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Roberts WR, Siepielski AM, Alverson AJ. Diatom abundance in the polar oceans is predicted by genome size. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002733. [PMID: 39116044 PMCID: PMC11309476 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
A principal goal in ecology is to identify the determinants of species abundances in nature. Body size has emerged as a fundamental and repeatable predictor of abundance, with smaller organisms occurring in greater numbers than larger ones. A biogeographic component, known as Bergmann's rule, describes the preponderance, across taxonomic groups, of larger-bodied organisms in colder areas. Although undeniably important, the extent to which body size is the key trait underlying these patterns is unclear. We explored these questions in diatoms, unicellular algae of global importance for their roles in carbon fixation and energy flow through marine food webs. Using a phylogenomic dataset from a single lineage with worldwide distribution, we found that body size (cell volume) was strongly correlated with genome size, which varied by 50-fold across species and was driven by differences in the amount of repetitive DNA. However, directional models identified temperature and genome size, not cell size, as having the greatest influence on maximum population growth rate. A global metabarcoding dataset further identified genome size as a strong predictor of species abundance in the ocean, but only in colder regions at high and low latitudes where diatoms with large genomes dominated, a pattern consistent with Bergmann's rule. Although species abundances are shaped by myriad interacting abiotic and biotic factors, genome size alone was a remarkably strong predictor of abundance. Taken together, these results highlight the cascading cellular and ecological consequences of macroevolutionary changes in an emergent trait, genome size, one of the most fundamental and irreducible properties of an organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wade R. Roberts
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Adam M. Siepielski
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Andrew J. Alverson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
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Rees TAV, Raven JA. The maximum growth rate hypothesis is correct for eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms, but not cyanobacteria. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2021; 230:601-611. [PMID: 33449358 PMCID: PMC8048539 DOI: 10.1111/nph.17190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The (maximum) growth rate (µmax ) hypothesis predicts that cellular and tissue phosphorus (P) concentrations should increase with increasing growth rate, and RNA should also increase as most of the P is required to make ribosomes. Using published data, we show that though there is a strong positive relationship between the µmax of all photosynthetic organisms and their P content (% dry weight), leading to a relatively constant P productivity, the relationship with RNA content is more complex. In eukaryotes there is a strong positive relationship between µmax and RNA content expressed as % dry weight, and RNA constitutes a relatively constant 25% of total P. In prokaryotes the rRNA operon copy number is the important determinant of the amount of RNA present in the cell. The amount of phospholipid expressed as % dry weight increases with increasing µmax in microalgae. The relative proportions of each of the five major P-containing constituents is remarkably constant, except that the proportion of RNA is greater and phospholipids smaller in prokaryotic than eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms. The effect of temperature differences between studies was minor. The evidence for and against P-containing constituents other than RNA being involved with ribosome synthesis and functioning is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. A. V. Rees
- Leigh Marine LaboratoryInstitute of Marine ScienceUniversity of AucklandAuckland1142New Zealand
| | - John A. Raven
- Division of Plant ScienceUniversity of Dundee at the James Hutton InstituteInvergowrie, Dundee,DD2 5DAUK
- Climate Change ClusterFaculty of ScienceUniversity of TechnologySydney, UltimoNSW2007Australia
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of Western AustraliaCrawleyWA6009Australia
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Glazier DS. Genome Size Covaries More Positively with Propagule Size than Adult Size: New Insights into an Old Problem. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:270. [PMID: 33810583 PMCID: PMC8067107 DOI: 10.3390/biology10040270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The body size and (or) complexity of organisms is not uniformly related to the amount of genetic material (DNA) contained in each of their cell nuclei ('genome size'). This surprising mismatch between the physical structure of organisms and their underlying genetic information appears to relate to variable accumulation of repetitive DNA sequences, but why this variation has evolved is little understood. Here, I show that genome size correlates more positively with egg size than adult size in crustaceans. I explain this and comparable patterns observed in other kinds of animals and plants as resulting from genome size relating strongly to cell size in most organisms, which should also apply to single-celled eggs and other reproductive propagules with relatively few cells that are pivotal first steps in their lives. However, since body size results from growth in cell size or number or both, it relates to genome size in diverse ways. Relationships between genome size and body size should be especially weak in large organisms whose size relates more to cell multiplication than to cell enlargement, as is generally observed. The ubiquitous single-cell 'bottleneck' of life cycles may affect both genome size and composition, and via both informational (genotypic) and non-informational (nucleotypic) effects, many other properties of multicellular organisms (e.g., rates of growth and metabolism) that have both theoretical and practical significance.
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Clowez S, Renicke C, Pringle JR, Grossman AR. Impact of Menthol on Growth and Photosynthetic Function of Breviolum Minutum (Dinoflagellata, Dinophyceae, Symbiodiniaceae) and Interactions with its Aiptasia Host. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2021; 57:245-257. [PMID: 33025575 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2019] [Revised: 09/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Environmental change, including global warming and chemical pollution, can compromise cnidarian-(e.g., coral-) dinoflagellate symbioses and cause coral bleaching. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate these symbioses will inform strategies for sustaining healthy coral-reef communities. A model system for corals is the symbiosis between the sea anemone Exaiptasia pallida (common name Aiptasia) and its dinoflagellate partners (family Symbiodiniaceae). To complement existing studies of the interactions between these organisms, we examined the impact of menthol, a reagent often used to render cnidarians aposymbiotic, on the dinoflagellate Breviolum minutum, both in culture and in hospite. In both environments, the growth and photosynthesis of this alga were compromised at either 100 or 300 µM menthol. We observed reduction in PSII and PSI functions, the abundances of reaction-center proteins, and, at 300 µM menthol, of total cellular proteins. Interestingly, for free-living algae exposed to 100 µM menthol, an initial decline in growth, photosynthetic activities, pigmentation, and protein abundances reversed after 5-15 d, eventually approaching control levels. This behavior was observed in cells maintained in continuous light, but not in cells experiencing a light-dark regimen, suggesting that B. minutum can detoxify menthol or acclimate and repair damaged photosynthetic complexes in a light- and/or energy-dependent manner. Extended exposures of cultured algae to 300 µM menthol ultimately resulted in algal death. Most symbiotic anemones were also unable to survive this menthol concentration for 30 d. Additionally, cells impaired for photosynthesis by pre-treatment with 300 µM menthol exhibited reduced efficiency in re-populating the anemone host.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Clowez
- Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
| | - Christian Renicke
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
| | - John R Pringle
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
| | - Arthur R Grossman
- Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, California, 94305, USA
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Moeglein MK, Chatelet DS, Donoghue MJ, Edwards EJ. Evolutionary dynamics of genome size in a radiation of woody plants. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2020; 107:1527-1541. [PMID: 33079383 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Plant genome size ranges widely, providing many opportunities to examine how genome size variation affects plant form and function. We analyzed trends in chromosome number, genome size, and leaf traits for the woody angiosperm clade Viburnum to examine the evolutionary associations, functional implications, and possible drivers of genome size. METHODS Chromosome counts and genome size estimates were mapped onto a Viburnum phylogeny to infer the location and frequency of polyploidization events and trends in genome size evolution. Genome size was analyzed with leaf anatomical and physiological data to evaluate the influence of genome size on plant function. RESULTS We discovered nine independent polyploidization events, two reductions in base chromosome number, and substantial variation in genome size with a slight trend toward genome size reduction in polyploids. We did not find strong relationships between genome size and the functional and morphological traits that have been highlighted at broader phylogenetic scales. CONCLUSIONS Polyploidization events were sometimes associated with rapid radiations, demonstrating that polyploid lineages can be highly successful. Relationships between genome size and plant physiological function observed at broad phylogenetic scales may be largely irrelevant to the evolutionary dynamics of genome size at smaller scales. The view that plants readily tolerate changes in ploidy and genome size, and often do so, appears to apply to Viburnum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan K Moeglein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208106, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - David S Chatelet
- Biomedical Imaging Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO16 6YD, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Donoghue
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208106, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
| | - Erika J Edwards
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, PO Box 208106, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
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Yan D, Beardall J, Gao K. Variation in cell size of the diatom Coscinodiscus granii influences photosynthetic performance and growth. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2018; 137:41-52. [PMID: 29322482 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-017-0476-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/27/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Cell size has implications for the package effect in photon absorption as well as for metabolic scaling of metabolism. In this study, we have avoided species-related differences by using isolates of the marine planktonic diatom Coscinodiscus granii with cells of different sizes and grown at different light intensities to investigate their energy allocation strategies. To make full use of incident light, several fold variations in cellular chlorophyll a content were employed across cell size. This modulation of pigment-related light absorbance was deemed effective as similar light absorbing capacities were found in all treatments. Unexpected low values of O2 evolution rate at the highest irradiance level of 450 μmol photons m-2 s-1 were found in medium and large cells, regardless of more photons being absorbed under these conditions, suggesting the operation of alternative electron flows acting as electron sinks. The growth rate was generally larger at higher irradiance levels except for the large cells, in which growth slowed at 450 μmol photons m-2 s-1, suggesting that larger cells achieved a balance between growth and photoprotection by sacrificing growth rate when exposed to high light. Although the ratio of carbon demand to rates of uncatalysed CO2 diffusion to the cell surface reached around 20 in large cells grown under higher irradiance, the carbon fixation rate was not lowered, due to the presence of a highly effective carbon dioxide concentrating mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - John Beardall
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Kunshan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
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Kirkham AR, Richthammer P, Schmidt K, Wustmann M, Maeda Y, Hedrich R, Brunner E, Tanaka T, van Pée KH, Falciatore A, Mock T. A role for the cell-wall protein silacidin in cell size of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. THE ISME JOURNAL 2017; 11:2452-2464. [PMID: 28731468 PMCID: PMC5649158 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2017.100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 04/28/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Diatoms contribute 20% of global primary production and form the basis of many marine food webs. Although their species diversity correlates with broad diversity in cell size, there is also an intraspecific cell-size plasticity owing to sexual reproduction and varying environmental conditions. However, despite the ecological significance of the diatom cell size for food-web structure and global biogeochemical cycles, our knowledge about genes underpinning the size of diatom cells remains elusive. Here, a combination of reverse genetics, experimental evolution and comparative RNA-sequencing analyses enabled us to identify a previously unknown genetic control of cell size in the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. In particular, the targeted deregulation of the expression of the cell-wall protein silacidin caused a significant increase in valve diameter. Remarkably, the natural downregulation of the silacidin gene transcript due to experimental evolution under low temperature also correlated with cell-size increase. Our data give first evidence for a genetically controlled regulation of cell size in T. pseudonana and possibly other centric diatoms as they also encode the silacidin gene in their genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy R Kirkham
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Katrin Schmidt
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
| | | | - Yoshiaki Maeda
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | - René Hedrich
- Allgemeine Biochemie, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Eike Brunner
- Allgemeine Biochemie, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Tsuyoshi Tanaka
- Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Angela Falciatore
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC, Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biologie Computationnelle et Quantitative, Paris, France
| | - Thomas Mock
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, UK
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Dashkova V, Malashenkov D, Poulton N, Vorobjev I, Barteneva NS. Imaging flow cytometry for phytoplankton analysis. Methods 2017; 112:188-200. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2016.05.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/13/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
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Vuković LD, Jevtić P, Edens LJ, Levy DL. New Insights into Mechanisms and Functions of Nuclear Size Regulation. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2016; 322:1-59. [PMID: 26940517 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2015.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Nuclear size is generally maintained within a defined range in a given cell type. Changes in cell size that occur during cell growth, development, and differentiation are accompanied by dynamic nuclear size adjustments in order to establish appropriate nuclear-to-cytoplasmic volume relationships. It has long been recognized that aberrations in nuclear size are associated with certain disease states, most notably cancer. Nuclear size and morphology must impact nuclear and cellular functions. Understanding these functional implications requires an understanding of the mechanisms that control nuclear size. In this review, we first provide a general overview of the diverse cellular structures and activities that contribute to nuclear size control, including structural components of the nucleus, effects of DNA amount and chromatin compaction, signaling, and transport pathways that impinge on the nucleus, extranuclear structures, and cell cycle state. We then detail some of the key mechanistic findings about nuclear size regulation that have been gleaned from a variety of model organisms. Lastly, we review studies that have implicated nuclear size in the regulation of cell and nuclear function and speculate on the potential functional significance of nuclear size in chromatin organization, gene expression, nuclear mechanics, and disease. With many fundamental cell biological questions remaining to be answered, the field of nuclear size regulation is still wide open.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidija D Vuković
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States of America
| | - Predrag Jevtić
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States of America
| | - Lisa J Edens
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States of America
| | - Daniel L Levy
- Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States of America.
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