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Domestication of marine microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica to freshwater medium and the physiological responses

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Abstract

Marine microalga Nannochl oropsis oceanica LAMB0001 were domesticated (~730 generations, ~two days each) to adapt freshwater BG11 medium. A number of freshwater medium adapted colonyderived strains were obtained. The strains were verified phylogenetically to be N. oceanica LAMB0001 based on the 18S ribosomal RNA gene. Freshwater-medium adapted strain (FA1) grew faster in the BG11 medium prepared with freshwater than wild-type N. oceanica grew in f/2 medium prepared with seawater. We assumed that (1) the expression patterns of the genes that expressed differentially between FA1 and the wild-type N. oceanica exposing to the BG11 medium (WT-F) have been reprogrammed; (2) the physiological processes in which these genes involved have been modified; and (3) a Gene Ontology (GO) term or a KEGG pathway enriched by DEGs between FA1 and WT-F has been up- or down-regulated if it was enriched simultaneously by up- or down-regulated DEGs between FA1 and WT-F, respectively. Under these assumptions, we found that FA1 reprogrammed the expression patterns of a set of genes that involved in cell adhesion, membrane and membrane integrity, material transportation, cell movement, and cellular signaling network. These changes in cellular functions and metabolic pathways indicate that the microalga modified its gene expression pattern in a wide function range and at a high regulation rank in order to adapt to the freshwater medium. It is feasible to domesticate marine microalgae to a freshwater habitat, which may aid to modify their cultivation performances.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Li Guo, Sijie Liang, Zhongyi Zhang, Hang Liu & Guanpin Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Li Guo, Sijie Liang, Zhongyi Zhang, Hang Liu & Guanpin Yang

  3. Institutes of Evolution and Marine Biodiversity, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Guanpin Yang

  4. College of Agriculture and Resources and Environment, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Songwen Wang

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  1. Li Guo
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  2. Sijie Liang
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  3. Zhongyi Zhang
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  4. Hang Liu
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  5. Songwen Wang
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  6. Guanpin Yang
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Correspondence to Songwen Wang or Guanpin Yang.

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Supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 201762017)

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Guo, L., Liang, S., Zhang, Z. et al. Domestication of marine microalga Nannochloropsis oceanica to freshwater medium and the physiological responses. J. Ocean. Limnol. 37, 1353–1362 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-019-8202-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-019-8202-1

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