Roccuzzo, S., Couto, N., Karunakaran, E. orcid.org/0000-0003-1913-4319 et al. (6 more authors) (2020) Metabolic insights into infochemicals induced colony formation and flocculation in scenedesmus subspicatus unraveled by quantitative proteomics. Frontiers in Microbiology, 11. 792.
Abstract
Microalgae can respond to natural cues from crustacean grazers, such as Daphnia, by forming colonies and aggregations called flocs. Combining microalgal biology, physiological ecology, and quantitative proteomics, we identified how infochemicals from Daphnia trigger physiological and cellular level changes in the microalga Scenedesmus subspicatus, underpinning colony formation and flocculation. We discovered that flocculation occurs at an energy-demanding ‘alarm’ phase, with an important role proposed in cysteine synthesis. Flocculation appeared to be initially stimulated by the production of an extracellular matrix where polysaccharides and fatty acids were present, and later sustained at an ‘acclimation’ stage through mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascades. Colony formation required investment into fatty acid metabolism, likely linked to separation of membranes during cell division. Higher energy demands were required at the alarm phase, which subsequently decreased at the acclimation stage, thus suggesting a trade-off between colony formation and flocculation. From an ecological and evolutionary perspective, our findings represent an improved understanding of the effect of infochemicals on microalgae-grazers interactions, and how they can therefore potentially impact on the structure of aquatic communities. Moreover, the mechanisms revealed are of interest in algal biotechnology, for exploitation in low-cost, sustainable microalgal biomass harvesting.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. 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. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Keywords: | Daphnia infochemicals; Scenedesmus; induced defenses; flocculation; colony formation; physiological ecology; iTRAQ proteomics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL UNSPECIFIED |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 May 2020 20:26 |
Last Modified: | 19 May 2020 20:26 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Frontiers Media SA |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00792 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:160929 |