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Bakir EM, El Semary NA. Spectrofluorometric method for detection glycogen using chemically gold nanoparticles: Cyanobacteria as biological model. SPECTROCHIMICA ACTA. PART A, MOLECULAR AND BIOMOLECULAR SPECTROSCOPY 2022; 281:121584. [PMID: 35944347 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2022.121584] [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: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There is a need for simple spectrofluorimetric method for detection of glycogen molecule based on binding to nanogold. Here we propose such a quantification method for glycogen using cyanobacteria as a biological model. Biologically, two strains of cyanobacteria were selected based on their previously tested nanogold biosynthetic abilities. Chemically, spherical gold nanoparticles were prepared and tested for binding to the glycogen molecule. Experimental analyses were conducted to determine the morphological and optical properties of the Au-glycogen hydrocolloids. Results: The plasmon band of biosynthesized AuNPs-glycogen was centered at 520-540 nm with size diameter was 41.7 ± 0.2 nm. The vibrational bands of glycogen were observed at 1,000 to 1,200 cm-1. The Au3+/Au0 redox coupling cycle was observed. The luminescence of AuNPs showed more stability by the addition of gradual concentrations of glycogen molecules. The detection (LOD) and quantitation limits (LOQ) were observed to be 0.89 and 2.95 µmol L-1 respectively (R2 = 0.99). The good chemical stability of this colloidal system and the glycogen molecule studied via density functional theory (DFT). The HOMO level of glycogen unit was closed near to LUMO level of Au3+. Conclusion: The associations formed between the gold nanoparticles and glycogen resulted in good chemical stability. This indicates that the quantification method proposed can be stably applied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esam M Bakir
- Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Al-Abassia11566, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Nermin A El Semary
- Biological Sciences Department, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University, Ain Helwan, Helwan, Cairo 11795, Egypt.
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2
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López-Pacheco IY, Rodas-Zuluaga LI, Cuellar-Bermudez SP, Hidalgo-Vázquez E, Molina-Vazquez A, Araújo RG, Martínez-Ruiz M, Varjani S, Barceló D, Iqbal HMN, Parra-Saldívar R. Revalorization of Microalgae Biomass for Synergistic Interaction and Sustainable Applications: Bioplastic Generation. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20100601. [PMID: 36286425 PMCID: PMC9605595 DOI: 10.3390/md20100601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Microalgae and cyanobacteria are photosynthetic microorganisms’ sources of renewable biomass that can be used for bioplastic production. These microorganisms have high growth rates, and contrary to other feedstocks, such as land crops, they do not require arable land. In addition, they can be used as feedstock for bioplastic production while not competing with food sources (e.g., corn, wheat, and soy protein). In this study, we review the macromolecules from microalgae and cyanobacteria that can serve for the production of bioplastics, including starch and glycogen, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), cellulose, polylactic acid (PLA), and triacylglycerols (TAGs). In addition, we focus on the cultivation of microalgae and cyanobacteria for wastewater treatment. This approach would allow reducing nutrient supply for biomass production while treating wastewater. Thus, the combination of wastewater treatment and the production of biomass that can serve as feedstock for bioplastic production is discussed. The comprehensive information provided in this communication would expand the scope of interdisciplinary and translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itzel Y. López-Pacheco
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | | | | | | | | | - Rafael G. Araújo
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | - Manuel Martínez-Ruiz
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
| | - Sunita Varjani
- Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gandhinagar 382010, Gujarat, India
| | - Damià Barceló
- Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, c/Emili Grahit, 101, Edifici H2O, 17003 Girona, Spain
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India
- Correspondence: (D.B.); (H.M.N.I.); (R.P.-S.)
| | - Hafiz M. N. Iqbal
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
- Correspondence: (D.B.); (H.M.N.I.); (R.P.-S.)
| | - Roberto Parra-Saldívar
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, School of Engineering and Sciences, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
- Tecnologico de Monterrey, Institute of Advanced Materials for Sustainable Manufacturing, Monterrey 64849, Mexico
- Correspondence: (D.B.); (H.M.N.I.); (R.P.-S.)
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Usai G, Cordara A, Re A, Polli MF, Mannino G, Bertea CM, Fino D, Pirri CF, Menin B. Combining metabolite doping and metabolic engineering to improve 2-phenylethanol production by engineered cyanobacteria. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:1005960. [PMID: 36204466 PMCID: PMC9530348 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.1005960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
2-Phenylethanol (2-PE) is a rose-scented aromatic compound, with broad application in cosmetic, pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries. Many plants naturally synthesize 2-PE via Shikimate Pathway, but its extraction is expensive and low-yielding. Consequently, most 2-PE derives from chemical synthesis, which employs petroleum as feedstock and generates unwanted by products and health issues. The need for “green” processes and the increasing public demand for natural products are pushing biotechnological production systems as promising alternatives. So far, several microorganisms have been investigated and engineered for 2-PE biosynthesis, but a few studies have focused on autotrophic microorganisms. Among them, the prokaryotic cyanobacteria can represent ideal microbial factories thanks to their ability to photosynthetically convert CO2 into valuable compounds, their minimal nutritional requirements, high photosynthetic rate and the availability of genetic and bioinformatics tools. An engineered strain of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 for 2-PE production, i.e., p120, was previously published elsewhere. The strain p120 expresses four heterologous genes for the complete 2-PE synthesis pathway. Here, we developed a combined approach of metabolite doping and metabolic engineering to improve the 2-PE production kinetics of the Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 p120 strain. Firstly, the growth and 2-PE productivity performances of the p120 recombinant strain were analyzed to highlight potential metabolic constraints. By implementing a BG11 medium doped with L-phenylalanine, we covered the metabolic burden to which the p120 strain is strongly subjected, when the 2-PE pathway expression is induced. Additionally, we further boosted the carbon flow into the Shikimate Pathway by overexpressing the native Shikimate Kinase in the Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 p120 strain (i.e., 2PE_aroK). The combination of these different approaches led to a 2-PE yield of 300 mg/gDW and a maximum 2-PE titer of 285 mg/L, 2.4-fold higher than that reported in literature for the p120 recombinant strain and, to our knowledge, the highest recorded for photosynthetic microorganisms, in photoautotrophic growth condition. Finally, this work provides the basis for further optimization of the process aimed at increasing 2-PE productivity and concentration, and could offer new insights about the use of cyanobacteria as appealing microbial cell factories for the synthesis of aromatic compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Usai
- Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy
- Department of Applied Science and Technology—DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Cordara
- Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy
- *Correspondence: Alessandro Cordara,
| | - Angela Re
- Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy
| | - Maria Francesca Polli
- Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy
- Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences—DISAFA, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Mannino
- Plant Physiology Unit, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Cinzia Margherita Bertea
- Plant Physiology Unit, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Debora Fino
- Department of Applied Science and Technology—DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Candido Fabrizio Pirri
- Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy
- Department of Applied Science and Technology—DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Barbara Menin
- Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy
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Riaz S, Jiang Y, Xiao M, You D, Klepacz-Smółka A, Rasul F, Daroch M. Generation of miniploid cells and improved natural transformation procedure for a model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:959043. [PMID: 35958137 PMCID: PMC9360974 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.959043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The biotechnologically important and naturally transformable cyanobacterium, Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, possesses multiple genome copies irrespective of its growth rate or condition. Hence, segregating mutations across all genome copies typically takes several weeks. In this study, Synechococcus 7942 cultivation on a solid growth medium was optimised using different concentrations of agar, the addition of antioxidants, and overexpression of the catalase gene to facilitate the rapid acquisition of colonies and fully segregated lines. Synechococcus 7942 was grown at different temperatures and nutritional conditions. The miniploid cells were identified using flow cytometry and fluorimetry. The natural transformation was carried out using miniploid cells and validated with PCR and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We identified that 0.35% agar concentration and 200 IU of catalase could improve the growth of Synechococcus 7942 on a solid growth medium. Furthermore, overexpression of a catalase gene enhanced the growth rate and supported diluted culture to grow on a solid medium. Our results reveal that high temperature and phosphate-depleted cells contain the lowest genome copies (2.4 ± 0.3 and 1.9 ± 0.2) and showed the potential to rapidly produce fully segregated mutants. In addition, higher antibiotic concentrations improve the selection of homozygous transformants while maintaining similar genome copies at a constant temperature. Based on our observation, we have an improved cultivation and natural transformation protocol for Synechococcus 7942 by optimising solid media culturing, generating low-ploidy cells that ultimately reduced the time required for the complete segregation of engineered lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadaf Riaz
- School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, United States
| | - Ying Jiang
- School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Meng Xiao
- School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Dawei You
- School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Anna Klepacz-Smółka
- Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Łódź, Poland
| | - Faiz Rasul
- School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
| | - Maurycy Daroch
- School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, China
- *Correspondence: Maurycy Daroch,
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Shinde S, Singapuri S, Jiang Z, Long B, Wilcox D, Klatt C, Jones JA, Yuan JS, Wang X. Thermodynamics contributes to high limonene productivity in cyanobacteria. Metab Eng Commun 2022; 14:e00193. [PMID: 35145855 PMCID: PMC8801761 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2022.e00193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Terpenoids are a large group of secondary metabolites with broad industrial applications. Engineering cyanobacteria is an attractive route for the sustainable production of commodity terpenoids. Currently, a major obstacle lies in the low productivity attained in engineered cyanobacterial strains. Traditional metabolic engineering to improve pathway kinetics has led to limited success in enhancing terpenoid productivity. In this study, we reveal thermodynamics as the main determinant for high limonene productivity in cyanobacteria. Through overexpressing the primary sigma factor, a higher photosynthetic rate was achieved in an engineered strain of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. Computational modeling and wet lab analyses showed an increased flux toward both native carbon sink glycogen synthesis and the non-native limonene synthesis from photosynthate output. On the other hand, comparative proteomics showed decreased expression of terpene pathway enzymes, revealing their limited role in determining terpene flux. Lastly, growth optimization by enhancing photosynthesis has led to a limonene titer of 19 mg/L in 7 days with a maximum productivity of 4.3 mg/L/day. This study highlights the importance of enhancing photosynthesis and substrate input for the high productivity of secondary metabolic pathways, providing a new strategy for future terpenoid engineering in phototrophs. Pathway enzyme engineering marginally increases cyanobacterial terpene production. Sigma factor overexpression improves photosynthetic efficiency in cyanobacteria. Enhanced photosynthesis results in high limonene production in cyanobacteria. Enhanced photosynthesis provides high thermodynamic driving force for terpenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shrameeta Shinde
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
| | - Sonali Singapuri
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
| | - Zhenxiong Jiang
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
| | - Bin Long
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Innovation Hub, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Danielle Wilcox
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
| | - Camille Klatt
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
| | - J. Andrew Jones
- Department of Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
| | - Joshua S. Yuan
- Synthetic and Systems Biology Innovation Hub, Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA
- Corresponding author.
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Over Expression of the Cyanobacterial Pgr5-Homologue Leads to Pseudoreversion in a Gene Coding for a Putative Esterase in Synechocystis 6803. Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10090174. [PMID: 32899164 PMCID: PMC7555055 DOI: 10.3390/life10090174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Pgr5 proteins play a major direct role in cyclic electron flow paths in plants and eukaryotic phytoplankton. The genomes of many cyanobacterial species code for Pgr5-like proteins but their function is still uncertain. Here, we present evidence that supports a link between the Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 Pgr5-like protein and the regulation of intracellular redox balance. The knockout strain, pgr5KO, did not display substantial phenotypic response under our experimental conditions, confirming results obtained in earlier studies. However, the overexpression strain, pgr5OE, accumulated 2.5-fold more chlorophyll than the wild type and displayed increased content of photosystems matching the chlorophyll increase. As a result, electron transfer rates through the photosynthetic apparatus of pgr5OE increased, as did the amount of energy stored as glycogen. While, under photoautotrophic conditions, this metabolic difference had only minor effects, under mixotrophic conditions, pgr5OE cultures collapsed. Interestingly, this specific phenotype of pgr5OE mutants displayed a tendency for reverting, and cultures which previously collapsed in the presence of glucose were now able to survive. DNA sequencing of a pgr5OE strain revealed a second site suppression mutation in slr1916, a putative esterase associated with redox regulation. The phenotype of the slr1916 knockout is very similar to that of the strain reported here and to that of the pmgA regulator knockout. These data demonstrate that, in Synechocystis 6803, there is strong selection against overexpression of the Pgr5-like protein. The pseudoreversion event in a gene involved in redox regulation suggests a connection of the Pgr5-like protein to this network.
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Bioethanol production from microalgae polysaccharides. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 2019; 64:627-644. [PMID: 31352666 DOI: 10.1007/s12223-019-00732-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 07/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The worldwide growing demand for energy permanently increases the pressure on industrial and scientific community to introduce new alternative biofuels on the global energy market. Besides the leading role of biodiesel and biogas, bioethanol receives more and more attention as first- and second-generation biofuel in the sustainable energy industry. Lately, microalgae (green algae and cyanobacteria) biomass has also remarkable potential as a feedstock for the third-generation biofuel production due to their high lipid and carbohydrate content. The third-generation bioethanol production technology can be divided into three major processing ways: (i) fermentation of pre-treated microalgae biomass, (ii) dark fermentation of reserved carbohydrates and (iii) direct "photo-fermentation" from carbon dioxide to bioethanol using light energy. All three technologies provide possible solutions, but from a practical point of view, traditional fermentation technology from microalgae biomass receives currently the most attention. This study mainly focusses on the latest advances in traditional fermentation processes including the steps of enhanced carbohydrate accumulation, biomass pre-treatment, starch and glycogen downstream processing and various fermentation approaches.
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Tschörtner J, Lai B, Krömer JO. Biophotovoltaics: Green Power Generation From Sunlight and Water. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:866. [PMID: 31114551 PMCID: PMC6503001 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Biophotovoltaics is a relatively new discipline in microbial fuel cell research. The basic idea is the conversion of light energy into electrical energy using photosynthetic microorganisms. The microbes will use their photosynthetic apparatus and the incoming light to split the water molecule. The generated protons and electrons are harvested using a bioelectrochemical system. The key challenge is the extraction of electrons from the microbial electron transport chains into a solid-state anode. On the cathode, a corresponding electrochemical counter reaction will consume the protons and electrons, e.g., through the oxygen reduction to water, or hydrogen formation. In this review, we are aiming to summarize the current state of the art and point out some limitations. We put a specific emphasis on cyanobacteria, as these microbes are considered future workhorses for photobiotechnology and are currently the most widely applied microbes in biophotovoltaics research. Current progress in biophotovoltaics is limited by very low current outputs of the devices while a lack of comparability and standardization of the experimental set-up hinders a systematic optimization of the systems. Nevertheless, the fundamental questions of redox homeostasis in photoautotrophs and the potential to directly harvest light energy from a highly efficient photosystem, rather than through oxidation of inefficiently produced biomass are highly relevant aspects of biophotovoltaics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jens O. Krömer
- Systems Biotechnology, Department of Solar Materials, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
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Steven B, Belnap J, Kuske CR. Chronic Physical Disturbance Substantially Alters the Response of Biological Soil Crusts to a Wetting Pulse, as Characterized by Metatranscriptomic Sequencing. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:2382. [PMID: 30349515 PMCID: PMC6186815 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are microbial communities that are a feature of arid surface soils worldwide. In drylands where precipitation is pulsed and ephemeral, the ability of biocrust microbiota to rapidly initiate metabolic activity is critical to their survival. Community gene expression was compared after a short duration (1 h) wetting pulse in both intact and soils disturbed by chronic foot trampling. Across the metatranscriptomes the majority of transcripts were cyanobacterial in origin, suggesting that cyanobacteria accounted for the bulk of the transcriptionally active cells. Chronic trampling substantially altered the functional profile of the metatranscriptomes, specifically resulting in a significant decrease in transcripts for nitrogen fixation. Soil depth (biocrust and below crust) was a relatively small factor in differentiating the metatranscriptomes, suggesting that the metabolically active bacteria were similar between shallow soil horizons. The dry samples were consistently enriched for hydrogenase genes, indicating that molecular hydrogen may serve as an energy source for the desiccated soil communities. The water pulse was associated with a restructuring of the metatranscriptome, particularly for the biocrusts. Biocrusts increased transcripts for photosynthesis and carbon fixation, suggesting a rapid resuscitation upon wetting. In contrast, the trampled surface soils showed a much smaller response to wetting, indicating that trampling altered the metabolic response of the community. Finally, several biogeochemical cycling genes in carbon and nitrogen cycling were assessed for their change in abundance due to wetting in the biocrusts. Different transcripts encoding the same gene product did not show a consensus response, with some more abundant in dry or wet biocrusts, highlighting the challenges in relating transcript abundance to biogeochemical cycling rates. These observations demonstrate that metatranscriptome sequencing was able to distinguish alterations in the function of arid soil microbial communities at two varying temporal scales, a long-term ecosystems disturbance through foot trampling, and a short term wetting pulse. Thus, community metatranscriptomes have the potential to inform studies on the response and resilience of biocrusts to various environmental perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blaire Steven
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Jayne Belnap
- Southwest Biological Science Center, United States Geological Survey, Moab, UT, United States
| | - Cheryl R Kuske
- Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, United States
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10
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Zavřel T, Očenášová P, Sinetova MA, Červený J. Determination of Storage (Starch/Glycogen) and Total Saccharides Content in Algae and Cyanobacteria by a Phenol-Sulfuric Acid Method. Bio Protoc 2018; 8:e2966. [PMID: 34395769 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.2966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2018] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
This is a protocol for quantitative determination of storage and total carbohydrates in algae and cyanobacteria. The protocol is simple, fast and sensitive and it requires only few standard chemicals. Great advantage of this protocol is that both storage and total saccharides can be determined in the cellular pellets that were already used for chlorophyll and carotenoids quantification. Since it is recommended to perform the pigments measurement in triplicates, each pigment analysis can generate samples for both total saccharide and glycogen/starch content quantification. The protocol was applied for quantification of both storage and total carbohydrates in cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142 and Cyanobacterium sp. IPPAS B-1200. It was also applied for estimation of storage polysaccharides in Galdieria (IPPAS P-500, IPPAS P-507, IPPAS P-508, IPPAS P-513), Cyanidium caldarium IPPAS P-510, in green algae Chlorella sp. IPPAS C-1 and C-1210, Parachlorella kessleri IPPAS C-9, Nannochloris sp. C-1509, Coelastrella sp. IPPAS H-626, Haematococcus sp. IPPAS H-629 and H-239, and in Eustigmatos sp. IPPAS H-242 and IPPAS C-70.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomáš Zavřel
- Department of Adaptive Biotechnologies, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Očenášová
- Department of Adaptive Biotechnologies, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Maria A Sinetova
- Laboratory of Intracellular Regulation, Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Jan Červený
- Department of Adaptive Biotechnologies, Global Change Research Institute, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Brno, Czech Republic
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Erstad SM, Sakuragi Y. Easy and Efficient Permeabilization of Cyanobacteria for in vivo Enzyme Assays Using B-PER. Bio Protoc 2018; 8:e2667. [PMID: 34179225 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.2667] [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: 09/25/2017] [Revised: 12/08/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic bacteria that thrive in diverse ecosystems and play major roles in the global carbon cycle. The abilities of cyanobacteria to fix atmospheric CO2 and to allocate the fixed carbons to chemicals and biofuels have attracted growing attentions as sustainable microbial cell factories. A better understanding of activities of enzymes involved in the central carbon metabolism might lead to increased product yields. Currently, cell-free lysates are widely used for the determination of intracellular enzyme activities. However, due to thick cell walls in cyanobacteria, lysis of cyanobacterial cells is inefficient and often laborious. The present protocol describes an easy and efficient method to permeabilize cyanobacterial cells, without lysing them, and direct usage of the permeabilized cells for the determination of metabolic enzyme activities in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Matthé Erstad
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Copenhagen Plant Science Center, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
| | - Yumiko Sakuragi
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Copenhagen Plant Science Center, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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