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Dixon TAM, Rhyno ELM, El N, McGaw SP, Otley NA, Parker KS, Buldo EC, Pabody CM, Savoie M, Cockshutt A, Morash AJ, Lamarre SG, MacCormack TJ. Taurine depletion impairs cardiac function and affects tolerance to hypoxia and high temperatures in brook char (Salvelinus fontinalis). J Exp Biol 2023; 226:286891. [PMID: 36728502 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Physiological and environmental stressors can cause osmotic stress in fish hearts, leading to a reduction in intracellular taurine concentration. Taurine is a β-amino acid known to regulate cardiac function in other animal models but its role in fish has not been well characterized. We generated a model of cardiac taurine deficiency (TD) by feeding brook char (Salvelinus fontinalis) a diet enriched in β-alanine, which inhibits cardiomyocyte taurine uptake. Cardiac taurine levels were reduced by 21% and stress-induced changes in normal taurine handling were observed in TD brook char. Responses to exhaustive exercise and acute thermal and hypoxia tolerance were then assessed using a combination of in vivo, in vitro and biochemical approaches. Critical thermal maximum was higher in TD brook char despite significant reductions in maximum heart rate. In vivo, TD brook char exhibited a lower resting heart rate, blunted hypoxic bradycardia and a severe reduction in time to loss of equilibrium under hypoxia. In vitro function was similar between control and TD hearts under oxygenated conditions, but stroke volume and cardiac output were severely compromised in TD hearts under severe hypoxia. Aspects of mitochondrial structure and function were also impacted in TD permeabilized cardiomyocytes, but overall effects were modest. High levels of intracellular taurine are required to achieve maximum cardiac function in brook char and cardiac taurine efflux may be necessary to support heart function under stress. Taurine appears to play a vital, previously unrecognized role in supporting cardiovascular function and stress tolerance in fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toni-Anne M Dixon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Emma-Lee M Rhyno
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Nir El
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Samuel P McGaw
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Nathan A Otley
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Katya S Parker
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Elena C Buldo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Claire M Pabody
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Mireille Savoie
- Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Amanda Cockshutt
- Department of Chemistry, Saint Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada, B2G 2W5
| | - Andrea J Morash
- Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
| | - Simon G Lamarre
- Departement de Biologie, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada, E1A 3E9
| | - Tyson J MacCormack
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB, Canada, E4L 1E4
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Yang N, Lin YA, Merkel CA, DeMers MA, Qu PP, Webb EA, Fu FX, Hutchins DA. Molecular mechanisms underlying iron and phosphorus co-limitation responses in the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Crocosphaera. THE ISME JOURNAL 2022; 16:2702-2711. [PMID: 36008474 PMCID: PMC9666452 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01307-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
In the nitrogen-limited subtropical gyres, diazotrophic cyanobacteria, including Crocosphaera, provide an essential ecosystem service by converting dinitrogen (N2) gas into ammonia to support primary production in these oligotrophic regimes. Natural gradients of phosphorus (P) and iron (Fe) availability in the low-latitude oceans constrain the biogeography and activity of diazotrophs with important implications for marine biogeochemical cycling. Much remains unknown regarding Crocosphaera's physiological and molecular responses to multiple nutrient limitations. We cultured C. watsonii under Fe, P, and Fe/P (co)-limiting scenarios to link cellular physiology with diel gene expression and observed unique physiological and transcriptional profiles for each treatment. Counterintuitively, reduced growth and N2 fixation resource use efficiencies (RUEs) for Fe or P under P limitation were alleviated under Fe/P co-limitation. Differential gene expression analyses show that Fe/P co-limited cells employ the same responses as single-nutrient limited cells that reduce cellular nutrient requirements and increase responsiveness to environmental change including smaller cell size, protein turnover (Fe-limited), and upregulation of environmental sense-and-respond systems (P-limited). Combined, these mechanisms enhance growth and RUEs in Fe/P co-limited cells. These findings are important to our understanding of nutrient controls on N2 fixation and the implications for primary productivity and microbial dynamics in a changing ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yu-An Lin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Carlin A Merkel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michelle A DeMers
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ping-Ping Qu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Eric A Webb
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Fei-Xue Fu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David A Hutchins
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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Tilney CL, Hubbard KA. Expression of nuclear-encoded, haptophyte-derived ftsH genes support extremely rapid PSII repair and high-light photoacclimation in Karenia brevis (Dinophyceae). HARMFUL ALGAE 2022; 118:102295. [PMID: 36195421 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2022.102295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Karenia brevis, a neurotoxic dinoflagellate that produces brevetoxins, is endemic to the Gulf of Mexico and can grow at high irradiances typical of surface waters found there. To build upon a growing number of studies addressing high-light tolerance in K. brevis, specific photobiology and molecular mechanisms underlying this capacity were evaluated in culture. Since photosystem II (PSII) repair cycle activity can be crucial to high light tolerance in plants and algae, the present study assessed this capacity in K. brevis and characterized the ftsH-like genes which are fundamental to this process. Compared with cultures grown in low-light, cultures grown in high-light showed a 65-fold increase in PSII photoinactivation, a ∼50-fold increase in PSII repair, enhanced nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ), and depressed Fv/Fm. Repair rates were among the fastest reported in phytoplankton. Publicly available K. brevis transcriptomes (MMETSP) were queried for ftsH-like sequences and refined with additional sequencing from two K. brevis strains. The genes were phylogenetically related to haptophyte orthologs, implicating acquisition during tertiary endosymbiosis. RT-qPCR of three of the four ftsH-like homologs revealed that poly-A tails predominated in all homologs, and that the most highly expressed homolog had a 5' splice leader and amino-acid motifs characteristic of chloroplast targeting, indicating nuclear encoding for this plastid-targeted gene. High-light cultures showed a ∼1.5-fold upregulation in mRNA expression of the thylakoid-associated genes. Overall, in conjunction with NPQ mechanisms, rapid PSII repair mediated by a haptophyte-derived ftsH prevents chronic photoinhibition in K. brevis. Our findings continue to build the case that high-light photobiology-supported by the acquisition and maintenance of tertiary endosymbiotic genes-is critical to the success of K. brevis in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles L Tilney
- Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA; Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Québec, G5M 1L7, Canada.
| | - Katherine A Hubbard
- Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, St. Petersburg, FL, 33701, USA
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Berthold M, Campbell DA. Restoration, conservation and phytoplankton hysteresis. CONSERVATION PHYSIOLOGY 2021; 9:coab062. [PMID: 34394942 PMCID: PMC8361504 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/coab062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2020] [Revised: 06/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Phytoplankton growth depends not only upon external factors that are not strongly altered by the presence of phytoplankton, such as temperature, but also upon factors that are strongly influenced by activity of phytoplankton, including photosynthetically active radiation, and the availability of the macronutrients carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and, for some, silicate. Since phytoplankton therefore modify, and to an extent create, their own habitats, established phytoplankton communities can show resistance and resilience to change, including managed changes in nutrient regimes. Phytoplankton blooms and community structures can be predicted from the overall biogeochemical setting and inputs, but restorations may be influenced by the physiological responses of established phytoplankton taxa to nutrient inputs, temperature, second-order changes in illumination and nutrient recycling. In this review we discuss the contributions of phytoplankton ecophysiology to biogeochemical hysteresis and possible effects on community composition in the face of management, conservation or remediation plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximilian Berthold
- Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick E4L 1C9, Canada
| | - Douglas A Campbell
- Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick E4L 1C9, Canada
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Liu D, Johnson VM, Pakrasi HB. A Reversibly Induced CRISPRi System Targeting Photosystem II in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. ACS Synth Biol 2020; 9:1441-1449. [PMID: 32379958 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is used as a model organism to study photosynthesis, as it can utilize glucose as the sole carbon source to support its growth under heterotrophic conditions. CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) has been widely applied to repress the transcription of genes in a targeted manner in cyanobacteria. However, a robust and reversible induced CRISPRi system has not been explored in Synechocystis 6803 to knock down and recover the expression of a targeted gene. In this study, we built a tightly controlled chimeric promoter, P rhaBAD-RSW, in which a theophylline responsive riboswitch was integrated into a rhamnose-inducible promoter system. We applied this promoter to drive the expression of ddCpf1 (DNase-dead Cpf1 nuclease) in a CRISPRi system and chose the PSII reaction center gene psbD (D2 protein) to target for repression. psbD was specifically knocked down by over 95% of its native expression, leading to severely inhibited photosystem II activity and growth of Synechocystis 6803 under photoautotrophic conditions. Significantly, removal of the inducers rhamnose and theophylline reversed repression by CRISPRi. Expression of PsbD recovered following release of repression, coupled with increased photosystem II content and activity. This reversibly induced CRISPRi system in Synechocystis 6803 represents a new strategy for study of the biogenesis of photosynthetic complexes in cyanobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deng Liu
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Virginia M Johnson
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Himadri B Pakrasi
- Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
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A novel chlorophyll protein complex in the repair cycle of photosystem II. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:21907-21913. [PMID: 31594847 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909644116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In oxygenic photosynthetic organisms, photosystem II (PSII) is a unique membrane protein complex that catalyzes light-driven oxidation of water. PSII undergoes frequent damage due to its demanding photochemistry. It must undergo a repair and reassembly process following photodamage, many facets of which remain unknown. We have discovered a PSII subcomplex that lacks 5 key PSII core reaction center polypeptides: D1, D2, PsbE, PsbF, and PsbI. This pigment-protein complex does contain the PSII core antenna proteins CP47 and CP43, as well as most of their associated low molecular mass subunits, and the assembly factor Psb27. Immunoblotting, mass spectrometry, and ultrafast spectroscopic results support the absence of a functional reaction center in this complex, which we call the "no reaction center" complex (NRC). Analytical ultracentrifugation and clear native PAGE analysis show that NRC is a stable pigment-protein complex and not a mixture of free CP47 and CP43 proteins. NRC appears in higher abundance in cells exposed to high light and impaired protein synthesis, and genetic deletion of PsbO on the PSII luminal side results in an increased NRC population, indicative that NRC forms in response to photodamage as part of the PSII repair process. Our finding challenges the current model of the PSII repair cycle and implies an alternative PSII repair strategy. Formation of this complex may maximize PSII repair economy by preserving intact PSII core antennas in a single complex available for PSII reassembly, minimizing the risk of randomly diluting multiple recycling components in the thylakoid membrane following a photodamage event.
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MacGregor-Chatwin C, Jackson PJ, Sener M, Chidgey JW, Hitchcock A, Qian P, Mayneord GE, Johnson MP, Luthey-Schulten Z, Dickman MJ, Scanlan DJ, Hunter CN. Membrane organization of photosystem I complexes in the most abundant phototroph on Earth. NATURE PLANTS 2019; 5:879-889. [PMID: 31332310 PMCID: PMC6699766 DOI: 10.1038/s41477-019-0475-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Prochlorococcus is a major contributor to primary production, and globally the most abundant photosynthetic genus of picocyanobacteria because it can adapt to highly stratified low-nutrient conditions that are characteristic of the surface ocean. Here, we examine the structural adaptations of the photosynthetic thylakoid membrane that enable different Prochlorococcus ecotypes to occupy high-light, low-light and nutrient-poor ecological niches. We used atomic force microscopy to image the different photosystem I (PSI) membrane architectures of the MED4 (high-light) Prochlorococcus ecotype grown under high-light and low-light conditions in addition to the MIT9313 (low-light) and SS120 (low-light) Prochlorococcus ecotypes grown under low-light conditions. Mass spectrometry quantified the relative abundance of PSI, photosystem II (PSII) and cytochrome b6f complexes and the various Pcb proteins in the thylakoid membrane. Atomic force microscopy topographs and structural modelling revealed a series of specialized PSI configurations, each adapted to the environmental niche occupied by a particular ecotype. MED4 PSI domains were loosely packed in the thylakoid membrane, whereas PSI in the low-light MIT9313 is organized into a tightly packed pseudo-hexagonal lattice that maximizes harvesting and trapping of light. There are approximately equal levels of PSI and PSII in MED4 and MIT9313, but nearly twofold more PSII than PSI in SS120, which also has a lower content of cytochrome b6f complexes. SS120 has a different tactic to cope with low-light levels, and SS120 thylakoids contained hundreds of closely packed Pcb-PSI supercomplexes that economize on the extra iron and nitrogen required to assemble PSI-only domains. Thus, the abundance and widespread distribution of Prochlorococcus reflect the strategies that various ecotypes employ for adapting to limitations in light and nutrient levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- C MacGregor-Chatwin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - P J Jackson
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - M Sener
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - J W Chidgey
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - A Hitchcock
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - P Qian
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - G E Mayneord
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - M P Johnson
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Z Luthey-Schulten
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - M J Dickman
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - D J Scanlan
- School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - C N Hunter
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
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