Browsing by Author "Weinberger, Florian"

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    Spore release in Acrochaetium sp (Rhodophyta) is bacterially controlled
    (2007) Weinberger, Florian; Beltran, Jessica; Correa, Juan A.; Lion, Ulrich; Pohnert, Georg; Kumar, Naresh; Steinberg, Peter; Kloareg, Bernard; Potin, Philippe
    The facultative red algal epiphyte Acrochaetium sp. liberated spores preferentially and recruited more successfully in laboratory cultures when its host Gracilaria chilensis C. J. Bird, McLachlan et E. C. Oliveira was present. The same effect was also induced by cell-free medium from G. chilensis, suggesting it contained a molecular signal. Antibiotics prevented spore release in Acrochaetium sp., even when G. chilensis was present, suggesting a prokaryotic origin of the signal. Simultaneous application of N-butyl-homoserine-lactone (BHL) restored the spore-release capacity, which demonstrated that spore release was not directly inhibited by the antibiotics and indicated that bacterially generated N-acyl-homoserine-lactones (AHLs) regulate spore release. An involvement of AHL was further indicated by the fact that two different halofuranone inhibitors of AHL receptors also inhibited spore release when they were applied at relatively low concentrations. Of seven different AHLs tested, only BHL induced the effect. However, BHL was only active at relatively high concentrations (100 mu M), and it was not detected in spore-release-inducing medium of G. chilensis. Another water-soluble AHL or an AHL structure analog is therefore probably the active compound in G. chilensis cultures. The data presented demonstrate that life cycle completion in Acrochaetium sp. strongly depends on bacteria, which are not always present in sufficient numbers on the alga itself. Exogenous bacteria that are associated with G. chilensis or with other potential substrates may therefore trigger timely spore liberation in Acrochaetium sp., provided that the necessary concentration of AHL is reached. This first finding of AHL perception in a red alga confirms that AHL signalling is more widespread among eukaryotes than was thought until recently. However, spore release of a second red alga, Sahlingia subintegra (Rosenv.) Kornmann, was unaffected by AHL, and the reaction observed is therefore not universal.
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    The Rhodoexplorer Platform for Red Algal Genomics and Whole-Genome Assemblies for Several Gracilaria Species
    (2023) Lipinska, Agnieszka P.; Krueger-Hadfield, Stacy A.; Godfroy, Olivier; Dittami, Simon M.; Ayres-Ostrock, Ligia; Bonthond, Guido; Brillet-Gueguen, Loraine; Coelho, Susana; Corre, Erwan; Cossard, Guillaume; Destombe, Christophe; Epperlein, Paul; Faugeron, Sylvain; Ficko-Blean, Elizabeth; Beltran, Jessica; Lavaut, Emma; Le Bars, Arthur; Marchi, Fabiana; Mauger, Stephane; Michel, Gurvan; Potin, Philippe; Scornet, Delphine; Sotka, Erik E.; Weinberger, Florian; de Oliveira, Mariana Cabral; Guillemin, Marie-Laure; Plastino, Estela M.; Valero, Myriam
    Macroalgal (seaweed) genomic resources are generally lacking as compared with other eukaryotic taxa, and this is particularly true in the red algae (Rhodophyta). Understanding red algal genomes is critical to understanding eukaryotic evolution given that red algal genes are spread across eukaryotic lineages from secondary endosymbiosis and red algae diverged early in the Archaeplastids. The Gracilariales is a highly diverse and widely distributed order including species that can serve as ecosystem engineers in intertidal habitats and several notorious introduced species. The genus Gracilaria is cultivated worldwide, in part for its production of agar and other bioactive compounds with downstream pharmaceutical and industrial applications. This genus is also emerging as a model for algal evolutionary ecology. Here, we report new whole-genome assemblies for two species (Gracilaria chilensis and Gracilaria gracilis), a draft genome assembly of Gracilaria caudata, and genome annotation of the previously published Gracilaria vermiculophylla genome. To facilitate accessibility and comparative analysis, we integrated these data in a newly created web-based portal dedicated to red algal genomics (https://rhodoexplorer.sb-roscoff.fr). These genomes will provide a resource for understanding algal biology and, more broadly, eukaryotic evolution.