The tonoplast localized protein PtNPF1 participates in the regulation of nitrogen response in diatoms

Summary Diatoms are a highly successful group of phytoplankton, well adapted also to oligotrophic environments and capable of handling nutrient fluctuations in the ocean, particularly nitrate. The presence of a large vacuole is an important trait contributing to their adaptive features. It confers d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The New phytologist 2024-02, Vol.241 (4), p.1592-1604
Main Authors: Santin, Anna, Russo, Monia Teresa, Ríos, Laura Morales, Chiurazzi, Maurizio, d'Alcalà, Maurizio Ribera, Lacombe, Benoît, Ferrante, Maria Immacolata, Rogato, Alessandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacillariophyceae
CRISPR
Cytosol
diatom NPFs
Diatoms
Fluxes
Gene editing
genome editing
Intracellular
Life Sciences
luxury uptake
Marine microorganisms
Microscopy
Molecular modelling
Mutants
Nitrates
Nitrogen
Nutrient availability
Nutrients
Oligotrophic environments
Phaeodactylum tricornutum
Phenotypes
Phytoplankton
Plankton
Uptake
vacuole
Vegetal Biology
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Summary:Summary Diatoms are a highly successful group of phytoplankton, well adapted also to oligotrophic environments and capable of handling nutrient fluctuations in the ocean, particularly nitrate. The presence of a large vacuole is an important trait contributing to their adaptive features. It confers diatoms the ability to accumulate and store nutrients, such as nitrate, when they are abundant outside and then to reallocate them into the cytosol to meet deficiencies, in a process called luxury uptake. The molecular mechanisms that regulate these nitrate fluxes are still not known in diatoms. In this work, we provide new insights into the function of Phaeodactylum tricornutum NPF1, a putative low‐affinity nitrate transporter. To accomplish this, we generated overexpressing strains and CRISPR/Cas9 loss‐of‐function mutants. Microscopy observations confirmed predictions that PtNPF1 is localized on the vacuole membrane. Furthermore, functional characterizations performed on knock‐out mutants revealed a transient growth delay phenotype linked to altered nitrate uptake. Together, these results allowed us to hypothesize that PtNPF1 is presumably involved in modulating intracellular nitrogen fluxes, managing intracellular nutrient availability. This ability might allow diatoms to fine‐tune the assimilation, storage and reallocation of nitrate, conferring them a strong advantage in oligotrophic environments.
ISSN:0028-646X
1469-8137
DOI:10.1111/nph.19461