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Increase in peroxisome number and the gene expression of putative glyoxysomal enzymes in Chlamydomonas cells supplemented with acetate

Journal of Plant Research volume 128, pages 177–185 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

We cultured Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cells in a minimal culture medium supplemented with various concentrations of acetate, fatty acids, ethanol, fatty alcohols, or sucrose. The presence of acetate (0.5 or 1.0 %, w/v) was advantageous for cell growth. To determine whether peroxisomes are involved in fatty acid and fatty alcohol metabolism, we investigated the dynamics of peroxisomes, including changes in their number and size, in the presence of acetate, ethanol, and sucrose. The total volume of peroxisomes increased when cells were grown with acetate, but did not change when cells were grown with ethanol or sucrose. We analyzed cell growth on minimal culture medium supplemented with various fatty acids (carbon chain length ranging from one to ten) to investigate which fatty acids are metabolized by C. reinhardtii. Among them, acetate caused the greatest increase in growth when added to minimal culture media. We analyzed the transcript levels of genes encoding putative glyoxysomal enzymes. The transcript levels of genes encoding malate synthase, malate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, and citrate synthase increased when Chlamydomonas cells were grown on minimal culture medium supplemented with acetate. Our results suggest that Chlamydomonas peroxisomes are involved in acetate metabolism via the glyoxylate cycle.

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Abbreviations

ACO:

Aconitase

ACT:

Actin

CAT:

Catalase

CS:

Citrate synthase

EM:

Electron microscopy

ICL:

Isocitrate lyase

MDH:

Malate dehydrogenase

MS:

Malate synthase

PTS:

Peroxisomal targeting signal

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Grant for Promotion of Niigata University Research Projects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science, Niigata University, 8050 Ikarashi, Ninochou, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan

    Yasuko Hayashi & Mariko Watanabe

  2. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Niigata University, 8050 Ikarashi, Ninochou, Niigata, 950-2181, Japan

    Yasuko Hayashi, Nagisa Sato & Akiko Shinozaki

Authors
  1. Yasuko Hayashi
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  2. Nagisa Sato
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  3. Akiko Shinozaki
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  4. Mariko Watanabe
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Correspondence to Yasuko Hayashi.

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Hayashi, Y., Sato, N., Shinozaki, A. et al. Increase in peroxisome number and the gene expression of putative glyoxysomal enzymes in Chlamydomonas cells supplemented with acetate. J Plant Res 128, 177–185 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-014-0681-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-014-0681-8

Keywords

  • Chlamydomonas
  • Electron microscopy
  • Fatty acid metabolism
  • Glyoxylate cycle
  • Glyoxysome
  • Microbody