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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Maria Mittag

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Guest Editor

Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
Interests: microalgae; algal-microbial interactions; circadian clocks; photoreceptors; temperature sensing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Algae, including microscopic microalgae and macroalgal kelps, are important for carbon dioxide fixation and are at the bottom of food webs. Their fitness depends on abiotic factors such as light, temperature and nutrients. In addition, interactions with other organisms strongly influence their growth rates in a positive or negative manner (e.g., mutualism, antagonism). In recent years, we gained knowledge about how biotic and abiotic factors are perceived by sophisticated algal receptors and the signaling cascade events that are initiated thereafter. For example, novel types of photoreceptors have been found in algae that are absent in land plants. Despite extensive studies on selected model algae under laboratory conditions, we are only starting to understand how algae react under natural conditions. This Special Issue of Plants aims to provide an overview of our current knowledge on molecular receptors, signaling components and pathways that are triggered once algae perceive information about abiotic factors or interact with other (micro-)organisms.

Prof. Dr. Maria Mittag
Guest Editor

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Keywords

algal–microbial interactions
algal viruses
Ca²⁺ signaling
freshwater algae
light, nutrients
marine algae
photoreceptors
temperature
temperature sensing
terrestrial algae

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 4327 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Channels of Evolution: Unveiling Evolutionary Patterns in Diatom Ca²⁺ Signalling

by Eleanor A. Murphy, Friedrich H. Kleiner, Katherine E. Helliwell and Glen L. Wheeler

Plants 2024, 13(9), 1207; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants13091207 - 26 Apr 2024

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Abstract

Diatoms are important primary producers in marine and freshwater environments, but little is known about the signalling mechanisms they use to detect changes in their environment. All eukaryotic organisms use Ca²⁺ signalling to perceive and respond to environmental stimuli, employing a range of Ca²⁺-permeable ion channels to facilitate the movement of Ca²⁺ across cellular membranes. We investigated the distribution of different families of Ca²⁺ channels in diatom genomes, with comparison to other members of the stramenopile lineage. The four-domain voltage-gated Ca²⁺ channels (Ca_v) are present in some centric diatoms but almost completely absent in pennate diatoms, whereas single-domain voltage-gated EukCatA channels were found in all diatoms. Glutamate receptors (GLRs) and pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs) also appear to have been lost in several pennate species. Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels are present in all diatoms, but have not undergone the significant expansion seen in brown algae. All diatom species analysed lacked the mitochondrial uniporter (MCU), a highly conserved channel type found in many eukaryotes, including several stramenopile lineages. These results highlight the unique Ca²⁺-signalling toolkit of diatoms and indicate that evolutionary gains or losses of different Ca²⁺ channels may contribute to differences in cellular-signalling mechanisms between species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Signaling Events in Algae in Response to Abiotic Factors and Biotic Interactions)

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Review

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23 pages, 1712 KiB

Open AccessReview

Exchange or Eliminate: The Secrets of Algal-Bacterial Relationships

by Bertille Burgunter-Delamare, Prateek Shetty, Trang Vuong and Maria Mittag

Plants 2024, 13(6), 829; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/plants13060829 - 13 Mar 2024

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Abstract

Algae and bacteria have co-occurred and coevolved in common habitats for hundreds of millions of years, fostering specific associations and interactions such as mutualism or antagonism. These interactions are shaped through exchanges of primary and secondary metabolites provided by one of the partners. Metabolites, such as N-sources or vitamins, can be beneficial to the partner and they may be assimilated through chemotaxis towards the partner producing these metabolites. Other metabolites, especially many natural products synthesized by bacteria, can act as toxins and damage or kill the partner. For instance, the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii establishes a mutualistic partnership with a Methylobacterium, in stark contrast to its antagonistic relationship with the toxin producing Pseudomonas protegens. In other cases, as with a coccolithophore haptophyte alga and a Phaeobacter bacterium, the same alga and bacterium can even be subject to both processes, depending on the secreted bacterial and algal metabolites. Some bacteria also influence algal morphology by producing specific metabolites and micronutrients, as is observed in some macroalgae. This review focuses on algal-bacterial interactions with micro- and macroalgal models from marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments and summarizes the advances in the field. It also highlights the effects of temperature on these interactions as it is presently known. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Signaling Events in Algae in Response to Abiotic Factors and Biotic Interactions)

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