scholarly journals Asymmetric properties of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cytoskeleton direct rhodopsin photoreceptor localization

2011 ◽  
Vol 193 (4) ◽  
pp. 741-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Telsa M. Mittelmeier ◽  
Joseph S. Boyd ◽  
Mary Rose Lamb ◽  
Carol L. Dieckmann
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Green Alga ◽  
Basal Body ◽  
Cytoskeletal Protein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Unicellular Green Alga ◽  
Protein Mutations ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
In Cells

The eyespot of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a photoreceptive organelle required for phototaxis. Relative to the anterior flagella, the eyespot is asymmetrically positioned adjacent to the daughter four-membered rootlet (D4), a unique bundle of acetylated microtubules extending from the daughter basal body toward the posterior of the cell. Here, we detail the relationship between the rhodopsin eyespot photoreceptor Channelrhodopsin 1 (ChR1) and acetylated microtubules. In wild-type cells, ChR1 was observed in an equatorial patch adjacent to D4 near the end of the acetylated microtubules and along the D4 rootlet. In cells with cytoskeletal protein mutations, supernumerary ChR1 patches remained adjacent to acetylated microtubules. In mlt1 (multieyed) mutant cells, supernumerary photoreceptor patches were not restricted to the D4 rootlet, and more anterior eyespots correlated with shorter acetylated microtubule rootlets. The data suggest a model in which photoreceptor localization is dependent on microtubule-based trafficking selective for the D4 rootlet, which is perturbed in mlt1 mutant cells.

Ultrastructure of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii following exposure to paraquat: comparison of wild type and a paraquat-resistant mutant

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas F. Bray ◽  
John R. Bagu ◽  
Kazuo Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Wild Type Strain ◽  
Single Gene ◽  
Resistant Mutant ◽  
Cross Resistance ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Ultrastructural Examination ◽  
Unicellular Green Alga ◽  
Strain 137C ◽  
Mutant Cells

A mutant (NL-51) of the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dangeard isolated from a wild-type strain (137c+) was shown to be resistant to the bipyridilium herbicide paraquat at the concentration at which growth of the wild type was inhibited. Tetrad analysis from a cross between the mutant and the wild type showed 2:2 segregation, indicating that the resistance is under control of a single gene. Cross-resistance of the mutant to methionine and to methionine combined with riboflavin suggested that the resistance is due to increased levels of one of the enzymes capable of detoxifying active oxygens. Ultrastructural examination of mutant and wild-type cells exposed to paraquat revealed that the mutant cells were 3 to 4 times more resistant, but both strains showed the same sequence of deterioration. Damage was first manifested as swelling of the mitochondria and dilation of the perinuclear space. This was followed by disintegration of the nuclear matrix and the chloroplast thylakoids. Key words: Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, methionine resistance, paraquat, paraquat-resistant mutant, ultrastructure.

scholarly journals Endogenous Fluctuations of DNA Topology in the Chloroplast of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 7235-7242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria L. Salvador ◽  
Uwe Klein ◽  
Lawrence Bogorad
Keyword(s):  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Chloroplast Genome ◽  
Continuous Light ◽  
Dna Supercoiling ◽  
Dna Topology ◽  
Chloroplast Gene ◽  
Chloroplast Gene Expression ◽  
Endogenous Fluctuations ◽  
Unicellular Green Alga ◽  
In Cells

ABSTRACT DNA supercoiling in the chloroplast of the unicellular green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii was found to change with a diurnal rhythm in cells growing in alternating 12-h dark–12-h light periods. Highest and lowest DNA superhelicities occurred at the beginning and towards the end of the 12-h light periods, respectively. The fluctuations in DNA supercoiling occurred concurrently and in the same direction in two separate parts of the chloroplast genome, one containing the genes psaB, rbcL, andatpA and the other containing the atpB gene. Fluctuations were not confined to transcribed DNA regions, indicating simultaneous changes in DNA conformation all over the chloroplast genome. Because the diurnal fluctuations persisted in cells kept in continuous light, DNA supercoiling is judged to be under endogenous control. The endogenous fluctuations in chloroplast DNA topology correlated tightly with the endogenous fluctuations of overall chloroplast gene transcription and with those of the pool sizes of most chloroplast transcripts analyzed. This result suggests that DNA superhelical changes have a role in the regulation of chloroplast gene expression in Chlamydomonas.

scholarly journals Photosymbiose — neuartige Anwendungen in der Biomedizin

BIOspektrum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-204
Author(s):  
Myra N. Chávez ◽  
Benedikt Fuchs ◽  
Jörg Nickelsen
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Engineering ◽  
Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii ◽  
Green Alga ◽  
Recombinant Proteins ◽  
Biomedical Devices ◽  
Unicellular Green Alga ◽  
Surgical Sutures ◽  
Novel Strategy ◽  
Clinical Problems

AbstractWe have recently proposed a novel strategy named photosynthetic tissue engineering to overcome clinical problems due to hypoxia. The idea is based on transgenic photoautotrophic microorganisms that produce oxygen and at the same time secrete functional recombinant proteins into tissues. In particular, the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has successfully been used to boost the regenerative potential of several biomedical devices, such as dermal scaffolds and surgical sutures.

scholarly journals Generation of an Isogenic Collection of Yeast Actin Mutants and Identification of Three Interrelated Phenotypes

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-543
Author(s):  
Johanna L Whitacre ◽  
Dana A Davis ◽  
Kurt A Toenjes ◽  
Sharon M Brower ◽  
Alison E M Adams
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structure ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Small Region ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Large Collection ◽  
Growth Defects ◽  
Cytoskeletal Function ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mutant Cells

Abstract A large collection of yeast actin mutations has been previously isolated and used in numerous studies of actin cytoskeletal function. However, the various mutations have been in congenic, rather than isogenic, backgrounds, making it difficult to compare the subtle phenotypes that are characteristic of these mutants. We have therefore placed 27 mutations in an isogenic background. We used a subset of these mutants to compare the degree to which different actin alleles are defective in sporulation, endocytosis, and growth on NaCl-containing media. We found that the three phenotypes are highly correlated. The correlations are specific and not merely a reflection of general growth defects, because the phenotypes are not correlated with growth rates under normal conditions. Significantly, those actin mutants exhibiting the most severe phenotypes in all three processes have altered residues that cluster to a small region of the actin crystal structure previously defined as the fimbrin (Sac6p)-binding site. We examined the relationship between endocytosis and growth on salt and found that shifting wild-type or actin mutant cells to high salt reduces the rate of α-factor internalization. These results suggest that actin mutants may be unable to grow on salt because of additive endocytic defects (due to mutation and salt).

The abundant retinal protein of the Chlamydomonas eye is not the photoreceptor for phototaxis and photophobic responses

2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (21) ◽  
pp. 3857-3863
Author(s):  
Markus Fuhrmann ◽  
Alke Stahlberg ◽  
Elena Govorunova ◽  
Simone Rank ◽  
Peter Hegemann
Keyword(s):  
Green Alga ◽  
Transcriptional Gene Silencing ◽  
Specific Gene ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Targeted Disruption ◽  
Retinal Protein ◽  
Post Transcriptional Gene Silencing ◽  
Unicellular Green Alga ◽  
Efficient Reduction

The chlamyopsin gene (cop) encodes the most abundant eyespot protein in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. This opsin-related protein (COP) binds retinal and was thought to be the photoreceptor controlling photomovement responses via a set of photoreceptor currents. Unfortunately, opsin-deficient mutants are not available and targeted disruption of non-selectable nuclear genes is not yet possible in any green alga. Here we show that intron-containing gene fragments directly linked to their intron-less antisense counterpart provide efficient post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) in C. reinhardtii, thus allowing an efficient reduction of a specific gene product in a green alga. In opsin-deprived transformants, flash-induced photoreceptor currents (PC) are left unchanged. Moreover, photophobic responses as studied by motion analysis and phototaxis tested in a light-scattering assay were indistinguishable from the responses of untransformed wild-type cells. We conclude that phototaxis and photophobic responses in C. reinhardtii are triggered by an as yet unidentified rhodopsin species.

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