Browsing by Author "Mota, Catarina Figueiredo da"
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- Molecular mechanisms of disiccation tolerance in FucusPublication . Mota, Catarina Figueiredo da; Pearson, Gareth; Serrão, EsterIntertidal algae (brown, red and green) are three understudied and independent multicellular lineages possessing related intolerant and desiccation tolerant species, making them good models for desiccation tolerance research. Recent focus on distribution of Fucus vesiculosus under climate change led us to determine the upper thermal limits of this brown algae, using physiological indicators and gene expression responses to describe the induction and thermal characteristics of the heat-shock response in diverse populations. Ambient temperatures were poor predictors of the heat-stress experienced by intertidal algae, instead the microhabitats created by the algal canopy modulated the local thermal environment and influenced the stress response. Surprisingly, in the hottest microhabitat algae appeared to be protected from thermal stress by fast and intense desiccation. Proteomic research in brown algae has recently been facilitated by genomic resources, complete genome sequencing of model species and large-scale transcriptomic resources from Fucus species, and by technical advances in work on organisms with similar interfering compounds. We tested and optimized a protein extraction protocol suitable for intertidal Fucus algae and used it to investigate differential expression of proteins in response to desiccation, both by conventional 2DE and by DIGE. No significant changes of the protein profiles were detected after desiccation or rehydration, suggesting the importance of constitutive tolerance mechanisms, minimizing the metabolic cost of gene expression, while the desiccated state provides protection against heat stress. Studies of distinct field environments (desiccation-prone or –protected), of sequential emersion stress exposure and of laboratory desiccation under controlled conditions, all failed to identify robust protein expression changes attributable to desiccation tolerance. We characterized the first extractable proteome of F. vesiculosus by LC-MS/MS identification and annotation against brown algal protein databases, with considerable success despite limited functional annotation in brown algae proteins, and the presence of multiple proteins in some spots.