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Elucidating the molecular mechanism of the inhibitory effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on Microcystis aeruginosa

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Abstract

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), an eco-friendly polyphenol, has a strong inhibitory effect on the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. In order to reveal the molecular mechanism of algal inhibition of plant polyphenols, quantitative proteome analysis based on iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification) was applied to investigate EGCG-induced proteomic changes in M. aeruginosa. Following treatment with EGCG for 48 h, the total protein content was compared with that of untreated cells, and 88 differentially expressed proteins were identified, of which 30 were upregulated and 58 were downregulated. Proteins involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis, carbon and nitrate assimilation and cell division were among the most downregulated, which resulted in growth suppression. By contrast, anti-oxidative proteins and molecular chaperones, such as superoxide dismutase, glutaredoxin, and heat shock proteins, were distinctly upregulated. Eighteen potentially crucial proteins were selected for assessment of transcription by real-time quantitative PCR, which confirmed the results of proteomic experiment. In addition, immunoblotting confirmed downregulation of three representative proteins, magnesium-protoporphyrin IX monomethyl ester [oxidative] cyclase AcsF, glutamine synthetase GlnN, and metalloprotease FtsH, following EGCG treatment, consistent with the results of iTRAQ quantitation experiment. It is speculated that chlorophyll biosynthesis, carbon and nitrate assimilation, and cell division are the main inhibition targets of EGCG.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31300644), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. KJQN201424), and the State Key Laboratory Program of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 2014SKL009).

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Author notes

  1. Jin Wang and Chen Dai contributed equally to this work and are considered as co-first authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Teaching Center of Biology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Jin Wang, Chen Dai, Xiaoqian Zhang & Yaping Lu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Yaping Lu

Authors
  1. Jin Wang
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  2. Chen Dai
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Correspondence to Yaping Lu.

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Wang, J., Dai, C., Zhang, X. et al. Elucidating the molecular mechanism of the inhibitory effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on Microcystis aeruginosa. J Appl Phycol 30, 1747–1758 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1370-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1370-5

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