The response of Prorocentrum sigmoides and its associated culturable bacteria to metals and organic pollutants

OMICS Approaches to Assess Dinoflagellate Responses to Chemical Stressors

Dinoflagellates are important primary producers known to form Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs). In water, nutrient availability, pH, salinity and anthropogenic contamination constitute chemical stressors for them. The emergence of OMICs approaches propelled our understanding of dinoflagellates' responses to stressors. However, in dinoflagellates, these approaches are still biased, as transcriptomic approaches are largely conducted compared to proteomic and metabolomic approaches. Furthermore, integrated OMICs approaches are just emerging. Here, we report recent contributions of the different OMICs approaches to the investigation of dinoflagellates' responses to chemical stressors and discuss the current challenges we need to face to push studies further despite the lack of genomic resources available for dinoflagellates.

Synergy between microalgae and microbiome in polluted waters

Microalga-microbiome interactions are central to both health and disease of aquatic environments. Despite impressive advances in deciphering how microorganisms participate in and impact aquatic ecosystems, the evolution and ecological involvement of microalgae and the microbiome in polluted waters are typically studied independently. Here, the phycosphere (i.e., the consortia of microalgae and the related microbiome) is regarded as an independent and integrated life form, and we summarize the survival strategies exhibited by this symbiont when exposed to anthropogenic pollution. We highlight the cellular strategies and discuss the modulation at the transcriptional and population levels, which reciprocally alters community structure or genome composition for medium-term acclimation or long-term adaptation. We propose a 'PollutantBiome' concept to help the understanding of microalga-microbiome interactions and development of beneficial microbial synthetic communities for pollutant remediation.

Pollutants affect algae-bacteria interactions: A critical review

With increasing concerns on the ecological risks of pollutants, many efforts have been devoted to revealing the toxic effects of pollutants on algae or bacteria in their monocultures. However, how pollutants affect algae and bacteria in their cocultures is still elusive but crucial due to its more environmental relevance. The present review outlines the interactions between algae and bacteria, reveals the influential mechanisms of pollutants (including pesticides, metals, engineered nanomaterials, pharmaceutical and personal care products, and aromatic pollutants) to algae and bacteria in their coexisted systems, and puts forward prospects for further advancing toxic studies in algal-bacterial systems. Pollutants affect the physiological and ecological functions of bacteria and algae by interfering with their relationships. Cell-to-cell adhesion, substrate exchange and biodegradation of organic pollutants, enhancement of signal transduction, and horizontal transfer of tolerance genes are important defense strategies in algal-bacterial systems to cope with pollution stress. Developing suitable algal-bacterial models, identifying cross-kingdom signaling molecules, and deciphering the horizontal transfer of pollutant resistant genes between algae and bacteria under pollution stress are the way forward to fully exploit the risks of pollutants in natural aquatic environments.