Understanding Acclimation in Green Algae: Physiology to Genomics

Prof Arthur Grossman
Carnegie Institute of Plant Biology
Stanford University

101 Lecture Hall, New Biology Building
2:00-3:00pm April 24, Saturday

Abstract: For the past 3 years we have been developing genomic tools for the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The development of these tools, funded by NSF, has involved 1) sequencing cDNAs isolated from cells exposed to various environmental conditions, 2) construction of a high density DNA microarray, 3) construction of genomic contigs that nucleate around specific physical and genetic markers, 4) generation of a complete chloroplast genome sequence and analyses of chloroplast gene expression, 5) placement of genomic information into searchable databases that can be readily accessed on the internet by the general public, and 6) the creation of links between the information generated in the NSF funded project with the complete genome sequence information that is being generated by the Joint Genome Institute (Department of Energy). I will briefly describe the Chlamydomonas genome project and then emphasize the use of genomic tools to generate information on gene expression under different environmental conditions. The primary focus of the talk will be on sulfur deprivation and the use of microarray analysis to explore the ways in which deprivation influences gene expression, how changes in gene expression may alter the metabolism of the cell and the ability of the cell to survive sulfur deprivation conditions. We have also isolated and characterized expression profiles in mutants that are unable to acclimate to sulfur limitation. These studies will be put into the general context of the strategies that organisms use to withstand nutrient deprivation.