title: Transcriptional coordination of physiological responses in Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP1779 under light/dark cycles.
abstract: Nannochloropsis oceanica CCMP1779 is a marine unicellular stramenopile and an emerging reference species for basic research on oleogenic microalgae with biotechnological relevance. We investigated its physiology and transcriptome under light/dark cycles. We observed oscillations in lipid content and a predominance of cell division in the first half of the dark phase. Globally, more than 60% of the genes cycled in N. oceanica CCMP1779, with gene expression peaking at different times of the day. Interestingly, the phase of expression of genes involved in certain biological processes was conserved across photosynthetic lineages. Furthermore, in agreement with our physiological studies we found the processes of lipid metabolism and cell division enriched in cycling genes. For example, there was tight coordination of genes involved in the lower part of glycolysis, fatty acid synthesis and lipid production at dawn preceding lipid accumulation during the day. Our results suggest that diel lipid storage plays a key role for N. oceanica CCMP1779 growth under natural conditions making this alga a promising model to gain a basic mechanistic understanding of triacylglycerol production in photosynthetic cells. Our data will help the formulation of new hypotheses on the role of cyclic gene expression in cell growth and metabolism in Nannochloropsis.
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poliner
authors.affiliation: Genetics Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Panchy
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Linsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.affiliation: Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Guangxi
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lapinsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Blair
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bullard
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zienkiewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benning
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Shin-Han
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Shiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
authors.forename: Eva M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Farré
mesh_terms: D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A / Q000378:metabolism; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000235:genetics; D002952:Citric Acid Cycle / Q000502:physiology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006019:Glycolysis; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics; D017440:Photoperiod; D058009:Stramenopiles / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D000105:Acetyl Coenzyme A; D002244:Carbon
keywords: Nannochloropsis oceanica; cell cycle; diel; lipids; metabolism; transcriptome