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C31 - Photosynthetic Stress Response in Antarctic Algae Chlamydomonas priscuii
Here, we are interested in how these organisms alter gene expression to support survivability of the cell and keep their photosynthetic mechanisms running over a time continuum of stress. Analyzing the RNA will provide additional insight into which genes are expressed, and how they vary at different light and salt levels over a long time period.
C31 - Photosynthetic Stress Response in Antarctic Algae Chlamydomonas priscuii
Mentor: Rachael Morgan-Kiss, Ph.D.
The algae of the McMurdo Dry Valley (MDV) lakes in Antarctica present a unique opportunity to analyze the variety of responses to photosynthetic stress. These lakes are low in nutrients, perennially covered in ice, and exposed to varying light intensities throughout the year. As such, extremophilic organisms like Chlamydomonas priscui (isolated from Lake Bonney of the MDV Lakes) may offer alternative solutions to problems created in the photosynthetic apparatuses by fluctuations in light and salt levels as a result of global climate change. Here, we are interested in how these organisms alter gene expression to support survivability of the cell and keep their photosynthetic mechanisms running over a time continuum of stress. Analyzing the RNA will provide additional insight into which genes are expressed, and how they vary at different light and salt levels over a long time period. Samples were collected from continuous cultures at several timepoints and cryopreserved. The continuous cultures were conducted in photobioreactors (FMT150, Photon Systems Instruments) and measurements were taken continuously, every few minutes, or days to verify stress levels in the algae. Once we have validated our RNA and cDNA procedures with practice samples, RNA will be extracted from the preserved samples, converting it to cDNA, then probed with qPCR targeting a suite of key photosynthetic and stress genes. We will also compare the results of C. priscui to Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a similar mesophilic strain, so that we can understand how stress adaptation impacts the response to these environmental conditions. We hypothesize that expression of key photosynthetic genes will exhibit species-specific temporal patterns, paralleling results from photobiology measurements All the data related presents interesting insight regarding the responses that extremophilic organisms like C. priscui may take to increase their photosynthetic output and sustain their survivability despite significant environmental shifts due to climate change.