Sulfur is an essential macronutrient for the growth of all photosynthetic organisms and plays important roles in different metabolic pathways.However,sulfur metabolism and its related research on macroalgae with important ecological value is rather limited.In this study,marine ecological valued macroalga Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis was used to study the general physiological responses and transcriptome profiling under the sulfate deficiency.The relative growth rate of algae under sulfate deficiency was statistically significantly lower than that of control after 6 days.However,no significant differences were observed in the pigments content and Fv/Fm value,indicating that the photosynthesis was not obviously affected under the sulfate deficiency.Furthermore,the significantly increased soluble protein and carbohydrate contents,and indistinctively differentially expressed sulfate transporter/permease(ST)and ATP sulfurylase(ATPS)genes suggesting that G.lemaneiformis cells did not use sulfur from internal protein and carbohydrate pools but utilize stored sulfur from vacuole to satisfy their nutritional requirements during the sulfate deficiency.Transcriptome data showed that most annotated differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were down-regulated under the sulfate deficiency,including a large proportion of genes involved in the pathway of sulfur metabolism.Therefore,it was concluded that the pathway of sulfur metabolism was suppressed under the sulfate deficiency in G.lemaneiformis.The results and analysis in this study provide a comprehensive understanding for the physiological and molecular response of G.lemaneiformis to sulfate deficiency.
Three polyamines(PAs)(spermidine(Spd),spermine(Spm),and putrescine(Put))were used as growth regulators to the marine macroalgae Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis and to female gametophyte and reproductive tissues(cystocarps were constructed),which led to early maturation of cystocarps and spore release.Laboratory cultivation revealed that exogenous PA application accelerated the development of cystocarps,and the mean sporeling growth rate was 20%–50%/d during the initial week of cultivation.The spore count(SC),survival rate(SR),and germination rate(GR)of G.lemaneiformis showed different responses to PA(10-6 mol/L and 10-3 mol/L)treatments under different temperatures(18,26,and 34℃),light intensities(30,60,and 90μmol photons/(m^(2)·s)),salinities(25,30,and 35),and nutrient levels(25꞉2.5,50꞉5.0,and 75꞉7.5μmol/L NH4Cl꞉K2HPO4),and the optimal conditions were 26℃,light intensity of 60μmol/(m^(2)·s),salinity of 35,and nutrient level of 50꞉5.0μmol/L NH4Cl꞉K2HPO4.Under the optimum conditions,the SC per cystocarp increased by 82.38%,and the spore SR and GR increased by 33.07%and 46.44%,respectively.Each experiment lasted for 7 days,with the highest SC on Day 4 and plateauing on Day 7.The results indicate that PAs could promote the early maturation,spore release,survival,and germination of G.lemaneiformis under laboratory conditions.
The transcriptomes of three different parts of the fertile tetrasporophyte of Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis,including tip(T),middle(M),and subjacent(S)parts,with a gradual tetrasporangium maturity were analyzed and compared to identify the genes involved in the process of tetrasporogenesis.The number of differentially expressed genes(DEGs)for the Gple-S versus Gple-T comparison was 10296,and the numbers of DEGs for the Gple-S versus Gple-M and Gple-T versus Gple-M comparisons were 7435 and 1337,respectively.Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analyses were performed,and the results showed the enrichment of 132 KEGG pathways(corrected P<0.05).A total of 58 DEGs related to meiosis were screened and blasted against 18 meiosis-related genes(dmc1,mlh1,mnd1,msh4,msh2,msh6,mre11,pds5,pms1,rad21,rad50,rad51,smc1,smc2,smc4,smc5,smc6,and spo11),including four meiosis-specific genes.The transcriptome comparison indicated that in the T part,the meiosis,ribosome,and RNA transport-related genes were mostly up-regulated compared with those in the other two groups.In the M part,the genes related to ribosomes and the endoplasmic reticulum were also up-regulated compared with those in the lower part.Finally,in the S part,the genes associated with photosynthesis were mostly up-regulated,which might be helpful to the recovery from spore formation and release.
