No abstract

Cactus pears are succulent plants of the Cactaceae family adapted to extremely arid, hot and cold environments, making them excellent models for the study of molecular mechanisms underlying abiotic stress tolerance. Herein, we report a directional cDNA library from 12-month-old cladodes of Opuntia streptacantha plants subjected to abiotic stresses. A total of 442 clones were sequenced, representing 329 cactus pear unigenes, classified into eleven functional categories. The most abundant EST (unigen 33) was characterized under abiotic stress. This cDNA of 905 bp encodes a SK(3)-type acidic dehydrin of 248 amino acids. The OpsDHN1 gene contains an intron inserted within the sequence encoding the S-motif. qRT-PCR analysis shows that the OpsDHN1 transcript is specifically accumulated in response to cold stress, and induced by abscisic acid. Over-expression of the OpsDHN1 gene in Arabidopsis thaliana leads to enhanced tolerance to freezing treatment, suggesting that OpsDHN1 participates in freezing stress responsiveness. Generation of the first EST collection for the characterization of cactus pear genes constitutes a useful platform for the understanding of molecular mechanisms of stress tolerance in Opuntia and other CAM plants.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Microalgae have the potential to accumulate triacylglycerols under different light spectra. In this work, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was grown under white (400-700 nm), red (650 nm), and green (550 nm) lights. According to our results, red light (650 nm) has a positive effect in the microalgae growth and chlorophyll concentration. About the lipid content, the control culture (white light-illuminated) reached a 4.4% of dry cell weight (dcw), whereas the culture grown at 550 nm showed an increase of 1.35-fold in the lipids accumulation (5.96% dcw). Interestingly, the most significant accumulation was found in the culture grown at 650 nm (14.78% dcw) which means 3.36-fold higher with respect to the white light-illuminated culture. The most abundant fatty acids found in lipid extracts obtained from the cultures under different light wavelength were palmitic (C16: 0), oleic (C18: 1n9), stearidonic (C18: 4), and linoleic (C18: 2), which are useful in the biodiesel production. Changes in gene expression in response to different wavelength illuminations were assessed; however, an in-depth analysis of a larger number of genes involved in lipid biosynthesis is necessary to fully explain the highest accumulation of lipids in the culture grown under red light. This approach will be useful to find a sustainable source of lipids for biodiesel production. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1404-1411, 2016.

pH variations influence the delivery of essential nutrients and CO2 solubility, which impact algae metabolism. In this study the microalgal growth and chlorophyll, lipid, and fatty acids content; along with the expression of some genes implicated in the biosynthesis of lipids were examined in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii subjected to pH values of 7.0, 7.8, and 8.5. At pH 7.8 an increase in cell growth was observed with a significant accumulation of chlorophyll (1.75‐fold) when compared with growth at pH 7, while at pH 8.5 a sharp decrease in both parameters was observed when compared with the other pH values tested. Lipid content increased 3.0 (14.81% of dry cell weight, dcw) and 2.3 times (11.43% dcw) at pH 7.8 and 8.5, respectively, when compared with the experiment at pH 7 (4.97% dcw). The compositions of major fatty acids in the strains growing at pH 7.0, 7.8, or 8.5 were 25.7, 28.0, and 32.1% for palmitic acid; 17.3, 14.7, and 25.7% for oleic acid; and 9.8, 12.1, and 4.6% for linoleic acid; respectively. qRT‐PCR analysis showed that the transcripts of ß‐carboxyltransferase, Acyl carrier protein 1, acyl‐ACP thiolase 1, acyl‐sn‐glycerol‐3‐phosphate acyltransferase, and diacylglycerol acyl transferase isoform 3 were significantly induced at pH 7.8 when compared with the other two pH conditions. These results indicate that the induction of genes implicated in the early and final steps of lipid biosynthesis contributes to their accumulation in the stationary phase. Our research suggests that a pH of 7.8 might be ideal to maximize growth and lipid accumulation.

No abstract