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Marshall WF. Chlamydomonas as a model system to study cilia and flagella using genetics, biochemistry, and microscopy. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1412641. [PMID: 38872931 PMCID: PMC11169674 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1412641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The unicellular green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, has played a central role in discovering much of what is currently known about the composition, assembly, and function of cilia and flagella. Chlamydomonas combines excellent genetics, such as the ability to grow cells as haploids or diploids and to perform tetrad analysis, with an unparalleled ability to detach and isolate flagella in a single step without cell lysis. The combination of genetics and biochemistry that is possible in Chlamydomonas has allowed many of the key components of the cilium to be identified by looking for proteins that are missing in a defined mutant. Few if any other model organisms allow such a seamless combination of genetic and biochemical approaches. Other major advantages of Chlamydomonas compared to other systems include the ability to induce flagella to regenerate in a highly synchronous manner, allowing the kinetics of flagellar growth to be measured, and the ability of Chlamydomonas flagella to adhere to glass coverslips allowing Intraflagellar Transport to be easily imaged inside the flagella of living cells, with quantitative precision and single-molecule resolution. These advantages continue to work in favor of Chlamydomonas as a model system going forward, and are now augmented by extensive genomic resources, a knockout strain collection, and efficient CRISPR gene editing. While Chlamydomonas has obvious limitations for studying ciliary functions related to animal development or organ physiology, when it comes to studying the fundamental biology of cilia and flagella, Chlamydomonas is simply unmatched in terms of speed, efficiency, cost, and the variety of approaches that can be brought to bear on a question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wallace F. Marshall
- Department Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
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Eria-Oliveira AS, Folacci M, Chassot AA, Fedou S, Thézé N, Zabelskii D, Alekseev A, Bamberg E, Gordeliy V, Sandoz G, Vivaudou M. Hijacking of internal calcium dynamics by intracellularly residing viral rhodopsins. Nat Commun 2024; 15:65. [PMID: 38167346 PMCID: PMC10761956 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44548-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Rhodopsins are ubiquitous light-driven membrane proteins with diverse functions, including ion transport. Widely distributed, they are also coded in the genomes of giant viruses infecting phytoplankton where their function is not settled. Here, we examine the properties of OLPVR1 (Organic Lake Phycodnavirus Rhodopsin) and two other type 1 viral channelrhodopsins (VCR1s), and demonstrate that VCR1s accumulate exclusively intracellularly, and, upon illumination, induce calcium release from intracellular IP3-dependent stores. In vivo, this light-induced calcium release is sufficient to remote control muscle contraction in VCR1-expressing tadpoles. VCR1s natively confer light-induced Ca2+ release, suggesting a distinct mechanism for reshaping the response to light of virus-infected algae. The ability of VCR1s to photorelease calcium without altering plasma membrane electrical properties marks them as potential precursors for optogenetics tools, with potential applications in basic research and medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana-Sofia Eria-Oliveira
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IBS, Grenoble, France
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France
- Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France
- Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire InovPain, Cote d'Azur University, University Hospital Center Nice, Nice, France
| | - Mathilde Folacci
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IBS, Grenoble, France
- Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Anne Amandine Chassot
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France
- Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France
- Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire InovPain, Cote d'Azur University, University Hospital Center Nice, Nice, France
| | - Sandrine Fedou
- Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, BRIC, UMR, 1312, Bordeaux, France
| | - Nadine Thézé
- Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, BRIC, UMR, 1312, Bordeaux, France
| | | | - Alexey Alekseev
- Advanced Optogenes Group, Institute for Auditory Neuroscience and InnerEarLab, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence "Multiscale Bioimaging: from Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells" (MBExC), University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ernst Bamberg
- Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Valentin Gordeliy
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IBS, Grenoble, France
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Guillaume Sandoz
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France.
- Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France.
- Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire InovPain, Cote d'Azur University, University Hospital Center Nice, Nice, France.
| | - Michel Vivaudou
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CEA, CNRS, IBS, Grenoble, France.
- Laboratories of Excellence, Ion Channel Science and Therapeutics, Nice, France.
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Poirier M, Osmers P, Wilkins K, Morgan-Kiss RM, Cvetkovska M. Aberrant light sensing and motility in the green alga Chlamydomonas priscuii from the ice-covered Antarctic Lake Bonney. PLANT SIGNALING & BEHAVIOR 2023; 18:2184588. [PMID: 38126947 PMCID: PMC10012900 DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2023.2184588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The Antarctic green alga Chlamydomonas priscuii is an obligate psychrophile and an emerging model for photosynthetic adaptation to extreme conditions. Endemic to the ice-covered Lake Bonney, this alga thrives at highly unusual light conditions characterized by very low light irradiance (<15 μmol m-2 s-1), a narrow wavelength spectrum enriched in blue light, and an extreme photoperiod. Genome sequencing of C. priscuii exposed an unusually large genome, with hundreds of highly similar gene duplicates and expanded gene families, some of which could be aiding its survival in extreme conditions. In contrast to the described expansion in the genetic repertoire in C. priscuii, here we suggest that the gene family encoding for photoreceptors is reduced when compared to related green algae. This alga also possesses a very small eyespot and exhibits an aberrant phototactic response, compared to the model Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We also investigated the genome and behavior of the closely related psychrophilic alga Chlamydomonas sp. ICE-MDV, that is found throughout the photic zone of Lake Bonney and is naturally exposed to higher light levels. Our analyses revealed a photoreceptor gene family and a robust phototactic response similar to those in the model Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. These results suggest that the aberrant phototactic response in C. priscuii is a result of life under extreme shading rather than a common feature of all psychrophilic algae. We discuss the implications of these results on the evolution and survival of shade adapted polar algae.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pomona Osmers
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, OH, Canada
| | - Kieran Wilkins
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, OH, Canada
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Yamashita F, Baluška F. Algal Ocelloids and Plant Ocelli. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 12:61. [PMID: 36616190 PMCID: PMC9824129 DOI: 10.3390/plants12010061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Vision is essential for most organisms, and it is highly variable across kingdoms and domains of life. The most known and understood form is animal and human vision based on eyes. Besides the wide diversity of animal eyes, some animals such as cuttlefish and cephalopods enjoy so-called dermal or skin vision. The most simple and ancient organ of vision is the cell itself and this rudimentary vision evolved in cyanobacteria. More complex are so-called ocelloids of dinoflagellates which are composed of endocellular organelles, acting as lens- and cornea/retina-like components. Although plants have almost never been included into the recent discussions on organismal vision, their plant-specific ocelli had already been proposed by Gottlieb Haberlandt already in 1905. Here, we discuss plant ocelli and their roles in plant-specific vision, both in the shoots and roots of plants. In contrast to leaf epidermis ocelli, which are distributed throughout leaf surface, the root apex ocelli are located at the root apex transition zone and serve the light-guided root navigation. We propose that the plant ocelli evolved from the algal ocelloids, are part of complex plant sensory systems and guide cognition-based plant behavior.
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Seth K, Kumawat G, Vyas P, Harish. The structure and functional mechanism of eyespot in Chlamydomonas. J Basic Microbiol 2022; 62:1169-1178. [PMID: 35778815 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.202200249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 06/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Light plays a crucial role in photosynthesis, photoperiodism, and photomorphogenesis. Algae have a specialized visual system to perceive the light signal known as eyespot. A typical eyespot is an orange-colored, membranous structure packed with pigmented granules. In algae, the eyespot membrane bears a specialized type of photoreceptors, which shows similarity with animal rhodopsin photoreceptors. This light-sensing receptor is responsible for the photo-mobility response known as phototaxis. In this, light acts as a signal for onset and cascade of downstream signal transduction pathway leading to a conformational change in photoreceptor. This induces the continuous influx of calcium ions through the opening of calcium ion channels leading to membrane depolarization, and beating of flagella which is responsible for phototaxis. Mutational studies have assisted the discovery of eyespot genes, which are involved in eyespot development, assembly, size control, and functioning in Chlamydomonas. These genes belong to photoreceptors (cop1-12, acry, pcry, cry-dash1, cry-dash2, phot, uvr8), eyeless mutants (eye2, eye3), miniature-eyespot mutants (min1, min2), multiple eyespot mutants (mlt1, mlt2). This review discusses the structural biology of eyespots with special reference to Chlamydomonas, molecular insights, related genes, and proteins responsible for its proper functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunal Seth
- Department of Botany, Govt. Science College, Pardi Valsad, Gujarat, India
| | - Geetanjali Kumawat
- Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
| | - Pallavi Vyas
- Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
| | - Harish
- Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
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Abstract
Cilia are tail-like organelles responsible for motility, transportation, and sensory functions in eukaryotic cells. Cilia research has been providing multifaceted questions, attracting biologists of various areas and inducing interdisciplinary studies. In this chapter, we mainly focus on efforts to elucidate the molecular mechanism of ciliary beating motion, a field of research that has a long history and is still ongoing. We also overview topics closely related to the motility mechanism, such as ciliogenesis, cilia-related diseases, and sensory cilia. Subnanometer-scale to submillimeter-scale 3D imaging of the axoneme and the basal body resulted in a wide variety of insights into these questions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Ishikawa
- Department of Biology and Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland.
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Tanno A, Tokutsu R, Arakaki Y, Ueki N, Minagawa J, Yoshimura K, Hisabori T, Nozaki H, Wakabayashi KI. The four-celled Volvocales green alga Tetrabaena socialis exhibits weak photobehavior and high-photoprotection ability. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259138. [PMID: 34699573 PMCID: PMC8547699 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Photo-induced behavioral responses (photobehaviors) are crucial to the survival of motile phototrophic organisms in changing light conditions. Volvocine green algae are excellent model organisms for studying the regulatory mechanisms of photobehavior. We recently reported that unicellular Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and multicellular Volvox rousseletii exhibit similar photobehaviors, such as phototactic and photoshock responses, via different ciliary regulations. To clarify how the regulatory systems have changed during the evolution of multicellularity, we investigated the photobehaviors of four-celled Tetrabaena socialis. Surprisingly, unlike C. reinhardtii and V. rousseletii, T. socialis did not exhibit immediate photobehaviors after light illumination. Electrophysiological analysis revealed that the T. socialis eyespot does not function as a photoreceptor. Instead, T. socialis exhibited slow accumulation toward the light source in a photosynthesis-dependent manner. Our assessment of photosynthetic activities showed that T. socialis chloroplasts possess higher photoprotection abilities against strong light than C. reinhardtii. These data suggest that C. reinhardtii and T. socialis employ different strategies to avoid high-light stress (moving away rapidly and gaining photoprotection, respectively) despite their close phylogenetic relationship.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asuka Tanno
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Ryutaro Tokutsu
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
- Faculty of Life Science, Department of Basic Biology, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Yoko Arakaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Noriko Ueki
- Science Research Center, Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Jun Minagawa
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
- Faculty of Life Science, Department of Basic Biology, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Kenjiro Yoshimura
- Department of Machinery and Control Systems, College of Systems Engineering and Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Saitama, Japan
| | - Toru Hisabori
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Hisayoshi Nozaki
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Ken-ichi Wakabayashi
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, Japan
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Morishita J, Tokutsu R, Minagawa J, Hisabori T, Wakabayashi KI. Characterization of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Mutants That Exhibit Strong Positive Phototaxis. PLANTS 2021; 10:plants10071483. [PMID: 34371686 PMCID: PMC8309459 DOI: 10.3390/plants10071483] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The most motile phototrophic organisms exhibit photo-induced behavioral responses (photobehavior) to inhabit better light conditions for photosynthesis. The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is an excellent model organism to study photobehavior. Several years ago, we found that C. reinhardtii cells reverse their phototactic signs (i.e., positive and negative phototaxis) depending on the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulated in the cell. However, its molecular mechanism is unclear. In this study, we isolated seven mutants showing positive phototaxis, even after the induction of negative phototaxis (ap1~7: always positive) to understand the ROS-dependent regulatory mechanism for the phototactic sign. We found no common feature in the mutants regarding their growth, high-light tolerance, and photosynthetic phenotypes. Interestingly, five of them grew faster than the wild type. These data suggest that the ROS-dependent regulation of the phototactic sign is not a single pathway and is affected by various cellular factors. Additionally, the isolation and analyses of mutants with defects in phototactic-sign regulation may provide clues for their application to the efficient cultivation of algae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Morishita
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan; (J.M.); (T.H.)
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
| | - Ryutaro Tokutsu
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; (R.T.); (J.M.)
- Department of Basic Biology, Faculty of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Jun Minagawa
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan; (R.T.); (J.M.)
- Department of Basic Biology, Faculty of Life Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Toru Hisabori
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan; (J.M.); (T.H.)
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
| | - Ken-ichi Wakabayashi
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan; (J.M.); (T.H.)
- School of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
- Correspondence:
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