Supramolecular organization of fucoxanthin-chlorophyll proteins in centric and pennate diatoms

Conservation of triplet-triplet energy transfer photoprotective pathways in fucoxanthin chlorophyll-binding proteins across algal lineages

Detailed information on the photo-generated triplet states of diatom and haptophyte Fucoxanthin Chlorophyll-binding Proteins (FCPs and E-FCPs, respectively) have been obtained from a combined spectroscopic investigation involving Transient Absorption and Time-Resolved Electron Paramagnetic Resonance. Pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum FCP shows identical photoprotective Triplet-Triplet Energy Transfer (TTET) pathways to the previously investigated centric diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana FCP, with the same two chlorophyll a-fucoxanthin pairs that involve the fucoxanthins in sites Fx301 and Fx302 contributing to TTET in both diatom groups. In the case of the haptophyte Emilianina huxleyi E-FCP, only one of the two chlorophyll a-fucoxanthins pairs observed in diatoms, the one involving chlorophyll a409 and Fx301, has been shown to be active in TTET. Furthermore, despite the marked change in the pigment content of E-FCP with growth light intensity, the TTET pathway is not affected. Thus, our comparative investigation of FCPs revealed a photoprotective TTET pathway shared within these classes involving the fucoxanthin in site Fx301, a site exposed to the exterior of the antenna monomer that has no equivalent in Light-Harvesting Complexes from the green lineage.

Manipulation in Culture Conditions of Nanofrustulum shiloi for Enhanced Fucoxanthin Production and Isolation by Preparative Chromatography

Microalgae produce a variety of high-value chemicals including carotenoids. Fucoxanthin is also a carotenoid that has many physiological functions and biological properties. For this reason, the cost-effective production of fucoxanthin at an industrial scale has gained significant attention. In the proposed study, fucoxanthin production was aimed to be increased by altering the culture conditions of N. shiloi. The effect of light intensity aeration rate, different nitrogen sources, and oxidative stress on the biomass and fucoxanthin productivity have been discussed. Based on these results, the fucoxanthin increased to 97.45 ± 2.64 mg/g by adjusting the light intensity to 50 µmol/m²s, and aeration rate at 5 L/min using oxidative stress through the addition of 0.1 mM H₂O₂ and 0.1 mM NaOCl to the culture medium. Fucoxanthin was then purified with preparative HPLC using C₃₀ carotenoid column (10 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm). After the purification procedure, Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and UV-vis spectroscopy were employed for the confirmation of fucoxanthin. This study presented a protocol for obtaining and purifying considerable amounts of biomass and fucoxanthin from diatom by manipulating culture conditions. With the developed methodology, N. shiloi could be evaluated as a promising source of fucoxanthin at the industrial scale for food, feed, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries.

Red-shifted light-harvesting system of freshwater eukaryotic alga Trachydiscus minutus (Eustigmatophyta, Stramenopila)

Survival of phototrophic organisms depends on their ability to collect and convert enough light energy to support their metabolism. Phototrophs can extend their absorption cross section by using diverse pigments and by tuning the properties of these pigments via pigment-pigment and pigment-protein interaction. It is well known that some cyanobacteria can grow in heavily shaded habitats by utilizing far-red light harvested with far-red-absorbing chlorophylls d and f. We describe a red-shifted light-harvesting system based on chlorophyll a from a freshwater eustigmatophyte alga Trachydiscus minutus (Eustigmatophyceae, Goniochloridales). A comprehensive characterization of the photosynthetic apparatus of T. minutus is presented. We show that thylakoid membranes of T. minutus contain light-harvesting complexes of several sizes differing in the relative amount of far-red chlorophyll a forms absorbing around 700 nm. The pigment arrangement of the major red-shifted light-harvesting complex is similar to that of the red-shifted antenna of a marine alveolate alga Chromera velia. Evolutionary aspects of the algal far-red light-harvesting complexes are discussed. The presence of these antennas in eustigmatophyte algae opens up new ways to modify organisms of this promising group for effective use of far-red light in mass cultures.

Carotenoid–chlorophyll energy transfer in the fucoxanthin–chlorophyll complex binding a fucoxanthin acyloxy derivative

A fucoxanthin derivative has negligible charge-transfer character of the S₁/ICT state resulting in slowing down of the carotenoid–chlorophyll energy transfer.

Rapid regulation of excitation energy in two pennate diatoms from contrasting light climates

Non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) is a fast acting photoprotective response to high light stress triggered by over excitation of photosystem II. The mechanism for NPQ in the globally important diatom algae has been principally attributed to a xanthophyll cycle, analogous to the well-described qE quenching of higher plants. This study compared the short-term NPQ responses in two pennate, benthic diatom species cultured under identical conditions but which originate from unique light climates. Variable chlorophyll fluorescence was used to monitor photochemical and non-photochemical excitation energy dissipation during high light transitions; whereas whole cell steady state 77 K absorption and emission were used to measure high light elicited changes in the excited state landscapes of the thylakoid. The marine shoreline species Nitzschia curvilineata was found to have an antenna system capable of entering a deeply quenched, yet reversible state in response to high light, with NPQ being highly sensitive to dithiothreitol (a known inhibitor of the xanthophyll cycle). Conversely, the salt flat species Navicula sp. 110-1 exhibited a less robust NPQ that remained largely locked-in after the light stress was removed; however, a lower amplitude, but now highly reversible NPQ persisted in cells treated with dithiothreitol. Furthermore, dithiothreitol inhibition of NPQ had no functional effect on the ability of Navicula cells to balance PSII excitation/de-excitation. These different approaches for non-photochemical excitation energy dissipation are discussed in the context of native light climate.

The structure of FCPb, a light-harvesting complex in the diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana

Diatoms possess fucoxanthin chlorophyll proteins (FCP) as light-harvesting systems. These membrane intrinsic proteins bind fucoxanthin as major carotenoid and Chl c as accessory chlorophyll. The relatively high sequence homology to higher plant light-harvesting complex II gave rise to the assumption of a similar overall structure. From centric diatoms like Cyclotella meneghiniana, however, two major FCP complexes can be isolated. FCPa, composed of Fcp2 and Fcp6 subunits, was demonstrated to be trimeric, whereas FCPb, known to contain Fcp5 polypeptides, is of higher oligomeric state. No molecular structure of either complex is available so far. Here we used electron microscopy and single particle analysis to elucidate the overall architecture of FCPb. The complexes are built from trimers as basic unit, assembling into nonameric moieties. The trimer itself is smaller, i.e. more compact than LHCII, but the main structural features are conserved.

Red-light phenotype in a marine diatom involves a specialized oligomeric red-shifted antenna and altered cell morphology

Diatoms greatly contribute to carbon fixation and thus strongly influence the global biogeochemical balance. Capable of chromatic acclimation (CA) to unfavourable light conditions, diatoms often dominate benthic ecosystems in addition to their planktonic lifestyle. Although CA has been studied at the molecular level, our understanding of this phenomenon remains incomplete. Here we provide new data to better explain the acclimation-associated changes under red-enhanced ambient light (RL) in diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, known to express a red-shifted antenna complex (F710). The complex was found to be an oligomer of a single polypeptide, Lhcf15. The steady-state spectroscopic properties of the oligomer were also studied. The oligomeric assembly of the Lhcf15 subunits is required for the complex to exhibit a red-shifted absorption. The presence of the red antenna in RL culture coincides with the development of a rounded phenotype of the diatom cell. A model summarizing the modulation of the photosynthetic apparatus during the acclimation response to light of different spectral quality is proposed. Our study suggests that toggling between alternative organizations of photosynthetic apparatus and distinct cell morphologies underlies the remarkable acclimation capacity of diatoms.

Architecture of the light-harvesting apparatus of the eustigmatophyte alga Nannochloropsis oceanica

We present proteomic, spectroscopic, and phylogenetic analysis of light-harvesting protein (Lhc) function in oleaginous Nannochloropsis oceanica (Eustigmatophyta, Stramenopila). N. oceanica utilizes Lhcs of multiple classes: Lhcr-type proteins (related to red algae LHCI), Lhcv (VCP) proteins (violaxanthin-containing Lhcs related to Lhcf/FCP proteins of diatoms), Lhcx proteins (related to Lhcx/LhcSR of diatoms and green algae), and Lhc proteins related to Red-CLH of Chromera velia. Altogether, 17 Lhc-type proteins of the 21 known from genomic data were found in our proteomic analyses. Besides Lhcr-type antennas, a RedCAP protein and a member of the Lhcx protein subfamily were found in association with Photosystem I. The free antenna fraction is formed by trimers of a mixture of Lhcs of varied origins (Lhcv, Lhcr, Lhcx, and relatives of Red-CLH). Despite possessing several proteins of the Red-CLH-type Lhc clade, N. oceanica is not capable of chromatic adaptation under the same conditions as the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum or C. velia. In addition, a naming scheme of Nannochloropsis Lhcs is proposed to facilitate further work.