Only iron-limited cells of the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae inhibit growth of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 436-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlyn J Matz ◽  
Michael R Christensen ◽  
Auralee D Bone ◽  
Courtney D Gress ◽  
Scott B Widenmaier ◽  
...  

Cocultivation of iron-limited cells of the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae (Lyng.) Brèb. and the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dangeard resulted in growth of Anabaena but not Chlamydomonas, even in the presence of excess exogenous iron. This effect was also observed during the cultivation of Chlamydomonas in a medium in which iron-limited Anabaena cells had been growing, but were removed prior to culture of Chlamydomonas. Conversely, iron-limited Chlamydomonas cells grew very well in medium from iron (nutrient)-sufficient, phosphate-limited, and nitrogen-limited Anabaena cultures. Iron-limited Anabaena cultures produced siderophores, while the other types of Anabaena cultures did not. Treatment of Anabaena iron-limited medium with activated charcoal completely removed the inhibitory effect on Chlamydomonas growth, and boiling the medium removed most of the inhibitory effect. Both the charcoal and the boiling treatments also removed siderophores from the medium. Partially purified Anabaena siderophore preparations were also inhibitory to Chlamydomonas growth. The inhibitory effect of iron-limited Anabaena medium could be partially overcome by addition of excess micronutrients (especially cobalt copper) but not by addition of iron. We suggest that Anabaena-derived siderophores, present only in iron-limited Anabaena medium, inhibit the growth of Chlamydomonas cells via a previously uncharacterized toxicity. This effect is different from previously described experiments in which cyanobacterial siderophores suppressed green algal growth via competition for limiting amounts of iron.Key words: Anabaena, Chlamydomonas, cocultivation, iron limitation, micronutrients; siderophores.

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (42) ◽  
pp. 21246-21255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangliang Shen ◽  
Zihui Huang ◽  
Shenghai Chang ◽  
Wenda Wang ◽  
Jingfen Wang ◽  
...  

Photosystem II (PSII) in the thylakoid membranes of plants, algae, and cyanobacteria catalyzes light-induced oxidation of water by which light energy is converted to chemical energy and molecular oxygen is produced. In higher plants and most eukaryotic algae, the PSII core is surrounded by variable numbers of light-harvesting antenna complex II (LHCII), forming a PSII–LHCII supercomplex. In order to harvest energy efficiently at low–light-intensity conditions under water, a complete PSII–LHCII supercomplex (C2S2M2N2) of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Cr) contains more antenna subunits and pigments than the dominant PSII–LHCII supercomplex (C2S2M2) of plants. The detailed structure and energy transfer pathway of the Cr-PSII–LHCII remain unknown. Here we report a cryoelectron microscopy structure of a complete, C2S2M2N2-type PSII–LHCII supercomplex from C. reinhardtii at 3.37-Å resolution. The results show that the Cr-C2S2M2N2 supercomplex is organized as a dimer, with 3 LHCII trimers, 1 CP26, and 1 CP29 peripheral antenna subunits surrounding each PSII core. The N-LHCII trimer partially occupies the position of CP24, which is present in the higher-plant PSII–LHCII but absent in the green alga. The M trimer is rotated relative to the corresponding M trimer in plant PSII–LHCII. In addition, some unique features were found in the green algal PSII core. The arrangement of a huge number of pigments allowed us to deduce possible energy transfer pathways from the peripheral antennae to the PSII core.


1985 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Smyth ◽  
W. T. Ebersold

SUMMARYTwo laboratory strains of the green algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii137cdiffer in their pattern of phototactic aggregation. One is positively phototactic under conditions where the other is negatively phototactic. The trait segregates 2:2 in tetrads and maps to a single locus. Heterozygous diploids are positively phototactic, showing that this allele is dominant. The aggregation pattern caused by either allele is not altered by the introduction of an unlinked gene that suppresses development of the eyespot. Probably the strains already differed in phototactic behaviour at the time they were first isolated. They may therefore reflect a genetic polymorphism common among soil algae. The genetic data allowed another significant observation not specifically related to phototaxis. Anomalous products from some crosses suggest that four nuclei sometimes fuse into a tetraploid zygote that then undergoes meiosis. The meiotic products that result are diploid. This represents a previously undescribed mechanism of diploid formation inChlamydomonas.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Perozeni ◽  
Stefano Cazzaniga ◽  
Thomas Baier ◽  
Francesca Zanoni ◽  
Gianni Zoccatelli ◽  
...  

SummaryThe green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii does not synthesize high-value ketocarotenoids like canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, however, a β-carotene ketolase (CrBKT) can be found in its genome. CrBKT is poorly expressed, contains a long C-terminal extension not found in homologues and likely represents a pseudogene in this alga. Here, we used synthetic re-design of this gene to enable its constitutive overexpression from the nuclear genome of C. reinhardtii. Overexpression of the optimized CrBKT extended native carotenoid biosynthesis to generate ketocarotenoids in the algal host causing noticeable changes the green algal colour to a reddish-brown. We found that up to 50% of native carotenoids could be converted into astaxanthin and more than 70% into other ketocarotenoids by robust CrBKT overexpression. Modification of the carotenoid metabolism did not impair growth or biomass productivity of C. reinhardtii, even at high light intensities. Under different growth conditions, the best performing CrBKT overexpression strain was found to reach ketocarotenoid productivities up to 4.5 mg L-1 day-1. Astaxanthin productivity in engineered C. reinhardtii shown here is competitive with that reported for Haematococcus lacustris (formerly pluvialis) which is currently the main organism cultivated for industrial astaxanthin production. In addition, the extractability and bio-accessibility of these pigments was much higher in cell wall deficient C. reinhardtii than the resting cysts of H. lacustris. Engineered C. reinhardtii strains could thus be a promising alternative to natural astaxanthin producing algal strains and may open the possibility of other tailor-made pigments from this host.


Author(s):  
L. P. Hardie ◽  
D. L. Balkwill ◽  
S. E. Stevens

Agmenellum quadruplicatum is a unicellular, non-nitrogen-fixing, marine cyanobacterium (blue-green alga). The ultrastructure of this organism, when grown in the laboratory with all necessary nutrients, has been characterized thoroughly. In contrast, little is known of its ultrastructure in the specific nutrient-limiting conditions typical of its natural habitat. Iron is one of the nutrients likely to limit this organism in such natural environments. It is also of great importance metabolically, being required for both photosynthesis and assimilation of nitrate. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects (if any) of iron limitation on the ultrastructure of A. quadruplicatum. It was part of a broader endeavor to elucidate the ultrastructure of cyanobacteria in natural systemsActively growing cells were placed in a growth medium containing 1% of its usual iron. The cultures were then sampled periodically for 10 days and prepared for thin sectioning TEM to assess the effects of iron limitation.


1973 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-121
Author(s):  
A. Netzer ◽  
J.D. Norman

Abstract The merits of activated carbon for removal of organic compounds from wastewater have been well documented in the literature. On the other hand there is a lack of published data on the use of activated carbon for the removal of trace metals from wastewater. Experiments were designed to assess the possibility that activated carbon treatment would remove aluminum, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, silver and zinc from wastewater. All metals studied were tested over the pH range 3-11. Greater than 99.5% removal was achieved by pH adjustment and activated carbon treatment for most of the metals tested.


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