Rapidity of Genomic Adaptations to Prasinovirus Infection in a Marine Microalga

Prasinoviruses are large dsDNA viruses commonly found in aquatic systems worldwide, where they can infect and lyse unicellular prasinophyte algae such as Ostreococcus. Host susceptibility is virus strain-specific, but resistance of susceptible Ostreococcus tauri strains to a virulent virus arises frequently. In clonal resistant lines that re-grow, viruses are usually present for many generations, and genes clustered on chromosome 19 show physical rearrangements and differential expression. Here, we investigated changes occurring during the first two weeks after inoculation of the prasinovirus OtV5. By serial dilutions of cultures at the time of inoculation, we estimated the frequency of resistant cells arising in virus-challenged O. tauri cultures to be 10^-3⁻10^-4 of the inoculated population. Re-growing resistant cells were detectable by flow cytometry 3 days post-inoculation (dpi), visible re-greening of cultures occurred by 6 dpi, and karyotypic changes were visually detectable at 8 dpi. Resistant cell lines showed a modified spectrum of host-virus specificities and much lower levels of OtV5 adsorption.

Molecular characterization, expression and function analysis of a five-domain Kazal-type serine proteinase inhibitor from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata

Serine proteinase inhibitors represent an expanding superfamily of endogenous inhibitors that are regulate proteolytic events and involved in a variety of physiological and immunological processes. A five-domain Kazal-type serine proteinase inhibitor (poKSPI) was identified and characterized from pearl oyster Pinctada fucata based on expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis. The full-length cDNA was 737 bp with an open reading frame (ORF) 660 bp encoding a 219 amino acid protein a theoretical molecular weight (Mw) of 23.3 kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 8.40. A putative signal peptide of 19 amino acid residues and five tandem Kazal domains were identified. Four of the Kazal domains had the highly conserved motif sequences with six cysteine residues responsible for the formation of disulfide bridges. The deduced amino acid sequence of the poKSPI shared high homology with KSPIs from Hirudo medicinalis. The poKSPI mRNA could be detected in all examined tissues, the expression level of the poKSPI mRNA was the highest in mantle and gonad, while the lowest in haemocyte and intestine. After LPS challenge, the expression level of the poKSPI mRNA in digestive gland was significantly up-regulated at 4 h post-challenge and reached the peak at 12 h post-challenge, which was 4.23-fold higher than control group; the expression level of the poKSPI mRNA in gill was also significantly up-regulated at 8 and 12 h post-challenge, which were 4.48 and 2.26-fold higher than control group. After Vibrio alginolyticus challenge, the expression levels of the poKSPI mRNA in digestive gland were significantly up-regulated at 8, 12, 48 and 72 h post-challenge, which were 1.70, 1.79, 3.89 and 5.69-fold higher than control group, respectively; the expression level of the poKSPI mRNA in gill was significantly up-regulated at 24 h post-challenge, which was 5.30-fold higher than control group. The recombinant poKSPI protein could inhibit chymotrypsin and trypsin activities in dose-dependent manner, when the ratios of rpoKSPI to chymotrypsin and trypsin were 36:1 and 72:1, respectively, the proteinase activities of chymotrypsin and trypsin could be almost completely inhibited, but the rpoKSPI could not inhibit subtilisin.

Hemato-immunological responses of Heros severus fed diets supplemented with different levels of Dunaliella salina

In this study, the effects of oral administration of different levels of Dunaliella salina (a natural β-carotene source) on growth parameters, immunological and hematological indices, as well as skin carotenoids, of Heros severus were investigated. One hundred and eighty H. severus weighing 27 ± 0.5 g were divided randomly into four groups in triplicate (15 fish in each replicate). Groups 1-4 received food supplemented with 0, 50, 100 and 200 mg kg⁻¹ D. salina powder, respectively. After 6 weeks, the growth parameters were compared among the groups. Blood samples were taken from each group, and hematological parameters including red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC), hematocrit (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb) and immunological indices (serum and mucus lysozyme and bactericidal activity, resistance against Aeromonas hydrophila infection) as well as carotenoid content of skin were evaluated. Results showed that some growth indices increased significantly in fish fed with 100 and 200 mg kg⁻¹ D. salina-supplemented food (P < 0.05). Although serum lysozyme activity was increased in fish fed with food supplemented with 100 and 200 mg kg⁻¹ D. salina (P < 0.05), no significant change was observed in serum and mucus bactericidal activity and mucus lysozyme activity among the groups (P > 0.05). Most of the hematological parameters such as WBC, RBC, PCV and Hb significantly increased in D. salina-treated fish compared with controls (P < 0.05). Mortality induced after challenge with A. hydrophila in 200 mg kg⁻¹ D. salina-treated fish was 36.67 %, which significantly decreased compared with control (P < 0.05). Skin carotenoid content in all D. salina treatments was statistically higher than that of control (P < 0.05). Conclusively, D. salina as a food additive can affect positively the growth, immunological and hematological parameters of H. severus.

Energy status and immune system alterations in Elliptio complanata after ingestion of cyanobacteria Anabaena flos-aquae

Cyanobacteria have often been described as nutritionally poor for herbivorous organisms. To gain additional information on the potential impacts of invertebrates feeding on cyanobacteria, we fed Elliptio complanata mussels with two types of algae: Anabaena flos-aquae (cyanobacteria) and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata (green algae). Physiological parameters were examined at the energy status, immune system and oxidative stress levels. Energy status was examined by following the rate of electron transport activity in mitochondria (a measure of cellular energy expense) and lipid/sugar stores in the visceral mass. The cyanobacteria were not actively producing toxins. Based on the digestive gland index, the mussels fed equally on either regime. However, the energy status in mussels fed A. flos-aquae revealed that the total sugar was lower in the digestive gland, whereas mitochondrial electron transport activity (MET), once corrected against the digestive gland somatic index, showed increased energy expenses. Acetylcholinesterase activity and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were also higher in mussels fed with A. flos-aquae compared with mussels fed with P. subcapitata. LPO was correlated by mitochondrial activity in both the digestive gland and gills, suggesting that oxidative stress resulted from metabolic respiration. Immunocompetence (phagocytic activity, natural killer cell-like activity, haemocyte count and viability) and humoral level of lysozyme were not affected in mussels by the algae or cyanobacteria regime. Moreover, the xenobiotic conjugating enzyme, glutathione S-transferase, hemoprotein oxidase and vitellogenin-like proteins were not affected in mussel organs via ingestion of A. flos-aquae. Our study suggests that ingestion of cyanobacteria leads to increased energy expenses, oxidative stress and increased acetylcholine turnover in mussels.

Effects of dietary Bacillus subtilis, Tetraselmis chuii, and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, singularly or in combination, on the immune response and disease resistance of sea bream (Sparus aurata L.)

Combined or individual effects of two microalgae (Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Tetraselmis chuii) and Bacillus subtilis on immune response, gene expression, and survival to challenge with Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida of gilthead sea bream were investigated. To test the capacity of B. subtilis to grow employing the microalgae polysaccharides as energy and carbon source, an in vitro assay was defined, and demonstrated that the digestion product of microalgae, mainly P. tricornutum, supported the growth of B. subtilis much better than glucose. For the in vivo study, fish were distributed in six equal groups (each of two replicates) and received one of the following experimental diets: C) control, non-supplemented diet; T) T. chuii 100 g kg(-1); P) P. tricornutum 100 g kg(-1); B) B. subtilis (10(7) cfu g(-1)); BT) B. subtilis (10(7) cfu g(-1))+T. chuii (100 g kg(-1)); and BP) B. subtilis (10(7) cfu g(-1))+P. tricornutum (100 g kg(-1)). The complement activity, serum IgM level, respiratory burst, phagocytic activity, and expression of seven selected immune-related genes in head-kidney were evaluated following two and four weeks of treatment. At the end of the feeding trial, fish were challenged by intraperitoneal injection of LD(50) concentration of P. damselae subsp. piscicida and mortality was recorded. This is the first study testing the immunomodulatory capacity of the microalgae used in the present work. The dietary applications of B. subtilis, T. chuii, and P. tricornutum, singly or in combination, may exhibit up-regulating effects on gilthead sea bream immune parameters. P. tricornutum demonstrated the highest immunostimulant activity. There were no significant differences between combination feeding and feeding ingredients separately. Our results demonstrated the potential of microalgae as immunostimulants for fish, although further studies regarding the implications and effects of a stimulated immune system against pathogens, especially the protective capacity against specific diseases, are necessary.

Rare indoor allergens

Rare allergens in indoor environment are insufficiently recognized. The sources are diverse: they include animal, namely acaride, insect and mammalian allergens or vegetable allergens. The prevalence of sensitization to rare allergens depends on geographical and climatological characteristics, on people's habits and overall on dwelling specificities. Sensitizations to new rare allergens should be confirmed by documented clinical history, by immunological tests, and by the beneficial effects of avoidance. A review of rare and/or new allergens likely to be present in indoor environment is presented.

Innate immune reactions stimulated by a lipopolysaccharide-like component of the alga Prototheca (strain 289)

We report on the influence of an LPS-like molecule (aLPS) from the pathogenic alga, Prototheca (strain 289) on insect and murine innate immune reactions. Insect innate reactions to infection include nodule formation, a process of entrapping bacterial cells in aggregates of hemocytes. We recorded eicosanoid-dependent, dose-related nodulation reactions to aLPS in hornworms (Manduca sexta). The insect reaction was attenuated by pre-incubating the aLPS with polymyxin-B. Conversely, the murine macrophages reacted to challenge with Escherichia coli LPS by secreting cytokines, but did not react to aLPS. We infer that, while highly conserved with respect to intracellular mechanisms of interaction, insect and mammalian immune surveillance systems differ in recognition of LPS molecular types.

Immunolocalization of integrin-like proteins in Arabidopsis and Chara

Integrins are a large family of integral plasma membrane proteins that link the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton in animal cells. As a first step in determining if integrin-like proteins are involved in gravitropic signal transduction pathways, we have used a polyclonal antibody against the chicken beta1 integrin subunit in western blot analyses and immunofluorescence microscopy to gain information on the size and location of these proteins in plants. Several different polypeptides are recognized by the anti-integrin antibody in roots and shoots of Arabidopsis and in the internodal cells and rhizoids of Chara. These cross-reactive polypeptides are associated with cellular membranes, a feature which is consistent with the known location of integrins in animal systems. In immunofluorescence studies of Arabidopsis roots, a strong signal was obtained from labeling integrin-like proteins in root cap cells, and there was little or no immunolabel in other regions of the root tip. While the antibody stained throughout Chara rhizoids, the highest density of immunolabel was at the tip. Thus, in both Arabidopsis roots and Chara rhizoids, the sites of gravity perception/transduction appear to be enriched in integrin-like molecules.

Plasma membrane isolation from freshwater and salt-tolerant species of Chara: antibody cross-reactions and phosphohydrolase activities

Plasma membranes were isolated using the aqueous polymer two-phase partition method from the algae Chara corallina and Chara longifolia, algae which differ in their ability to grow in saline environments. Enrichment of plasma membrane and depletion of tonoplast relative to the microsomal fraction was monitored using phosphohydrolase assays and cross-reactions to antibodies raised against higher plant transporters. Antibodies to the vacuolar ATPase and pyrophosphatase cross-reacted with epitopes in the microsomal fraction, but showed little affinity for the plasma membrane fraction. Pyrophosphatase activity also declined in the plasma membrane fraction relative to the microsomal fraction. The V-type H(+)-ATPase activity, sensitive to nitrate or bafilomycin, was low in both fractions, though the cross-reaction to the antibody was reduced in the plasma membrane fraction. By contrast, the antibody recognition of a P-type H(+)-ATPase amino acid sequence from Arabidopsis did not occur strongly in the anticipated 90-100 kDa range. While there was enhanced recognition of a polypeptide at around 140 kDa in the plasma membrane fraction, salt treatment of Chara longifolia resulted in plasma membrane fractions with reduced amounts of this epitope, but no change in vanadate-sensitive ATPase activity, suggesting that it does not represent the only P-type ATPase. Microsomal membranes from salt-adapted C. longifolia have higher reactivity with the antibody to the tonoplast ATPase.

Algal-CAMs: isoforms of a cell adhesion molecule in embryos of the alga Volvox with homology to Drosophila fasciclin I

Proof that plants possess homologs of animal adhesion proteins is lacking. In this paper we describe the generation of monoclonal antibodies that interfere with cell-cell contacts in the 4-cell embryo of the multicellular alga Volvox carteri, resulting in a hole between the cells. The number of following cell divisions is reduced and the cell division pattern is altered drastically. Antibodies given at a later stage of embryogenesis specifically inhibit inversion of the embryo, a morphogenetic movement that turns the embryo inside out. Immunofluorescence microscopy localizes the antigen (Algal-CAM) at cell contact sites of the developing embryo. Algal-CAM is a protein with a three-domain structure: an N-terminal extensin-like domain characteristic for plant cell walls and two repeats with homology to fasciclin I, a cell adhesion molecule involved in the neuronal development of Drosophila. Alternatively spliced variants of Algal-CAM mRNA were detected that are produced under developmental control. Thus, Algal-CAM is the first plant homolog of animal adhesion proteins.

Monoclonal antibody CRA against a fraction of actin from cress roots recognizes its antigen in different plant species

The globular cytoskeletal protein G-actin was isolated from the crude extract of soluble proteins from cress (Lepidium sativum L.) roots. The crude extract was loaded onto a deoxyribonuclease (DNase) I-affinity chromatography column and subsequently eluted with EGTA and urea. The fraction eluted with 2 mM EGTA was characterized by molecular weight determination, binding to DNase I, isoelectric focusing, and immunoblotting. These samples clearly showed one main 43,000 dalton protein with a pI value between 5.5 and 5.7. This polypeptide is an isoform of actin. It was stained using commercially available monoclonal and polyclonal actin antibodies. We used the EGTA fraction as plant actin antigen to produce a monoclonal cress root actin antibody. Antibodies (CRA) showed specific labelings on Western immunoblots against a 43,000 dalton protein of the cress root crude extract. Under the fluorescence microscope CRA detected actin in fixed statenchyma cells of cress roots. This antibody also demonstrated intact bundles of actin filaments in unfixed internodal cells of Chara australis. On the basis of these results we concluded that we had obtained a new monoclonal antibody (CRA) against actin from cress roots. We also found a cress root actin-binding protein antibody (CRAB) showing a filament staining pattern in internodal cells of Chara.

Preparation of allergen extracts from the green alga Chlorella. Studies of growth variation, batch variation, and partial purification

Allergen extracts were prepared from different raw materials of three strains of the unicellular green alga Chlorella (C. vulgaris, C. homosphaera and C. saccharophila). Growth variation, batch variation and composition of partially purified extracts were studied by analyzing total protein and carbohydrate content, protein and IgE-binding patterns and allergenic potency. Chlorella allergens were produced in the same proportions in early and late exponential growth phases but appeared partly degraded in the stationary phase. Uniform growth and extraction from Chlorella cells in the late exponential phase were demonstrated. Partially purified extracts from cells in late exponential phase contained 50% protein of the dry weight compared to 20% in crude extracts. The carbohydrate content was 20-30% of the dry weight of both crude and purified extracts. The allergenic potency of the purified extracts was 150-340% of the crude extracts, as assayed by RAST inhibition. The purified C. vulgaris extract showed a reduced IgE binding compared to crude extracts, while C. homosphaera and C. saccharophila extracts exhibited consistent IgE binding and are therefore suitable for in vivo and in vitro studies of allergenic properties of Chlorella.

A novel glycosphingolipid that may participate in embryo inversion in Volvox carteri

Mouse monoclonal antibody 4-I-244 detects a developmentally regulated antigen in embryos of Volvox carteri and inhibits specifically the morphogenetic process of inversion (the process by which the embryo turns inside out). Antigen 4-I-244 was chemically characterized as a complex phytosphingolipid containing the neutral sugars xylose, galactose, and glucose as well as inositol and phosphate.

[Immunofluorescent study of the basic chromosomal protein set of green algae and Euglena]

Using antisera to fractions H1, H2a, H3 and H4 of the calf thymus histones, a comparative immunofluorescent investigation of these proteins in the nuclei of Chlamydomonas reinhardii, Haematococcus pluvialis, Dunaliella salina and Euglena gracilis was carried out. It has been shown that according to the immunofluorescent test, the nuclei of these algae contain proteins close to fractions H2a, H3 and H4 of the calf thymus histones. H1 fraction in these algae is either absent or can be considered as a protein immunochemically non-related to H1 fraction of the calf thymus histone. For quantitative evaluation (in units of the immunological distance) of the difference between histones of the algae and of the calf thymus in situ by indirect immunofluorescence, it was suggested to use the ultimate dilutions of antisera to histones. It was shown that the ultimate dilutions were correlated with titres of antisera in the reaction of microcomplement fixation. Such an approach and the data obtained are of interest for studying into the evolution of nucleosome histones in unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes.

[Experimental role of the unicellular algae Prototheca and Chlorella (Chlorellaceae) in anti-cancer immunogenesis (murine BP8 sarcoma)]

Bacteria and Yeasts are able to induce, when inoculated into laboratory rodents, a general stimulation of defences by an immune process. We could estimate that unicellular algae would induce the same phenomenon because the chemical compounds of their walls are related to those of the precedings microorganisms specially to bacteria. Indeed, two Chlorellaceae, Prototheca segbwema and Chlorella pyrenoidosa are respectively protecting 78% and 82% CH3 mice against the sarcoma BP8 grafting.