Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets
Metal ions have been at the centre of pivotal points in the evolution of extant life. Oxygen-evolving photosynthesis, which irrevocably reshaped the geochemistry and biology of our planet, has an absolute requirement for metal ions to harvest light, split water and transfer electrons. Access to abun...
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Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1855085 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1855085 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 |
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1855085 2023-07-30T04:07:04+02:00 Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets Blaby-Haas, Crysten E. 2023-06-02 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1855085 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1855085 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1855085 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1855085 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 doi:10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2023 ftosti https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 2023-07-11T10:11:08Z Metal ions have been at the centre of pivotal points in the evolution of extant life. Oxygen-evolving photosynthesis, which irrevocably reshaped the geochemistry and biology of our planet, has an absolute requirement for metal ions to harvest light, split water and transfer electrons. Access to abundant oxygen then led to the propagation of organisms capable of oxidative metabolism, a process that is also dependent on metal ions for electron transfer and reduction of molecular oxygen. Because of the essential links between metal ions and the proteins that require them to function, as well as changes in metal bioavailability through time, metals have shaped the trajectories that evolution can take. Iron typically steals this show, but with access to whole-genome sequences and transcriptomes, the imprint that zinc has made on biology is coming into focus. Writing in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Ye and colleagues present new insights into the complex connections between zinc bioavailability, adaptation of algae to the polar oceans and the evolution of regulatory networks. By combining field and laboratory-based analyses, the authors suggest that expanded families of zinc-binding proteins have enabled the green alga Microglena sp. YARC to flourish in the harsh conditions of the polar Southern Ocean (Fig. 1). As the waters where this alga occurs are known for their enrichment of zinc, the authors further propose that availability of this metal ion was directly responsible for successful microalgal colonization of polar oceans. To test this hypothesis, the authors compare meta-transcriptomes collected from pole-to-pole and find positive correlations between higher copy numbers for transcripts encoding putative zinc-binding proteins, higher latitudes, lower surface temperatures and dissolved zinc. Other/Unknown Material Southern Ocean SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Southern Ocean Nature Ecology & Evolution 6 7 851 852 |
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SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Blaby-Haas, Crysten E. Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
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59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
description |
Metal ions have been at the centre of pivotal points in the evolution of extant life. Oxygen-evolving photosynthesis, which irrevocably reshaped the geochemistry and biology of our planet, has an absolute requirement for metal ions to harvest light, split water and transfer electrons. Access to abundant oxygen then led to the propagation of organisms capable of oxidative metabolism, a process that is also dependent on metal ions for electron transfer and reduction of molecular oxygen. Because of the essential links between metal ions and the proteins that require them to function, as well as changes in metal bioavailability through time, metals have shaped the trajectories that evolution can take. Iron typically steals this show, but with access to whole-genome sequences and transcriptomes, the imprint that zinc has made on biology is coming into focus. Writing in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Ye and colleagues present new insights into the complex connections between zinc bioavailability, adaptation of algae to the polar oceans and the evolution of regulatory networks. By combining field and laboratory-based analyses, the authors suggest that expanded families of zinc-binding proteins have enabled the green alga Microglena sp. YARC to flourish in the harsh conditions of the polar Southern Ocean (Fig. 1). As the waters where this alga occurs are known for their enrichment of zinc, the authors further propose that availability of this metal ion was directly responsible for successful microalgal colonization of polar oceans. To test this hypothesis, the authors compare meta-transcriptomes collected from pole-to-pole and find positive correlations between higher copy numbers for transcripts encoding putative zinc-binding proteins, higher latitudes, lower surface temperatures and dissolved zinc. |
author |
Blaby-Haas, Crysten E. |
author_facet |
Blaby-Haas, Crysten E. |
author_sort |
Blaby-Haas, Crysten E. |
title |
Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
title_short |
Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
title_full |
Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
title_fullStr |
Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
title_sort |
polar algae flaunt their zinc assets |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1855085 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1855085 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1855085 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1855085 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 doi:10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01721-2 |
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Nature Ecology & Evolution |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
851 |
op_container_end_page |
852 |
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1772820148574486528 |