Diatoms synthesize sterols by inclusion of animal and fungal genes in the plant pathway

Diatoms are ubiquitous microalgae that have developed remarkable metabolic plasticity and gene diversification. Here we report the first elucidation of the complete biosynthesis of sterols in the lineage. The study has been carried out on the bloom-forming species Skeletonema marinoi and Cyclotella cryptica that synthesise an ensemble of sterols with chemotypes of animals (cholesterol and desmosterol), plants (dihydrobrassicasterol and 24-methylene cholesterol), algae (fucosterol) and marine invertebrates (clionasterol). In both species, sterols derive from mevalonate through cyclization of squalene to cycloartenol by cycloartenol synthase. The pathway anticipates synthesis of cholesterol by enzymes of the phytosterol route in plants, as recently reported in Solanaceae. Major divergences stem from reduction of Δ24(28) and Δ24(25) double bonds which, in diatoms, are apparently dependent on sterol reductases of fungi, algae and animals. Phylogenetic comparison revealed a good level of similarity between the sterol biosynthetic genes of S. marinoi and C. cryptica with those in the genomes of the other diatoms sequenced so far

CO2-Induced Transcriptional Reorganization: Molecular Basis of Capnophillic Lactic Fermentation in Thermotoga neapolitana

Capnophilic lactic fermentation (CLF) is a novel anaplerotic pathway able to convert sugars to lactic acid (LA) and hydrogen using CO2 as carbon enhancer in the hyperthermophilic bacterium Thermotoga neapolitana. In order to give further insights into CLF metabolic networks, we investigated the transcriptional modification induced by CO2 using a RNA-seq approach. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 1601 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in an enriched CO2 atmosphere over a total of 1938 genes of the T. neapolitana genome. Transcription of PFOR and LDH genes belonging to the CLF pathway was up-regulated by CO2 together with 6-phosphogluconolactonase (6PGL) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydratase (EDD) of the Entner–Doudoroff (ED) pathway. The transcriptomic study also revealed up-regulation of genes coding for the flavin-based enzymes NADH-dependent reduced ferredoxin:NADP oxidoreductase (NFN) and NAD-ferredoxin oxidoreductase (RNF) that control supply of reduced ferredoxin and NADH and allow energy conservation-based sodium translocation through the cell membrane. These results support the hypothesis that CO2 induces rearrangement of the central carbon metabolism together with activation of mechanisms that increase availability of the reducing equivalents that are necessary to sustain CLF. In this view, this study reports a first rationale of the molecular basis of CLF in T. neapolitana and provides a list of target genes for the biotechnological implementation of this process

Teratogenic Effects of Diatom Metabolites on Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus Embryos

The diatom-derived polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs), 2-trans,4-trans-decadienal, 2-trans,4-trans-octadienal, 2-trans,4-trans,7-octatrienal, 2-trans,4-trans-heptadienal, as well as tridecanal were tested on early and later larval development in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. We also tested the effect of some of the more abundant diatom polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) on development, in particular 5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of the main precursors of diatom PUAs, as well as 4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 6,9,12,15-octadecatetraenoic acid (stearidonic acid), 6,9,12-octadecatrienoic acid (γ-linolenic acid) and 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (linoleic acid). PUAs blocked sea urchin cell cleavage in a dose dependent manner and with increasing chain length from C7 to C10 PUAs, with arrest occurring at 27.27 μM with heptadienal, 16.13 μM with octadienal, 11.47 μM with octatrienal and 5.26 μM with decadienal. Of the PUFAs tested, only EPA and stearidonic acid blocked cleavage, but at much higher concentrations compared to PUAs (331 μM for EPA and 181 μM for stearidonic acid). Sub-lethal concentrations of decadienal (1.32–5.26 μM) delayed development of embryos and larvae which showed various degrees of malformations depending on the concentrations tested. Sub-lethal concentrations also increased the proportion of TUNEL-positive cells indicating imminent death in embryos and larvae. Using decadienal as a model PUA, we show that this aldehyde can be detected spectrophotometrically for up to 14 days in f/2 medium

Burst statistics in Alcator C-Mod SOL turbulence

Bursty fluctuations in the scrape-off layer (SOL) of Alcator C-Mod have been analyzed using gas puff imaging data. This reveals many of the same fluctuation properties as Langmuir probe measurements, including normal distributed fluctuations in the near SOL region while the far SOL plasma is dominated by large amplitude bursts due to radial motion of blob-like structures. Conditional averaging reveals burst wave forms with a fast rise and slow decay and exponentially distributed waiting times. Based on this, a stochastic model of burst dynamics is constructed. The model predicts that fluctuation amplitudes should follow a Gamma distribution. This is shown to be a good description of the gas puff imaging data, validating this aspect of the model.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Experimental and Numerical Study of Free-Surface Flows in a Corrugated Pipe

A new discharge computational model is proposed on the basis of the integration of the velocity profile across the flow cross-section in an internally corrugated pipe flowing partially full. The model takes into account the velocity profiles in the pressurised pipe to predict the flow rate under free-surface flow conditions. The model was evaluated through new laboratory experiments as well as a literature datasets. The results show that flow depth and pipe slope may affect the model accuracy; nevertheless, a prediction error smaller than 20% is expected from the model. Experimental results reveal the influence of the pipe slope and flow depth on the friction factor and the stage-discharge curves: the friction factor may increase with pipe slope, while it reduces as flow depth increases. Hence, a notable change of pipe slope may lead to the variation of the stage-discharge curve. A part of this study deals with numerical simulation of the velocity profiles and the stage-discharge curves. Using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations, numerical solutions were obtained to simulate four experimental tests, obtaining enough accurate results as to velocity profiles and water depths. The results of the simulated flow velocity were used to estimate the flow discharge, confirming the potential of numerical techniques for the prediction of stage-discharge curves

Dynamic update of discrete event controllers

Discrete event controllers are at the heart of many software systems that require continuous operation. Changing these controllers at runtime to cope with changes in its execution environment or system requirements change is a challenging open problem. In this paper we address the problem of dynamic update of controllers in reactive systems. We present a general approach to specifying correctness criteria for dynamic update and a technique for automatically computing a controller that handles the transition from the old to the new specification, assuring that the system will reach a state in which such a transition can correctly occur and in which the underlying system architecture can reconfigure. Our solution uses discrete event controller synthesis to automatically build a controller that guarantees both progress towards update and safe update

Ethylene supplementation combined with split application of nitrogen and sulfur protects salt-inhibited photosynthesis through optimization of proline metabolism and antioxidant system in mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

In the present study, the potential of ethylene as ethephon (an ethylene source) was investigated individually and in combination with split doses of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) soil treatments for removal of the damaging effects of salt stress (100 mM NaCl) in mustard (Brassica juncea L.). Plants were grown with 50 mg N plus 50 mg S kg−1 soil at sowing time and an equivalent dose at 20 days after sowing [N50 + S50]0d and 20d. Ethephon at 200 μL L‒1 was applied to combined split doses of N and S with or without NaCl. Plants subjected to NaCl showed a decrease in growth and photosynthetic characteristics as well as N and S assimilation, whereas proline metabolism and antioxidants increased. The application of ethephon to plants grown with split N and S doses significantly enhanced photosynthetic efficiency by increasing the assimilation of N and S, improving the concentration of proline and induction of the antioxidant system with or without NaCl. The regulation of ethylene and/or split forms of N and S application may be potential tools for not just overcoming salt stress effects in this species and in related Brassicaceae but also enhancing their photosynthesis and growth potential through increased nutrient assimilation