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Possible involvement of extracellular polymeric substrates of Antarctic cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain SO-36 in adaptation to harsh environments

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Abstract

Cyanobacteria are some of the primary producers in extremely cold biospheres such as the Arctic, Antarctic, and vast ice sheets. Many genera of cyanobacteria are identified from these harsh environments, but their specific mechanisms for cold adaptation are not fully understood. Nostoc sp. strain SO-36 is a cyanobacterium isolated in Antarctica more than 30 years ago and regarded as a psychrotolelant species. To determine whether the strain is psychrotolelant or psychrophilic, it was first grown at 30 °C and 10 °C. The cells grew exponentially at 30 °C, but their growth stopped at 10 °C, indicating that the strain is only psychrotolerant. Microscopic analysis revealed that the morphology of the cells grown at 30 °C was filamentous and differentiated heterocysts, which are specialized cells for gaseous nitrogen fixation under nitrogen-deprived conditions, indicating that the strain can grow diazotrophically. The cells grown at 10 °C have a smaller size, shortened filament length and decreased chlorophyll content per cell. At 10 °C, the cells are aggregated with extracellular polymeric substrates (EPSs), which is a common mechanism to protect cells from ultraviolet light. These results imply that segmentation into short filaments was induced by photodamage at low temperatures. To fully understand the adaptation mechanisms of Nostoc sp. strain SO-36 for low-temperature conditions, next-generation sequencing analyses were conducted. Complete genome sequence of the strain revealed that it has one main chromosome of approximately 6.8 Mbp with 4 plasmids, including 6855 coding sequences, 48 tRNA genes, 4 copies of rRNA operons, and 5 CRISPR regions. Putative genes for EPS biosynthesis were found to be conserved in Nostocaceae regardless of their habitat. These results provide basic information to understand the adaptation mechanisms at low temperatures, and the strain can be a model organism to analyze adaptation to extreme environments.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18H03941 and 20K06683 for KA, 20K05724 for TS; 21K05338 for YK; Research Institute of Green Science and Technology Fund for Research Project Support (2021RIGST-21B02) for YK and Joint Research Program for Faculties of Science and Agriculture for KA from National University Corporation Shizuoka University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Devi B. Effendi & Koichiro Awai

  2. School of Biological Science and Technology, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kakuma, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan

    Toshio Sakamoto

  3. Faculty of Education, Shimane University, Matsue, Shimane, 690-8504, Japan

    Shuji Ohtani

  4. Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, Shizuoka University, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Koichiro Awai

  5. Research Institute of Electronics, Shizuoka University, Johoku-ku, Hamamatsu, 432-8561, Japan

    Koichiro Awai

  6. Research Institute of Green Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8529, Japan

    Yu Kanesaki

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  1. Devi B. Effendi
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Effendi, D.B., Sakamoto, T., Ohtani, S. et al. Possible involvement of extracellular polymeric substrates of Antarctic cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain SO-36 in adaptation to harsh environments. J Plant Res 135, 771–784 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-022-01411-x

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