DOCSLIB.ORG

Effects of Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiotic Cyanobacteria on the Microbial Ecology of the Coral, Montastraea Cavernosa Jessica K

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Effects of Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiotic Cyanobacteria on the Microbial Ecology of the Coral, Montastraea Cavernosa Jessica K University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2012 Effects of nitrogen-fixing symbiotic cyanobacteria on the microbial ecology of the coral, Montastraea cavernosa Jessica K. Jarett University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation Jarett, Jessica K., "Effects of nitrogen-fixing symbiotic cyanobacteria on the microbial ecology of the coral, Montastraea cavernosa" (2012). Doctoral Dissertations. 652. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/652 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFECTS OF NITROGEN-FIXING SYMBIOTIC CYANOBACTERIA ON THE MICROBIAL ECOLOGY OF THE CORAL, MONTASTRAEA CAVERNOSA BY JESSICA KJARETT BS, Southampton College, 2005 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Microbiology May, 2012 UMI Number: 3525060 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. OiSi«Wior» Ftattlisttlfl UMI 3525060 Published by ProQuest LLC 2012. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 This dissertation has been examined and approved. Dissertation Director^Dr. Michael P. Lesser Research Professor, Microbiowgy and Marine Sciences Dr. Marianne Litvaitis Professor, Biology, Environmental Conservation Sciences, and Marine Sciences Dr. Louis S. Tisa Professor, Microbiology and Genetics Dr. Marc Slattery Professor, Pharmacognosy, Univej^tty^TMississippt Dr. Ruth Gates Research Professor, Zoology and Oceanography, University of Hawai'i at Manoa Hn<ojt7- Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Ph.D. has been the most challenging and rewarding undertaking of my life so far, and I have been very fortunate to have a great number of people who have helped me in this journey. First and foremost, my advisor Michael Lesser. I am grateful to him for his patience, guidance, support, and encouragement over these last five years, and for always being in my corner. Thank you for starting me on this project and trusting me enough to let me take some new approaches. I know we haven't always seen eye to eye but I think we've come to understand each other! I respect him tremendously and I have grown so much as a scientist under his guidance. I would like to thank my committee members, Marc Slattery, Ruth Gates, Lou Tisa, and Marian Litvaitis for their guidance and expertise. Special thanks to Marc Slattery from the University of Mississippi for help with experiments and collections in the field and our many edifying conversations. Ruth Gates from the University of Hawaii made me think more deeply about symbiosis and many of my underlying assumptions, which has certainly improved my writing and my work. Lou Tisa has brought to the table his truly encyclopedic knowledge of prokaryotic biology and physiology. Marian Litvaitis's expertise in invertebrate biology was invaluable. Many people at the University of New Hampshire Genome Center have helped me with the bioinformatic aspects of this project. I gleaned a great deal of invaluable information and insight from conversations with Kelley Thomas and Holly Bik. I am very grateful to Holly for helpful advice and assistance with 454 sequencing and data analysis, and for teaching me how to use ARB and QIIME. Many hours were spent in the iii computer room at Gregg Hall with Linda van Diepen and Kazu Okamoto, both of whom were always willing to talk over problems and give help. Steve Vollmer at Northeastern performed the differential expression analysis for the metatranscriptomic data, I am looking forward to our continued collaboration with him and his graduate student Stefan Kaluziak. I am indebted to Anne Cohen and Kathryn Rose at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who scanned the coral cores and instructed me in the complex process of measuring growth from CT scans. Dan Brazeau at the University of New England performed the AFLP analysis and helped me interpret the results. He also enabled Cara Fiore and I to be trained on the new 454 GS Junior pyrosequencer at UNE, and very graciously opened his home to us while we were there. Ruth Gates and Hollie Putnam kindly provided a curated database of Symbiodinium ITS2 sequences that saved me a great deal of time and effort. I am grateful to Bill Fitt at the University of Georgia for allowing me and my lab mates to work out of his small field station on Key Largo, and Dustin Kemp for his assistance with boating, diving, and coring while we were there. Marc Slattery, Deb Gochfeld, Liz Kintzing, Erica Hunkin, Cole Easson, and Sly Lee were all willing to offer excellent advice and a helping hand when needed, whether it be with diving, boating, experiments in the wet lab, or just generally making things work on a small island. Liz Kintzing deserves a special commendation for tolerating my whining with admirable grace while I was earning my scientific diver certification in cold, cold New Hampshire waters. Thanks also the Aquarius aquanauts, including Cara Fiore, Marc Slattery, and Cole Easson, who collected some of my samples from Florida, and to the topside crew iv who processed them. I thank the staff and interns at the Caribbean Marine Research Center on Lee Stocking Island, and the Little Cayman Research Centre on Little Cayman Island for logistical support. Miss Emily at LCRC earned my undying gratitude by taking excellent care of me when I was very sick during one field trip there. I am extremely grateful for the financial support of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, a luxury that enabled me to focus full-time on my research for three years. The University of New Hampshire generously provided travel funding, the COLSA summer fellowship, a summer teaching assistant fellowship, and most importantly the Dissertation Year Fellowship that gave me the freedom to write without worrying about other commitments. The UNH Marine Program, the PADI Foundation, and a Lerner-Gray Marine Research Grant from the American Museum of Natural History helped to fund my research. In the Microbiology program at UNH, I must thank Bob Mooney who was always happy to help with any number of odd and obscure tasks. Dan Merselis and Seana Fraser worked in the Lesser lab as undergraduates and helped with several aspects of this project. It was a pleasure getting to know both of them and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Cara Fiore and Nate Olson joined the Lesser lab in my second year and we quickly became fast friends. Nate's meticulousness encouraged me to improve my laboratory technique and I greatly miss my thought-provoking conversations with him. Cara has been my lab mate, dive buddy, field trip comrade, voice of reason, shoulder to cry on, and all around awesome friend. She has helped me out countless times and I don't think I would have made it this far without her. Cara, I quadrat you. v Special thanks to Elissa Ford and the Ford family, my "foster family" here in New England. Crystal Ellis, Brian Schuster, Christine Chapman, Cintia Felix, and Lauren Petersen are some of the best friends anyone could ask for and helped me stay more or less sane for the past five years. The NHSPCA and all the wonderful staff and volunteers there were my second home on Saturday afternoons, and took great care of my cat Squishy while she was there. My deepest gratitude to all of my family for all their love, patience, support and understanding. Mom, you've encouraged me and cheered for me every step of the way. Every day I am thankful that I get to have you as a mom. I love you and I hope I've made you proud. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES x ABSTRACT xii CHAPTER PAGE INTRODUCTION 1 I. NITROGEN FIXING SYMBIOTIC ASSOCATIONS IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT 6 Introduction 6 Marine Nitrogen-Fixing Symbioses 19 Evolution and Ecology of Marine Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis 35 II. METAGENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE PROKARYOTIC COMMUNITIES ASSOCIATED WITH BROWN AND ORANGE COLONIES OF THE CORAL MONTASTRAEA CAVERNOSA 39 Introduction 39 Methods and Materials 51 Results 59 Discussion 67 III. METATRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS OF MONTASTRAEA CAVERNOSA HOLOBIONTS 101 Introduction 101 Methods and Materials 111 Results 114 Discussion 119 IV. EFFECTS OF SYMBIOTIC NITROGEN-FIXING CYANOBACTERIA ON FITNESS OF THE HOST CORAL MONTASTRAEA CAVERNOSA 153 vii Introduction 153 Methods and Materials 182 Results 197 Discussion 202 CONCLUSIONS 231 LIST OF REFERENCES 237 APPENDIX 277 viii LIST OF TABLES TABLE 2.1 78 TABLE 2.2 79 TABLE 2.3 80 TABLE 2.4 82 TABLE 2.5 83 TABLE 2.6 84 TABLE 3.1 131 TABLE 3.2 132 TABLE 4.1 213 TABLE 4.2 214 TABLE 4.3 215 TABLE 4.4 216 ix LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 2.1 85 FIGURE 2.2 86 FIGURE
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Plant-Microbe Symbioses: a Continuum from Commensalism to Parasitism
    UCLA UCLA Previously Published Works Title Plant-microbe symbioses: A continuum from commensalism to parasitism Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6kx779h1 Journal Symbiosis, 37(1-3) ISSN 0334-5114 Author Hirsch, Ann M. Publication Date 2004 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Symbiosis, 37 (2004) xx–xx 1 Balaban, Philadelphia/Rehovot Review article. Plant-Microbe Symbioses: A Continuum from Commensalism to Parasitism ANN M. HIRSCH Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology and Molecular Biology Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA, Tel. +1-310-206-8673, Fax. +1-310-206-5413, Email. [email protected] Received October 28, 2003; Accepted January 27, 2004 Abstract Photosynthetic organisms establish symbioses with a wide range of microorganisms. This review examines the diversity of symbiotic interactions, and proposes that there is a continuum from commensalism to mutualism to pathogenesis/parasitism in plant-microbe associations. The advantage of considering commensalism, mutualism, and pathogenesis/parasitism as a continuum rather than as discrete relationships between hosts and microbes, as they have been considered in the past, is that it will motivate us to focus more on common molecular mechanisms. Keywords: ?? 1. Introduction Plants establish mutualistic, often described as symbiotic, interactions with myriad organisms, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Some of the most prominent photosynthetic mutualisms are illustrated in Fig. 1. Although technically not a plant symbiosis, lichens are photosynthetic and represent an excellent example of a beneficial interaction (Fig. 1A). Presented at the 4th International Symbiosis Congress, August 17–23, 2003, Halifax, Canada 0334-5114/2004/$05.50 ©2004 Balaban 2 A.M.
    [Show full text]
  • Periodic and Coordinated Gene Expression Between a Diazotroph and Its Diatom Host
    The ISME Journal (2019) 13:118–131 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0262-2 ARTICLE Periodic and coordinated gene expression between a diazotroph and its diatom host 1 1,2 1 3 4 Matthew J. Harke ● Kyle R. Frischkorn ● Sheean T. Haley ● Frank O. Aylward ● Jonathan P. Zehr ● Sonya T. Dyhrman1,2 Received: 11 April 2018 / Revised: 28 June 2018 / Accepted: 28 July 2018 / Published online: 16 August 2018 © International Society for Microbial Ecology 2018 Abstract In the surface ocean, light fuels photosynthetic carbon fixation of phytoplankton, playing a critical role in ecosystem processes including carbon export to the deep sea. In oligotrophic oceans, diatom–diazotroph associations (DDAs) play a keystone role in ecosystem function because diazotrophs can provide otherwise scarce biologically available nitrogen to the diatom host, fueling growth and subsequent carbon sequestration. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about the nature of these associations in situ. Here we used metatranscriptomic sequencing of surface samples from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) to reconstruct patterns of gene expression for the diazotrophic symbiont Richelia and we – 1234567890();,: 1234567890();,: examined how these patterns were integrated with those of the diatom host over day night transitions. Richelia exhibited significant diel signals for genes related to photosynthesis, N2 fixation, and resource acquisition, among other processes. N2 fixation genes were significantly co-expressed with host nitrogen uptake and metabolism, as well as potential genes involved in carbon transport, which may underpin the exchange of nitrogen and carbon within this association. Patterns of expression suggested cell division was integrated between the host and symbiont across the diel cycle.
    [Show full text]
  • Sea Squirt Symbionts! Or What I Did on My Summer Vacation… Leah Blasiak 2011 Microbial Diversity Course
    Sea Squirt Symbionts! Or what I did on my summer vacation… Leah Blasiak 2011 Microbial Diversity Course Abstract Microbial symbionts of tunicates (sea squirts) have been recognized for their capacity to produce novel bioactive compounds. However, little is known about most tunicate-associated microbial communities, even in the embryology model organism Ciona intestinalis. In this project I explored 3 local tunicate species (Ciona intestinalis, Molgula manhattensis, and Didemnum vexillum) to identify potential symbiotic bacteria. Tunicate-specific bacterial communities were observed for all three species and their tissue specific location was determined by CARD-FISH. Introduction Tunicates and other marine invertebrates are prolific sources of novel natural products for drug discovery (reviewed in Blunt, 2010). Many of these compounds are biosynthesized by a microbial symbiont of the animal, rather than produced by the animal itself (Schmidt, 2010). For example, the anti-cancer drug patellamide, originally isolated from the colonial ascidian Lissoclinum patella, is now known to be produced by an obligate cyanobacterial symbiont, Prochloron didemni (Schmidt, 2005). Research on such microbial symbionts has focused on their potential for overcoming the “supply problem.” Chemical synthesis of natural products is often challenging and expensive, and isolation of sufficient quantities of drug for clinical trials from wild sources may be impossible or environmentally costly. Culture of the microbial symbiont or heterologous expression of the biosynthetic genes offers a relatively economical solution. Although the microbial origin of many tunicate compounds is now well established, relatively little is known about the extent of such symbiotic associations in tunicates and their biological function. Tunicates (or sea squirts) present an interesting system in which to study bacterial/eukaryotic symbiosis as they are deep-branching members of the Phylum Chordata (Passamaneck, 2005 and Buchsbaum, 1948).
    [Show full text]
  • A Genomic View of Trophic and Metabolic Diversity in Clade-Specific Lamellodysidea Sponge Microbiomes
    UC San Diego UC San Diego Previously Published Works Title A genomic view of trophic and metabolic diversity in clade-specific Lamellodysidea sponge microbiomes. Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6z2365ft Journal Microbiome, 8(1) ISSN 2049-2618 Authors Podell, Sheila Blanton, Jessica M Oliver, Aaron et al. Publication Date 2020-06-23 DOI 10.1186/s40168-020-00877-y Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Podell et al. Microbiome (2020) 8:97 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00877-y RESEARCH Open Access A genomic view of trophic and metabolic diversity in clade-specific Lamellodysidea sponge microbiomes Sheila Podell1 , Jessica M. Blanton1, Aaron Oliver1, Michelle A. Schorn2, Vinayak Agarwal3, Jason S. Biggs4, Bradley S. Moore5,6,7 and Eric E. Allen1,5,7,8* Abstract Background: Marine sponges and their microbiomes contribute significantly to carbon and nutrient cycling in global reefs, processing and remineralizing dissolved and particulate organic matter. Lamellodysidea herbacea sponges obtain additional energy from abundant photosynthetic Hormoscilla cyanobacterial symbionts, which also produce polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) chemically similar to anthropogenic pollutants of environmental concern. Potential contributions of non-Hormoscilla bacteria to Lamellodysidea microbiome metabolism and the synthesis and degradation of additional secondary metabolites are currently unknown. Results: This study has determined relative abundance, taxonomic novelty, metabolic
    [Show full text]
  • Genomic Deletions Disrupt Nitrogen Metabolism Pathways of a Cyanobacterial Diatom Symbiont
    ARTICLE Received 16 Oct 2012 | Accepted 15 Mar 2013 | Published 23 Apr 2013 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2748 OPEN Genomic deletions disrupt nitrogen metabolism pathways of a cyanobacterial diatom symbiont Jason A. Hilton1, Rachel A. Foster1,w, H. James Tripp1,w, Brandon J. Carter1, Jonathan P. Zehr1 & Tracy A. Villareal2 Diatoms with symbiotic N2-fixing cyanobacteria are often abundant in the oligotrophic open ocean gyres. The most abundant cyanobacterial symbionts form heterocysts (specialized cells for N2 fixation) and provide nitrogen (N) to their hosts, but their morphology, cellular locations and abundances differ depending on the host. Here we show that the location of the symbiont and its dependency on the host are linked to the evolution of the symbiont genome. The genome of Richelia (found inside the siliceous frustule of Hemiaulus) is reduced and lacks ammonium transporters, nitrate/nitrite reductases and glutamine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase. In contrast, the genome of the closely related Calothrix (found outside the frustule of Chaetoceros) is more similar to those of free-living heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria. The genome of Richelia is an example of metabolic streamlining that has implications for the evolution of N2-fixing symbiosis and potentially for manipulating plant–cyanobacterial interactions. 1 Department of Ocean Sciences, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA. 2 Marine Science Institute, Department of Marine Science, The University of Texas at Austin, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, Texas 78373, USA. w Present addresses: Department of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstrasse 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany (R.A.F.); Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA (H.J.T.).
    [Show full text]
  • DNA Variation and Symbiotic Associations in Phenotypically Diverse Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus Intermedius
    DNA variation and symbiotic associations in phenotypically diverse sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius Evgeniy S. Balakirev*†‡, Vladimir A. Pavlyuchkov§, and Francisco J. Ayala*‡ *Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-2525; †Institute of Marine Biology, Vladivostok 690041, Russia; and §Pacific Research Fisheries Centre (TINRO-Centre), Vladivostok, 690600 Russia Contributed by Francisco J. Ayala, August 20, 2008 (sent for review May 9, 2008) Strongylocentrotus intermedius (A. Agassiz, 1863) is an economically spines of the U form are relatively short; the length, as a rule, does important sea urchin inhabiting the northwest Pacific region of Asia. not exceed one third of the radius of the testa. The spines of the G The northern Primorye (Sea of Japan) populations of S. intermedius form are longer, reaching and frequently exceeding two thirds of the consist of two sympatric morphological forms, ‘‘usual’’ (U) and ‘‘gray’’ testa radius. The testa is significantly thicker in the U form than in (G). The two forms are significantly different in morphology and the G form. The morphological differences between the U and G preferred bathymetric distribution, the G form prevailing in deeper- forms of S. intermedius are stable and easily recognizable (Fig. 1), water settlements. We have analyzed the genetic composition of the and they are systematically reported for the northern Primorye S. intermedius forms using the nucleotide sequences of the mitochon- coast region (V.A.P., unpublished data). drial gene encoding the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and the Little is known about the population genetics of S. intermedius; nuclear gene encoding bindin to evaluate the possibility of cryptic the available data are limited to allozyme polymorphisms (4–6).
    [Show full text]
  • Supplementary Information
    Supplementary Information A genomic view of trophic and metabolic diversity in clade-specific Lamellodysidea sponge microbiomes Sheila Podell, Jessica M. Blanton, Aaron Oliver, Michelle A. Schorn, Vinayak Agarwal, Jason S. Biggs, Bradley S. Moore, Eric E. Allen Contents Supplementary Figures S1-S13 ....................................................................................................... 2 Supplementary Tables S1-S8 ........................................................................................................ 16 References ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Supplementary Figure 1. Cyanobacteria MAGs classified taxonomically. A) PhyloPhlAn multi-locus concatenated tree [1], with Crinalium epipsammum as an outgroup. B) 16S rRNA gene/and average amino acid identity matrix with closest database relatives. Guidelines for assigning species, genus, family, and order-level taxonomic granularity were based on [2, 3] for AAI and [4] for 16S rRNA gene percent nucleotide identity. A B Pleurocapsa_PCC_7327 1 Stanieria_cyanosphaera 1 SP5CPC1 1 0.993 Prochloron_didemni_P3 1 Prochloron_didemni_P4 Gloeobacter_violaceus Stanieria_cyanosphaera SP5CPC Prochloron_didemni_P3 Prochloron_didemni_P4 Gloeobacter_violaceus Crinalium_epipsammum Desertifilum_IPPASB1220 GM7CHS1 GM202CHS1 GM102CHS1 SP12CHS1 SP5CHS1 Nostoc_punctiforme 92/65 89/61 89/61 89/61 88/51 90/63 91/62 90/60 90/60 -/60 89/60 90/60 88/63 Pleurocapsa_PCC_7327 Crinalium_epipsammum
    [Show full text]
  • Mixotrophic Protists Among Marine Ciliates and Dinoflagellates: Distribution, Physiology and Ecology
    FACULTY OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN PhD thesis Woraporn Tarangkoon Mixotrophic Protists among Marine Ciliates and Dinoflagellates: Distribution, Physiology and Ecology Academic advisor: Associate Professor Per Juel Hansen Submitted: 29/04/10 Contents List of publications 3 Preface 4 Summary 6 Sammenfating (Danish summary) 8 สรุป (Thai summary) 10 The sections and objectives of the thesis 12 Introduction 14 1) Mixotrophy among marine planktonic protists 14 1.1) The role of light, food concentration and nutrients for 17 the growth of marine mixotrophic planktonic protists 1.2) Importance of marine mixotrophic protists in the 20 planktonic food web 2) Marine symbiont-bearing dinoflagellates 24 2.1) Occurrence of symbionts in the order Dinophysiales 24 2.2) The spatial distribution of symbiont-bearing dinoflagellates in 27 marine waters 2.3) The role of symbionts and phagotrophy in dinoflagellates with symbionts 28 3) Symbiosis and mixotrophy in the marine ciliate genus Mesodinium 30 3.1) Occurrence of symbiosis in Mesodinium spp. 30 3.2) The distribution of marine Mesodinium spp. 30 3.3) The role of symbionts and phagotrophy in marine Mesodinium rubrum 33 and Mesodinium pulex Conclusion and future perspectives 36 References 38 Paper I Paper II Paper III Appendix-Paper IV Appendix-I Lists of publications The thesis consists of the following papers, referred to in the synthesis by their roman numerals. Co-author statements are attached to the thesis (Appendix-I). Paper I Tarangkoon W, Hansen G Hansen PJ (2010) Spatial distribution of symbiont-bearing dinoflagellates in the Indian Ocean in relation to oceanographic regimes. Aquat Microb Ecol 58:197-213.
    [Show full text]
  • Lake Superior Phototrophic Picoplankton: Nitrate Assimilation
    LAKE SUPERIOR PHOTOTROPHIC PICOPLANKTON: NITRATE ASSIMILATION MEASURED WITH A CYANOBACTERIAL NITRATE-RESPONSIVE BIOREPORTER AND GENETIC DIVERSITY OF THE NATURAL COMMUNITY Natalia Valeryevna Ivanikova A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2006 Committee: George S. Bullerjahn, Advisor Robert M. McKay Scott O. Rogers Paul F. Morris Robert K. Vincent Graduate College representative ii ABSTRACT George S. Bullerjahn, Advisor Cyanobacteria of the picoplankton size range (picocyanobacteria) Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus contribute significantly to total phytoplankton biomass and primary production in marine and freshwater oligotrophic environments. Despite their importance, little is known about the biodiversity and physiology of freshwater picocyanobacteria. Lake Superior is an ultra- oligotrophic system with light and temperature conditions unfavorable for photosynthesis. Synechococcus-like picocyanobacteria are an important component of phytoplankton in Lake Superior. The concentration of nitrate, the major form of combined nitrogen in the lake, has been increasing continuously in these waters over the last 100 years, while other nutrients remained largely unchanged. Decreased biological demand for nitrate caused by low availabilities of phosphorus and iron, as well as low light and temperature was hypothesized to be one of the reasons for the nitrate build-up. One way to get insight into the microbiological processes that contribute to the accumulation of nitrate in this ecosystem is to employ a cyanobacterial bioreporter capable of assessing the nitrate assimilation capacity of phytoplankton. In this study, a nitrate-responsive biorepoter AND100 was constructed by fusing the promoter of the Synechocystis PCC 6803 nitrate responsive gene nirA, encoding nitrite reductase to the Vibrio fischeri luxAB genes, which encode the bacterial luciferase, and genetically transforming the resulting construct into Synechocystis.
    [Show full text]
  • Within-Arctic Horizontal Gene Transfer As a Driver of Convergent Evolution in Distantly Related 1 Microalgae 2 Richard G. Do
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.31.454568; this version posted August 2, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. 1 Within-Arctic horizontal gene transfer as a driver of convergent evolution in distantly related 2 microalgae 3 Richard G. Dorrell*+1,2, Alan Kuo3*, Zoltan Füssy4, Elisabeth Richardson5,6, Asaf Salamov3, Nikola 4 Zarevski,1,2,7 Nastasia J. Freyria8, Federico M. Ibarbalz1,2,9, Jerry Jenkins3,10, Juan Jose Pierella 5 Karlusich1,2, Andrei Stecca Steindorff3, Robyn E. Edgar8, Lori Handley10, Kathleen Lail3, Anna Lipzen3, 6 Vincent Lombard11, John McFarlane5, Charlotte Nef1,2, Anna M.G. Novák Vanclová1,2, Yi Peng3, Chris 7 Plott10, Marianne Potvin8, Fabio Rocha Jimenez Vieira1,2, Kerrie Barry3, Joel B. Dacks5, Colomban de 8 Vargas2,12, Bernard Henrissat11,13, Eric Pelletier2,14, Jeremy Schmutz3,10, Patrick Wincker2,14, Chris 9 Bowler1,2, Igor V. Grigoriev3,15, and Connie Lovejoy+8 10 11 1 Institut de Biologie de l'ENS (IBENS), Département de Biologie, École Normale Supérieure, CNRS, 12 INSERM, Université PSL, 75005 Paris, France 13 2CNRS Research Federation for the study of Global Ocean Systems Ecology and Evolution, 14 FR2022/Tara Oceans GOSEE, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris, France 15 3 US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 16 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley,
    [Show full text]
  • Ball Et Al. (2011)
    Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 62, No. 6, pp. 1775–1801, 2011 doi:10.1093/jxb/erq411 Advance Access publication 10 January, 2011 DARWIN REVIEW The evolution of glycogen and starch metabolism in eukaryotes gives molecular clues to understand the establishment of plastid endosymbiosis Steven Ball*, Christophe Colleoni, Ugo Cenci, Jenifer Nirmal Raj and Catherine Tirtiaux Unite´ de Glycobiologie Structurale et Fonctionnelle, UMR 8576 CNRS-USTL, Baˆ timent C9, Cite´ Scientifique, F-59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France * To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: [email protected] Received 10 September 2010; Revised 18 November 2010; Accepted 23 November 2010 Downloaded from Abstract Solid semi-crystalline starch and hydrosoluble glycogen define two distinct physical states of the same type of storage polysaccharide. Appearance of semi-crystalline storage polysaccharides appears linked to the http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/ requirement of unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria to fuel nitrogenase and protect it from oxygen through respiration of vast amounts of stored carbon. Starch metabolism itself resulted from the merging of the bacterial and eukaryote pathways of storage polysaccharide metabolism after endosymbiosis of the plastid. This generated the three Archaeplastida lineages: the green algae and land plants (Chloroplastida), the red algae (Rhodophyceae), and the glaucophytes (Glaucophyta). Reconstruction of starch metabolism in the common ancestor of Archaeplastida suggests that polysaccharide synthesis was ancestrally cytosolic. In addition, the synthesis of cytosolic starch from the ADP-glucose exported from the cyanobacterial symbiont possibly defined the original by guest on March 30, 2012 metabolic flux by which the cyanobiont provided photosynthate to its host. Additional evidence supporting this scenario include the monophyletic origin of the major carbon translocators of the inner membrane of eukaryote plastids which are sisters to nucleotide-sugar transporters of the eukaryote endomembrane system.
    [Show full text]
  • Picophytoplankton Biomass Distribution in the Global Ocean
    CMYK RGB History of Geo- and Space Open Access Open Sciences Advances in Science & Research Open Access Proceedings Drinking Water Drinking Water Engineering and Science Engineering and Science Open Access Access Open Discussions Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussion Paper | Discussions Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., 5, 221–242, Earth 2012 System Earth System www.earth-syst-sci-data-discuss.net/5/221/2012/ Science Science doi:10.5194/essdd-5-221-2012 ESSDD © Author(s) 2012. CC Attribution 3.0 License. 5, 221–242, 2012 Open Access Open Open Access Open Data Data This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Earth System Science Discussions Picophytoplankton Data (ESSD). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in ESSD if available. Social Social biomass distribution in the global ocean Open Access Open Geography Open Access Open Geography Picophytoplankton biomass distribution E. T. Buitenhuis et al. in the global ocean Title Page E. T. Buitenhuis1, W. K. W. Li2, D. Vaulot3, M. W. Lomas4, M. Landry5, F. Partensky3, D. M. Karl6, O. Ulloa7, L. Campbell8, S. Jacquet9, F. Lantoine10, Abstract Instruments F. Chavez11, D. Macias12, M. Gosselin13, and G. B. McManus14 Data Provenance & Structure 1Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and School of Environmental Sciences, Tables Figures University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK 2Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada J I 3UMR 7144 (CNRS and UPMC, Paris 06), Station Biologique, 29680
    [Show full text]