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Gerbracht JV, Harding T, Simpson AGB, Roger AJ, Hess S. Comparative transcriptomics reveals the molecular toolkit used by an algivorous protist for cell wall perforation. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3374-3384.e5. [PMID: 35700733 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.05.049] [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: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Microbial eukaryotes display a stunning diversity of feeding strategies, ranging from generalist predators to highly specialized parasites. The unicellular "protoplast feeders" represent a fascinating mechanistic intermediate, as they penetrate other eukaryotic cells (algae and fungi) like some parasites but then devour their cell contents by phagocytosis.1 Besides prey recognition and attachment, this complex behavior involves the local, pre-phagocytotic dissolution of the prey cell wall, which results in well-defined perforations of species-specific size and structure.2 Yet the molecular processes that enable protoplast feeders to overcome cell walls of diverse biochemical composition remain unknown. We used the flagellate Orciraptor agilis (Viridiraptoridae, Rhizaria) as a model protoplast feeder and applied differential gene expression analysis to examine its penetration of green algal cell walls. Besides distinct expression changes that reflect major cellular processes (e.g., locomotion and cell division), we found lytic carbohydrate-active enzymes that are highly expressed and upregulated during the attack on the alga. A putative endocellulase (family GH5_5) with a secretion signal is most prominent, and a potential key factor for cell wall dissolution. Other candidate enzymes (e.g., lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases) belong to families that are largely uncharacterized, emphasizing the potential of non-fungal microeukaryotes for enzyme exploration. Unexpectedly, we discovered various chitin-related factors that point to an unknown chitin metabolism in Orciraptor agilis, potentially also involved in the feeding process. Our findings provide first molecular insights into an important microbial feeding behavior and new directions for cell biology research on non-model eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer V Gerbracht
- Institute for Zoology, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Tommy Harding
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Alastair G B Simpson
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Andrew J Roger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Sebastian Hess
- Institute for Zoology, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674 Cologne, Germany; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, 5850 College Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada; Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada.
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2
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Kashiyama Y, Ishizuka Y, Terauchi I, Matsuda T, Maeda Y, Yoshino T, Matsumoto M, Yabuki A, Bowler C, Tanaka T. Engineered chlorophyll catabolism conferring predator resistance for microalgal biomass production. Metab Eng 2021; 66:79-86. [PMID: 33862197 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2021.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Production of valuable compounds including biofuels and pharmaceutical precursors derived from microalgae has garnered significant interest. Stable production of algal biomass is essential to make the microalgal industry commercially feasible. However, one of the largest issues is severe biological contamination by predators grazing the algal biomass, resulting in the crash of outdoor cultures. In the present study, we propose a novel engineering strategy for microalgae to cope with predators. The overexpression of plant chlorophyllase (CLH) in a microalga resulted in the enhancement of resistance to the predator. This result supported our hypothesis that CLH promotes chlorophyll breakdown in the chloroplasts of the microalgae when they are digested by the predator, generating the phototoxic catabolite chlorophyllide that damages the predator. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to establish predator-resistant microalgae by enhancing the CLH activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuichiro Kashiyama
- Department of Applied Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Fukui University of Technology, 3-6-1, Gakuen, Fukui, Fukui, 910-8505, Japan
| | - Yuki Ishizuka
- Division of Biotechnology and Life Science, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16, Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan
| | - Issei Terauchi
- Division of Biotechnology and Life Science, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16, Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan
| | - Toshiki Matsuda
- Department of Applied Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Fukui University of Technology, 3-6-1, Gakuen, Fukui, Fukui, 910-8505, Japan
| | - Yoshiaki Maeda
- Division of Biotechnology and Life Science, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16, Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan
| | - Tomoko Yoshino
- Division of Biotechnology and Life Science, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16, Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan
| | - Mitsufumi Matsumoto
- Biotechnology Laboratory, Electric Power Development Co., Ltd, 1, Yanagisaki-machi, Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyusyu, Fukuoka, 808-0111, Japan
| | - Akinori Yabuki
- Department of Marine Biodiversity Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 237-0061, Japan
| | - Chris Bowler
- Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, Université PSL, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Tsuyoshi Tanaka
- Division of Biotechnology and Life Science, Institute of Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, 2-24-16, Naka-cho, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan.
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Responses of unicellular predators to cope with the phototoxicity of photosynthetic prey. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5606. [PMID: 31811209 PMCID: PMC6898599 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13568-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Feeding on unicellular photosynthetic organisms by unicellular eukaryotes is the base of the aquatic food chain and evolutionarily led to the establishment of photosynthetic endosymbionts/organelles. Photosynthesis generates reactive oxygen species and damages cells; thus, photosynthetic organisms possess several mechanisms to cope with the stress. Here, we demonstrate that photosynthetic prey also exposes unicellular amoebozoan and excavates predators to photosynthetic oxidative stress. Upon illumination, there is a commonality in transcriptomic changes among evolutionarily distant organisms feeding on photosynthetic prey. One of the genes commonly upregulated is a horizontally transferred homolog of algal and plant genes for chlorophyll degradation/detoxification. In addition, the predators reduce their phagocytic uptake while accelerating digestion of photosynthetic prey upon illumination, reducing the number of photosynthetic cells inside the predator cells, as this also occurs in facultative endosymbiotic associations upon certain stresses. Thus, some mechanisms in predators observed here probably have been necessary for evolution of endosymbiotic associations. Photosynthesis generates reactive oxygen species that can damage cells. Here, the authors show that unicellular predators of photosynthetic prey have shared responses to photosynthetic oxidative stress and these may also have been important for the evolution of endosymbiosis.
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Taming chlorophylls by early eukaryotes underpinned algal interactions and the diversification of the eukaryotes on the oxygenated Earth. ISME JOURNAL 2019; 13:1899-1910. [PMID: 30809012 PMCID: PMC6775998 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-019-0377-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2018] [Revised: 12/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Extant eukaryote ecology is primarily sustained by oxygenic photosynthesis, in which chlorophylls play essential roles. The exceptional photosensitivity of chlorophylls allows them to harvest solar energy for photosynthesis, but on the other hand, they also generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. A risk of such phototoxicity of the chlorophyll must become particularly prominent upon dynamic cellular interactions that potentially disrupt the mechanisms that are designed to quench photoexcited chlorophylls in the phototrophic cells. Extensive examination of a wide variety of phagotrophic, parasitic, and phototrophic microeukaryotes demonstrates that a catabolic process that converts chlorophylls into nonphotosensitive 132,173-cyclopheophorbide enols (CPEs) is phylogenetically ubiquitous among extant eukaryotes. The accumulation of CPEs is identified in phagotrophic algivores belonging to virtually all major eukaryotic assemblages with the exception of Archaeplastida, in which no algivorous species have been reported. In addition, accumulation of CPEs is revealed to be common among phototrophic microeukaryotes (i.e., microalgae) along with dismantling of their secondary chloroplasts. Thus, we infer that CPE-accumulating chlorophyll catabolism (CACC) primarily evolved among algivorous microeukaryotes to detoxify chlorophylls in an early stage of their evolution. Subsequently, it also underpinned photosynthetic endosymbiosis by securing close interactions with photosynthetic machinery containing abundant chlorophylls, which led to the acquisition of secondary chloroplasts. Our results strongly suggest that CACC, which allowed the consumption of oxygenic primary producers, ultimately permitted the successful radiation of the eukaryotes throughout and after the late Proterozoic global oxygenation.
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Ota C, Sugihara K, Kinoshita Y, Kashiyama Y, Nagasawa Y, Tamiaki H. Ultrafast excited state dynamics of nonfluorescent cyclopheophorbide-aenol, a catabolite of chlorophyll-adetoxified in algae-feeding aquatic microbes. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2019; 18:64-70. [DOI: 10.1039/c8pp00173a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Transient absorption spectroscopy revealed that a catabolite of chlorophyll-a, cPPB-aE, undergoes ultrafast nonradiative decay through an intermediate state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chikashi Ota
- College of Life Sciences
- Ritsumeikan University
- Kusatsu
- Japan
| | - Keita Sugihara
- College of Life Sciences
- Ritsumeikan University
- Kusatsu
- Japan
| | - Yusuke Kinoshita
- Graduate School of Life Sciences
- Ritsumeikan University
- Kusatsu
- Japan
| | - Yuichiro Kashiyama
- Graduate School of Life Sciences
- Ritsumeikan University
- Kusatsu
- Japan
- Graduate School of Engineering
| | | | - Hitoshi Tamiaki
- Graduate School of Life Sciences
- Ritsumeikan University
- Kusatsu
- Japan
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In vivo and in vitro preparation of divinyl-132,173-cyclopheophorbide-a enol. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2018; 28:1090-1092. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2018.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Revised: 02/04/2018] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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Kuai B, Chen J, Hörtensteiner S. The biochemistry and molecular biology of chlorophyll breakdown. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2018; 69:751-767. [PMID: 28992212 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erx322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Chlorophyll breakdown is one of the most obvious signs of leaf senescence and fruit ripening. The resulting yellowing of leaves can be observed every autumn, and the color change of fruits indicates their ripening state. During these processes, chlorophyll is broken down in a multistep pathway, now termed the 'PAO/phyllobilin' pathway, acknowledging the core enzymatic breakdown step catalysed by pheophorbide a oxygenase, which determines the basic linear tetrapyrrole structure of the products of breakdown that are now called 'phyllobilins'. This review provides an update on the PAO/phyllobilin pathway, and focuses on recent biochemical and molecular progress in understanding phyllobilin-modifying reactions as the basis for phyllobilin diversity, on the evolutionary diversity of the pathway, and on the transcriptional regulation of the pathway genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benke Kuai
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Junyi Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, Institute of Biodiversity Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Stefan Hörtensteiner
- Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland
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Tamiaki H, Teramura M, Tsukatani Y. Reduction Processes in Biosynthesis of Chlorophyll Molecules: Chemical Implication of Enzymatically Regio- and Stereoselective Hydrogenations in the Late Stages of Their Biosynthetic Pathway. BULLETIN OF THE CHEMICAL SOCIETY OF JAPAN 2016. [DOI: 10.1246/bcsj.20150307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yusuke Tsukatani
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, Ritsumeikan University
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology
- PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency
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Tamiaki H, Tsuji K, Machida S, Teramura M, Miyatake T. Transformation of carbonyl to vinylidene groups in the π-conjugated peripheral substituent of chlorophyll derivatives by Tebbe reagent. Tetrahedron Lett 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2016.01.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Erzinger GS, Souza SC, Pinto LH, Hoppe R, Del Ciampo LF, Souza O, Correia CHG, Häder DP. Assessment of the impact of chlorophyll derivatives to control parasites in aquatic ecosystems. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2015; 24:949-958. [PMID: 25750014 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-015-1437-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Several research groups have studied new biopesticides which are less toxic to the environment and capable of controlling the vectors of parasitic diseases, especially in aquatic ecosystems. Pest control by photodynamic substances is an alternative to chemical or other measures, with chlorophyll and its derivatives as the most studied substances supported by their easy availability and low production costs. The impact of chlorophyll derivatives on four different species, a small crustacean (Daphnia similis), a unicellular alga (Euglena gracilis) and two species of fish (Astyanax bimaculatus and Cyprynus carpio) were tested under short-term conditions. In addition, the effects of long-term exposure were evaluated in D. similis and E. gracilis. In short-term tests, mortality of D. similis (EC50 = 7.75 mg/L) was most strongly affected by chlorophyllin, followed by E. gracilis (EC50 = 12.73 mg/L). The fish species showed a greater resistance documented by their EC50 values of 17.58 and 29.96 mg/L in C. carpio and A. bimaculatus, respectively. A risk quotient is calculated by dividing an estimate of exposure by an estimate of effect. It indicated that chlorophyll derivatives can be applied in nature to control the vectors of parasitic diseases under short-term conditions, but long-term exposure requires new formulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilmar Sidnei Erzinger
- Department of Medicine and Pharmacy, Master's and PhD Program in Health and Environment, Rua Paulo Malschitzki, 10, Campus - Industrial Zone, PO Box 246, Joinville, SC, CEP 89219-710, Brazil,
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11
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Tamiaki H, Tanaka T. Synthesis and physical properties of carbonylated chlorophyll derivatives. Tetrahedron 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tet.2015.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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Suzuki T, Casareto BE, Shioi Y, Ishikawa Y, Suzuki Y. Finding of 13(2) , 17(3) -cyclopheophorbide a enol as a degradation product of chlorophyll in shrunk zooxanthellae of the coral Montipora digitata. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 2015; 51:37-45. [PMID: 26986257 DOI: 10.1111/jpy.12253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2013] [Accepted: 09/23/2014] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We examined the morphology and pigment composition of zooxanthellae in corals subjected to normal temperature (27°C) and thermal stress (32°C). We observed several normal and abnormal morphological types of zooxanthellar cells. Normal cells were intact and their chloroplasts were unbroken (healthy); abnormal cells were shrunken and had partially degraded or broken chloroplasts, or they were bleached and without chloroplasts. At 27°C, most healthy zooxanthellar cells were retained in the coral tissue, whereas shrunken zooxanthellae were expelled. Under thermal stress, the abundance of healthy zooxanthellae declined and the proportion of shrunken/abnormal cells increased in coral tissues. The rate of algal cell expulsion was reduced under thermal stress. Within the shrunken cells, we detected the presence of a chl-like pigment that is not ordinarily found in healthy zooxanthellae. Analysis of the absorption spectrum, absorption maxima, and retention time (by HPLC) indicated that this pigment was 13(2) , 17(3) -cyclopheophorbide a enol (cPPB-aE), which is frequently found in marine and lacustrine sediments, and in protozoans that graze on phytoplankton. The production of cPPB-aE in shrunken zooxanthellae suggests that the chls have been degraded to cPPB-aE, a compound that is not fluorescent. The lack of a fluorescence function precludes the formation of reactive oxygen species. We therefore consider the formation of cPPB-aE in shrunken zooxanthellae to be a mechanism for avoiding oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiyuki Suzuki
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan
| | - Beatriz Estela Casareto
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan
| | - Yuzo Shioi
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan
| | - Yoshio Ishikawa
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, 1-7 Ienomae, Obuchi, Rokkasho, Kamikita, Aomori, 039-3212, Japan
| | - Yoshimi Suzuki
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan
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Tamiaki H, Isoda Y, Tanaka T, Machida S. Synthesis of chlorophyll–amino acid conjugates as models for modification of proteins with chromo/fluorophores. Bioorg Med Chem 2014; 22:1421-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2013.12.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2013] [Revised: 12/24/2013] [Accepted: 12/24/2013] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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