title: Metabolomic Profiling of 13 Diatom Cultures and Their Adaptation to Nitrate-Limited Growth Conditions.
abstract: Diatoms are very efficient in their use of available nutrients. Changes in nutrient availability influence the metabolism and the composition of the cell constituents. Since diatoms are valuable candidates to search for oil producing algae, measurements of diatom-produced compounds can be very useful for biotechnology. In order to explore the diversity of lipophilic compounds produced by diatoms, we describe the results from an analysis of 13 diatom strains. With the help of a lipidomics platform, which combines an UPLC separation with a high resolution/high mass accuracy mass spectrometer, we were able to measure and annotate 142 lipid species. Out of these, 32 were present in all 13 cultures. The annotated lipid features belong to six classes of glycerolipids. The data obtained from the measurements were used to create lipidomic profiles. The metabolomic overview of analysed cultures is amended by the measurement of 96 polar compounds. To further increase the lipid diversity and gain insight into metabolomic adaptation to nitrogen limitation, diatoms were cultured in media with high and low concentrations of nitrate. The growth in nitrogen-deplete or nitrogen-replete conditions affects metabolite accumulation but has no major influence on the species-specific metabolomic profile. Thus, the genetic component is stronger in determining metabolic patterns than nitrogen levels. Therefore, lipid profiling is powerful enough to be used as a molecular fingerprint for diatom cultures. Furthermore, an increase of triacylglycerol (TAG) accumulation was observed in low nitrogen samples, although this trend was not consistent across all 13 diatom strains. Overall, our results expand the current understanding of metabolomics diversity in diatoms and confirm their potential value for producing lipids for either bioenergy or as feed stock.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Mariusz A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bromke
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Jamal S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sabir
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Fahad A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Alfassi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Nahid H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Hajarah
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saleh A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kabli
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Abdulrahman L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Al-Malki
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712, United States of America.
authors.forename: Matt P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Ashworth
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Michaël
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Méret
authors.affiliation: University of Texas at Austin, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, 78712, United States of America; Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476, Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Lothar
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Willmitzer
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D017377:Diatoms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D055432:Metabolomics; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D014280:Triglycerides; D009584:Nitrogen