Temporal transcriptome profiling of Microchloropsis gaditana CCMP526 under hyper-saline conditions

Microalgae can tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and have been exploited for their lipid and carbohydrate accumulating properties. The utility of this process could be further enhanced through understanding the critical gene regulatory networks that govern the acclimatization process. Advancements in systems biology and sequencing tools now enable us to obtain a genome-wide overview of gene expression under particular conditions of interest. Under salinity stress, Microchloropsis gaditana CCMP526, a commercially important alga has been previously reported to accumulate carbohydrate and lipid. To understand the mechanism of acclimatization, here we report a temporal transcriptomic analysis of M. gaditana under two different salinity levels (55 and 100 PSU). The short term (0, 1 and 6 h) and long term (24 and 72 h) responses of the salt-induced transcript pool were used to identify salinity-inducible genes using correspondence analysis. The transcript abundance of genes involved in triacylglycerol biosynthesis, membrane lipid modification, carbon assimilation and shunting, and osmolyte biosynthesis indicated that M. gaditana employs a two-stage acclimatization strategy during hypersaline conditions.