Potential for Heightened Sulfur-Metabolic Capacity in Coastal Subtropical Microalgae

• Published in: iScience Vol. 11; pp. 450 - 465
• Main Authors: Nelson, David R., Chaiboonchoe, Amphun, Fu, Weiqi, Hazzouri, Khaled M., Huang, Ziyuan, Jaiswal, Ashish, Daakour, Sarah, Mystikou, Alexandra, Arnoux, Marc, Sultana, Mehar, Salehi-Ashtiani, Kourosh
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 25.01.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Algology; Genomics; Global Nutrient Cycle; Metabolomics; Global Nutrient Cycle; Metabolomics; Genomics; Algology
• ISSN: 2589-0042; 2589-0042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.12.035

The activities of microalgae support nutrient cycling that helps to sustain aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Most microalgal species, especially those from the subtropics, are genomically uncharacterized. Here we report the isolation and genomic characterization of 22 microalgal species from subtropical coastal regions belonging to multiple clades and three from temperate areas. Halotolerant strains including Halamphora, Dunaliella, Nannochloris, and Chloroidium comprised the majority of these isolates. The subtropical-based microalgae contained arrays of methyltransferase, pyridine nucleotide-disulfide oxidoreductase, abhydrolase, cystathionine synthase, and small-molecule transporter domains present at high relative abundance. We found that genes for sulfate transport, sulfotransferase, and glutathione S-transferase activities were especially abundant in subtropical, coastal microalgal species and halophytic species in general. Our metabolomics analyses indicate lineage- and habitat-specific sets of biomolecules implicated in niche-specific biological processes. This work effectively expands the collection of available microalgal genomes by ∼50%, and the generated resources provide perspectives for studying halophyte adaptive traits. [Display omitted] •We have sequenced 20+ microallgal genomes from the subtropics•This new collection increases the available microalgal genomes by ∼50%•Metabolomics indicates lineage- and habitat-specificity of biomolecules•Coastal, subtropical species of microalgae show expansion of sulfur-metabolic genes Global Nutrient Cycle; Algology; Genomics; Metabolomics