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Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic...
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Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Response to Abiotic Stress and Climate Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 15851

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Koji Mikami

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Integrative Studies of Plant and Animal Production, School of Food Industrial Sciences, Miyagi University, 2-2-1 Hatatate, Taihaku-ku, Sendai 982-0215, Japan
Interests: seaweed; bryophyte; abiotic stress; development; morphogenesis; gene expression; phosphoinositide signalling; fatty acid metabolism; stress tolerance; stress memory; molecular breeding
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Algae living in the hydrosphere are usually exposed to changes in environmental conditions such as abiotic stresses. Thus, acclimation and acquisition of tolerance to these stresses are indispensable for their sustainable survival. Recent omics analyses represent the primary importance of stress-inducible and repressive expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis and metabolism of intracellular components in adaptive response to abiotic stresses in algae. In addition, physiological research has indicated that transition from growth to reproductive phases is sometimes promoted by abiotic stresses, which promote both sexual and asexual reproductive processes. These are usually expressed as changes in lifecycle generation, also known as lifecycle tradeoff. However, the relationship between stress-inducible gene expression and reproductive responses is mostly unknown to date. 

This Special Issue highlights novel findings that significantly contribute to the development of our understanding of how abiotic stress-inducible reproduction is regulated at physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. Thus, we intend to collect high-quality research articles, short communications, and review articles that address significant research questions related to reproductive responses including the lifecycle tradeoff under various kinds of abiotic stress conditions. Physiological and molecular biological studies, including different omics approaches, on reproductive strategies behind various cellular and metabolic reprogramming are within the scope of this Special Issue. 

Prof. Dr. Koji Mikami
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • abiotic stress
  • stress response
  • reproduction
  • lifecycle tradeoff
  • gene expression
  • metabolite
  • omics
  • microalga
  • seaweed

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 213 KiB  
Editorial
Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions
by Koji Mikami
Plants 2022, 11(4), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11040525 - 15 Feb 2022
Viewed by 1589
Abstract
The intertidal and subtidal zones are characterized by daily and seasonal fluctuations in environmental conditions [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions)

Research

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14 pages, 2105 KiB  
Article
Different Growth and Sporulation Responses to Temperature Gradient among Obligate Apomictic Strains of Ulva prolifera
by Yoichi Sato, Yutaro Kinoshita, Miho Mogamiya, Eri Inomata, Masakazu Hoshino and Masanori Hiraoka
Plants 2021, 10(11), 2256; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112256 - 22 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2745
Abstract
The green macroalga Ulva prolifera has a number of variants, some of which are asexual (independent from sexual variants). Although it has been harvested for food, the yield is decreasing. To meet market demand, developing elite cultivars is required. The present study investigated [...] Read more.
The green macroalga Ulva prolifera has a number of variants, some of which are asexual (independent from sexual variants). Although it has been harvested for food, the yield is decreasing. To meet market demand, developing elite cultivars is required. The present study investigated the genetic stability of asexual variants, genotype (hsp90 gene sequences) and phenotype variations across a temperature gradient (10–30 °C) in an apomictic population. Asexual variants were collected from six localities in Japan and were isolated as an unialgal strain. The hsp90 gene sequences of six strains were different and each strain included multiple distinct alleles, suggesting that the strains were diploid and heterozygous. The responses of growth and sporulation versus temperature differed among strains. Differences in thermosensitivity among strains could be interpreted as the result of evolution and processes of adaptation to site-specific environmental conditions. Although carbon content did not differ among strains and cultivation temperatures, nitrogen content tended to increase at higher temperatures and there were differences among strains. A wide variety of asexual variants stably reproducing clonally would be advantageous in selecting elite cultivars for long-term cultivation. Using asexual variants as available resources for elite cultivars provides potential support for increasing the productivity of U. prolifera. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions)
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15 pages, 4599 KiB  
Article
Heat-Stress Responses Differ among Species from Different ‘Bangia’ Clades of Bangiales (Rhodophyta)
by Ho Viet Khoa, Puja Kumari, Hiroko Uchida, Akio Murakami, Satoshi Shimada and Koji Mikami
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1733; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081733 - 22 Aug 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2388
Abstract
The red alga ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1, a ‘Bangia’ 2 clade member, responds to heat stress via accelerated asexual reproduction and acquires thermotolerance based on heat-stress memory. However, whether these strategies are specific to ‘Bangia’ 2, especially ‘ [...] Read more.
The red alga ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1, a ‘Bangia’ 2 clade member, responds to heat stress via accelerated asexual reproduction and acquires thermotolerance based on heat-stress memory. However, whether these strategies are specific to ‘Bangia’ 2, especially ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1, or whether they are employed by all ‘Bangia’ species is currently unknown. Here, we examined the heat-stress responses of ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS2, a newly identified ‘Bangia’ clade 3 member, and Bangia atropurpurea. Intrinsic thermotolerance differed among species: Whereas ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1 survived at 30 °C for 7 days, ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS2 and B. atropurpurea did not, with B. atropurpurea showing the highest heat sensitivity. Under sublethal heat stress, the release of asexual spores was highly repressed in ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS2 and completely repressed in B. atropurpurea, whereas it was enhanced in ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1. ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS2 failed to acquire heat-stress tolerance under sublethal heat-stress conditions, whereas the acquisition of heat tolerance by priming with sublethal high temperatures was observed in both B. atropurpurea and ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1. Finally, unlike ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1, neither ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS2 nor B. atropurpurea acquired heat-stress memory. These findings provide insights into the diverse heat-stress response strategies among species from different clades of ‘Bangia’. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions)
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12 pages, 1544 KiB  
Article
Vegetative Reproduction Is More Advantageous Than Sexual Reproduction in a Canopy-Forming Clonal Macroalga under Ocean Warming Accompanied by Oligotrophication and Intensive Herbivory
by Hikaru Endo, Toru Sugie, Yukiko Yonemori, Yuki Nishikido, Hikari Moriyama, Ryusei Ito and Suguru Okunishi
Plants 2021, 10(8), 1522; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10081522 - 26 Jul 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2432
Abstract
Ocean warming and the associated changes in fish herbivory have caused polarward distributional shifts in the majority of canopy-forming macroalgae that are dominant in temperate Japan, but have little effect on the alga Sargassum fusiforme. The regeneration ability of new shoots from [...] Read more.
Ocean warming and the associated changes in fish herbivory have caused polarward distributional shifts in the majority of canopy-forming macroalgae that are dominant in temperate Japan, but have little effect on the alga Sargassum fusiforme. The regeneration ability of new shoots from holdfasts in this species may be advantageous in highly grazed environments. However, little is known about the factors regulating this in Sargassum species. Moreover, holdfast tolerance to high-temperature and nutrient-poor conditions during summer has rarely been evaluated. In the present study, S. fusiforme holdfast responses to the combined effects of temperature and nutrient availability were compared to those of sexually reproduced propagules. The combined effects of holdfast fragmentation and irradiance on regeneration were also evaluated. Propagule growth rate values changed from positive to negative under the combination of elevated temperature (20 °C–30 °C) and reduced nutrient availability, whereas holdfasts exhibited a positive growth rate even at 32 °C in nutrient-poor conditions. The regeneration rate increased with holdfast fragmentation (1 mm segments), but was unaffected by decreased irradiance. These results suggest that S. fusiforme holdfasts have a higher tolerance to high-temperature and nutrient-poor conditions during summer than propagules, and regenerate new shoots even if 1-mm segments remain in shaded refuges for fish herbivory avoidance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions)
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8 pages, 813 KiB  
Communication
The Absence of Hydrodynamic Stress Promotes Acquisition of Freezing Tolerance and Freeze-Dependent Asexual Reproduction in the Red Alga ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1
by Yoshiki Omuro, Ho Viet Khoa and Koji Mikami
Plants 2021, 10(3), 465; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030465 - 1 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2061
Abstract
The ebb tide causes calm stress to intertidal seaweeds in tide pools; however, little is known about their physiological responses to loss of water movement. This study investigated the effects of static culture of ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1 at 15 °C on [...] Read more.
The ebb tide causes calm stress to intertidal seaweeds in tide pools; however, little is known about their physiological responses to loss of water movement. This study investigated the effects of static culture of ‘Bangia’ sp. ESS1 at 15 °C on tolerance to temperature fluctuation. The freezing of aer-obically cultured thalli at −80 °C for 10 min resulted in the death of most cells. By contrast, statically cultured thalli acquired freezing tolerance that increased cell viability after freeze–thaw cycles, although they did not achieve thermotolerance that would enable survival at the lethal temperature of 32 °C. Consistently, the unsaturation of membrane fatty acids occurred in static culture. Notably, static culture of thalli enhanced the release of asexual spores after freeze-and-thaw treatment. We conclude that calm stress triggers both the acquisition of freezing tolerance and the promotion of freezing-dependent asexual reproduction. These findings provide novel insights into stress toler-ance and the regulation of asexual reproduction in Bangiales. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions)
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Review

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11 pages, 2247 KiB  
Review
Massive Ulva Green Tides Caused by Inhibition of Biomass Allocation to Sporulation
by Masanori Hiraoka
Plants 2021, 10(11), 2482; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10112482 - 17 Nov 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3406
Abstract
The green seaweed Ulva spp. constitute major primary producers in marine coastal ecosystems. Some Ulva populations have declined in response to ocean warming, whereas others cause massive blooms as a floating form of large thalli mostly composed of uniform somatic cells even under [...] Read more.
The green seaweed Ulva spp. constitute major primary producers in marine coastal ecosystems. Some Ulva populations have declined in response to ocean warming, whereas others cause massive blooms as a floating form of large thalli mostly composed of uniform somatic cells even under high temperature conditions—a phenomenon called “green tide”. Such differences in population responses can be attributed to the fate of cells between alternative courses, somatic cell division (vegetative growth), and sporic cell division (spore production). In the present review, I attempt to link natural population dynamics to the findings of physiological in vitro research. Consequently, it is elucidated that the inhibition of biomass allocation to sporulation is an important key property for Ulva to cause a huge green tide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on the Regulatory Mechanism of Algae Reproduction under Abiotic Stress Conditions)
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