SeaWall: Understanding environmentally induced cell wall remodelling in the green seaweed Ulva sp.

SeaWall：了解环境诱导的绿色海藻石莼属细胞壁重塑。

• 批准号: 520755331
• 负责人: Dr. Klaus Herburger, Ph.D.
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Biowissenschaften (IfBi)
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/520755331?language=en
• 关键词: SeaWall; Understanding; environmentally; induced; cell

Seaweeds such as the worldwide occurring green macroalgae Ulva sp. (Chlorophyta) face harsh environmental conditions in their coastal habitats, yet they produce tremendous biomass accumulations known as “green tides”. The bulk material in these blooms are multi-layered cell walls, which are a polysaccharide-rich matrix that surrounds every cell and constitute up to ~60% of the algal dry matter. Cell walls are the only physical barrier between the sensitive algal protoplast and the environment. This makes them key elements in stress survival, for example, by increasing the water holding capacity of cells or by assisting a controlled shrinkage and expansion during desiccation-rehydration cycles. However, it is largely unknown how the Ulva cell wall composition and architecture respond to external abiotic factors such as water scarcity. This is a fundamental gap in knowledge, because it limits our understanding of how seaweeds cope which stress in coastal habitats and sustain their high ecological significance. To better understand Ulva’s ecological success, we will combine eco-physiological monitoring with state-of-the-art bioimaging and chemical biology tools to investigate how environmental factors shape the composition, remodelling and architecture of the Ulva cell wall. First, we will collect various Ulva thalli from the field and establish stable cultures. Next, we will construct an environmental chamber allowing us to expose Ulva thalli to defined water, temperature, and light stresses typical for coastal habitats. Finally, we will implement imaging and chemical biology tools to visualize and quantify chemical and structural changes of the Ulva cell wall composition due to changing environmental conditions in vivo and in situ. We anticipate that our interdisciplinary approach will allow us to uncover unknown features of seaweed cell wall reorganisation (e.g. enzymatic remodelling of cell wall components), helping us to better understand how seaweeds cope with stress. This will provide crucial information for future seaweed farming efforts that aim to maximize biomass production and provide a foundation for unravelling the molecular basis of cell wall remodelling in seaweeds.

海藻，例如世界范围内存在的大型绿色藻类（绿藻），其沿海栖息地面临着恶劣的环境条件，但它们会产生巨大的生物量积累，称为“绿潮”，这些藻类中的大部分物质是多层细胞壁。细胞壁是一种富含多糖的基质，包围着每个细胞，占藻类干物质的 60%，是敏感藻类原生质体与环境之间的唯一物理屏障。这使得它们成为应激生存的关键要素，例如，通过增加细胞的持水能力或在干燥-补水循环期间协助受控的收缩和膨胀。然而，石莼细胞壁的组成和结构如何响应仍不清楚。这是一个根本性的知识空白，因为它限制了我们对海藻如何应对沿海栖息地的压力并维持其高度生态意义的理解。监控使用最先进的生物成像和化学生物学工具来研究环境因素如何影响石莼细胞壁的组成、重塑和结构。首先，我们将从现场收集各种石莼菌体并建立稳定的培养物。将建造一个环境室，使我们能够将石莼菌体暴露在沿海栖息地典型的特定水、温度和光胁迫下。最后，我们将使用成像和化学生物学工具来可视化和量化石莼细胞壁组成的化学和结构变化。改变体内环境条件我们预计，我们的跨学科方法将使我们能够揭示海藻细胞壁重组的未知特征（例如细胞壁成分的酶促重塑），帮助我们更好地了解海藻如何应对压力，这将为未来提供重要信息。海藻养殖的努力旨在最大限度地提高生物量产量，并为揭示海藻细胞壁重塑的分子基础奠定基础。