title: iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis of a toxigenic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella and its non-toxic mutant.
abstract: Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are a group of potent neurotoxic alkaloids produced by cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates. The PST biosynthesis gene cluster and several toxin-related proteins have been unveiled in cyanobacteria, yet little is known about dinoflagellates. Here, we compared the protein profiles of a toxin-producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella (ACHK-T) and its non-toxic mutant (ACHK-NT), and characterized differentially displayed proteins using a combination of the iTRAQ-based proteomic approach and the transcriptomic database. Totally 3488 proteins were identified from A. catenella, and proteins involved in carbohydrate, amino acid and energy metabolism were the most abundant. Among them, 185 proteins were differentially displayed: proteins involved in amino acid biosynthesis, protein and carbohydrate metabolism and bioluminescence were more abundant in ACHK-T, while proteins participating in photosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, and the processes occurring in peroxisome displayed higher abundances in ACHK-NT. Seven toxin-related proteins were identified but they varied insignificantly between the two strains. Different carbon and energy utilization strategies were potentially related to the toxin producing ability, and the regulation mechanism of PST biosynthesis was more complex in dinoflagellates. Our study provides the first comprehensive dataset on the dinoflagellate proteome and lays the groundwork for future proteomic study.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shu-Fei
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhang-Xian
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Da-Zhi
authors.initials: DZ
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; D020543:Proteome
keywords: Alexandrium catenella; Dinoflagellate; Microbiology; Paralytic shellfish toxin; Quantitative proteomics; iTRAQ