ecology, and biotechnology communities, to better understand species adaptation mechanisms under possible global change scenarios and the potential activation of enzymes involved in the synthesis of bioactive molecules.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
16603397
Volume :
22
Issue :
8
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Marine Drugs
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.28c717ebac142369f54571260bd8eb4
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/md22080351