RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Systematic characterization of gene function in a photosynthetic organism
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.12.11.420950
DO 10.1101/2020.12.11.420950
A1 Vilarrasa-Blasi, Josep
A1 Fauser, Friedrich
A1 Onishi, Masayuki
A1 Ramundo, Silvia
A1 Patena, Weronika
A1 Millican, Matthew
A1 Osaki, Jacqueline
A1 Philp, Charlotte
A1 Nemeth, Matthew
A1 Salomé, Patrice A.
A1 Li, Xiaobo
A1 Wakao, Setsuko
A1 Kim, Rick G.
A1 Kaye, Yuval
A1 Grossman, Arthur R.
A1 Niyogi, Krishna K.
A1 Merchant, Sabeeha
A1 Cutler, Sean
A1 Walter, Peter
A1 Dinneny, José R.
A1 Jonikas, Martin C.
A1 Jinkerson, Robert E.
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/12/11/2020.12.11.420950.abstract
AB Photosynthetic organisms are essential for human life, yet most of their genes remain functionally uncharacterized. Single-celled photosynthetic model systems have the potential to accelerate our ability to connect genes to functions. Here, using a barcoded mutant library of the model eukaryotic alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, we determined the phenotypes of more than 58,000 mutants under more than 121 different environmental growth conditions and chemical treatments. 78% of genes are represented by at least one mutant that showed a phenotype, providing clues to the functions of thousands of genes. Mutant phenotypic profiles allow us to place known and previously uncharacterized genes into functional pathways such as DNA repair, photosynthesis, the CO2-concentrating mechanism, and ciliogenesis. We illustrate the value of this resource by validating novel phenotypes and gene functions, including the discovery of three novel components of a defense pathway that counteracts actin cytoskeleton inhibitors released by other organisms. The data also inform phenotype discovery in land plants: mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana genes exhibit similar phenotypes to those we observed in their Chlamydomonas homologs. We anticipate that this resource will guide the functional characterization of genes across the tree of life.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.