Reliable reference genes and abiotic stress marker genes in Klebsormidium nitens

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 18988
• Main Authors: Chatelain, Pauline, Blanchard, Cécile, Astier, Jeremy, Klinguer, Agnès, Wendehenne, David, Jeandroz, Sylvain, Rosnoblet, Claire
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 08.11.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/1647; 631/337; 631/449; Abiotic stress; Algae; Algorithms; Aquatic plants; Dehydration; Environmental stress; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes, Plant; Genomes; Heat; Heat shock; Humanities and Social Sciences; Klebsormidium; Life Sciences; multidisciplinary; Proteins; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Reference Standards; Salinity; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Streptophyta - genetics; Stress, Physiological - genetics
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-23783-9

Microalgae have recently emerged as a key research topic, especially as biological models. Among them, the green alga Klebsormidium nitens, thanks to its particular adaptation to environmental stresses, represents an interesting photosynthetic eukaryote for studying the transition stages leading to the colonization of terrestrial life. The tolerance to different stresses is manifested by changes in gene expression, which can be monitored by quantifying the amounts of transcripts by RT-qPCR. The identification of optimal reference genes for experiment normalization was therefore necessary. In this study, using four statistical algorithms followed by the RankAggreg package, we determined the best reference gene pairs suitable for normalizing RT-qPCR data in K. nitens in response to three abiotic stresses: high salinity, PEG-induced dehydration and heat shock. Based on these reference genes, we were able to identify marker genes in response to the three abiotic stresses in K. nitens .