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Santin A, Caputi L, Longo A, Chiurazzi M, Ribera d'Alcalà M, Russo MT, Ferrante MI, Rogato A. Integrative omics identification, evolutionary and structural analysis of low affinity nitrate transporters in diatoms, diNPFs. Open Biol 2021; 11:200395. [PMID: 33823659 PMCID: PMC8025304 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Diatoms are one of the major and most diverse groups of phytoplankton, with chimeric genomes harbouring a combination of genes of bacterial, animal and plant origin. They have developed sophisticated mechanisms to face environmental variations. In marine environments, nutrients concentration shows significant temporal and spatial variability, influencing phytoplankton growth. Among nutrients, nitrogen, present at micromolar levels, is often a limiting resource. Here, we report a comprehensive characterization of the Nitrate Transporter 1/Peptide Transporter Family (NPF) in diatoms, diNPFs. NPFs are well characterized in many organisms where they recognize a broad range of substrates, ranging from short-chained di- and tri-peptides in bacteria, fungi and mammals to a wide variety of molecules including nitrate in higher plants. Scarce information is available for diNPFs. We integrated-omics, phylogenetic, structural and expression analyses, to infer information on their role in diatoms. diNPF genes diverged to produce two distinct clades with strong sequence and structural homology with either bacterial or plant NPFs, with different predicted sub-cellular localization, suggesting that the divergence resulted in functional diversification. Moreover, transcription analysis of diNPF genes under different laboratory and environmental growth conditions suggests that diNPF diversification led to genetic adaptations that might contribute to diatoms ability to flourish in diverse environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Santin
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy
| | - Luigi Caputi
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy
| | - Antonella Longo
- BioDiscovery Institute, Denton, TX, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
| | - Maurizio Chiurazzi
- Institute of Biosciences and BioResources, CNR, Via P. Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Alessandra Rogato
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy.,Institute of Biosciences and BioResources, CNR, Via P. Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy
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