Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Cyclic and pseudo-cyclic electron pathways play antagonistic roles during nitrogen deficiency in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

View ORCID ProfileOusmane Dao, View ORCID ProfileAdrien Burlacot, View ORCID ProfileMarie Huleux, View ORCID ProfilePascaline Auroy, View ORCID ProfileGilles Peltier, View ORCID ProfileYonghua Li-Beisson
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.18.524499
Ousmane Dao
1Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Aix Marseille, BIAM, CEA Cadarache, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Ousmane Dao
  • For correspondence: yonghua.li@cea.fr ousmanedao17@yahoo.fr
Adrien Burlacot
2Department of Plant Biology, The Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA, 94305 USA
3Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Adrien Burlacot
Marie Huleux
1Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Aix Marseille, BIAM, CEA Cadarache, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Marie Huleux
Pascaline Auroy
1Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Aix Marseille, BIAM, CEA Cadarache, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Pascaline Auroy
Gilles Peltier
1Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Aix Marseille, BIAM, CEA Cadarache, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Gilles Peltier
Yonghua Li-Beisson
1Aix Marseille Univ, CEA, CNRS, Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology of Aix Marseille, BIAM, CEA Cadarache, Saint Paul-Lez-Durance, France
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Yonghua Li-Beisson
  • For correspondence: yonghua.li@cea.fr ousmanedao17@yahoo.fr
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) deficiency is a frequently encountered situation that constrains global biomass productivity. In response to N deficiency, cell division stops and photosynthetic electron transfer are downregulated, while carbon storage is enhanced. However, the molecular mechanism downregulating photosynthesis during N deficiency and its relationship with carbon storage are not fully understood. The Proton Gradient Regulator-like 1 (PGRL1)-involved in cyclic electron flow (CEF) and Flavodiiron proteins involved in pseudo-(CEF) are major players in the acclimation of photosynthesis. To determine the role of PGRL1 or FLV in photosynthesis under N deficiency, we measured photosynthetic electron transfer, oxygen gas exchange and carbon storage in the knockout of Chlamydomonas pgrl1 and flvB mutants. Under N deficiency, pgrl1 maintains higher net photosynthesis and O2 photoreduction rates, while flvB shows similar responses compared to control strains. The amount of cytochrome b6f was maintained at a higher level in pgrl1. The photosynthetic activity of pgrl1 flvB double mutants decreases in response to N deficiency similar to the control strains. Furthermore, the triacylglycerol content of pgrl1 was twice higher than the controls under N deficiency. Taken together, our results suggest that in the absence of PGRL1, FLV-mediated O2 photoreduction through PCEF maintains net photosynthesis at a high level, resulting in increased triacylglycerol biosynthesis. This study reveals that PGRL1 and FLV play antagonistic roles during N deficiency. It further illustrates how nutrient status can affect the regulation of photosynthetic energy production in relation to carbon storage and provides new strategies for improving lipid productivity in algae.

Significance statement Nitrogen (N) deficiency, an often-encountered phenomenon in nature, triggers growth arrest and massive lipid accumulation in microalgae. The downregulation of photosynthesis is necessary to ensure cell viability. We demonstrate that a well-conserved protein in chlorophytes, the Proton Gradient Regulator-like 1 (PGRL1) is a key (down) regulator of photosynthesis. In its absence, cells exhibited sustained photosynthesis and over-accumulated lipids thanks to the Flavodiiron (FLV) protein. We propose that both PGRL1 and FLV, by having antagonistic roles in N deficiency, manage the redox landscape, carbon storage and biomass production. Our work revolves around the current paradigm of photosynthesis regulation during N deficiency and provides a new framework for improving lipid accumulation in microalgae for biotechnological purposes.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Competing Interest Statement: There are no conflicts of interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted January 20, 2023.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Cyclic and pseudo-cyclic electron pathways play antagonistic roles during nitrogen deficiency in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Cyclic and pseudo-cyclic electron pathways play antagonistic roles during nitrogen deficiency in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Ousmane Dao, Adrien Burlacot, Marie Huleux, Pascaline Auroy, Gilles Peltier, Yonghua Li-Beisson
bioRxiv 2023.01.18.524499; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.18.524499
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Cyclic and pseudo-cyclic electron pathways play antagonistic roles during nitrogen deficiency in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Ousmane Dao, Adrien Burlacot, Marie Huleux, Pascaline Auroy, Gilles Peltier, Yonghua Li-Beisson
bioRxiv 2023.01.18.524499; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.18.524499

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Plant Biology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4232)
  • Biochemistry (9128)
  • Bioengineering (6774)
  • Bioinformatics (23989)
  • Biophysics (12117)
  • Cancer Biology (9523)
  • Cell Biology (13772)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7627)
  • Ecology (11686)
  • Epidemiology (2066)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15504)
  • Genetics (10638)
  • Genomics (14322)
  • Immunology (9477)
  • Microbiology (22832)
  • Molecular Biology (9089)
  • Neuroscience (48956)
  • Paleontology (355)
  • Pathology (1480)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2568)
  • Physiology (3844)
  • Plant Biology (8327)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1471)
  • Synthetic Biology (2296)
  • Systems Biology (6186)
  • Zoology (1300)