F-actin reorganization upon de- and rehydration in the aeroterrestrial green alga Klebsormidium crenulatum.

Filamentous actin (F-actin) is a dynamic network involved in many cellular processes like cell division and cytoplasmic streaming. While many studies have addressed the involvement of F-actin in different cellular processes in cultured cells, little is known on the reactions to environmental stress scenarios, where this system might have essential regulatory functions. We investigated here the de- and rehydration kinetics of breakdown and reassembly of F-actin in the streptophyte green alga Klebsormidium crenulatum.

The terrestrial green macroalga Prasiola calophylla (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta): ecophysiological performance under water-limiting conditions.

The phylogenetic placement of Prasiola calophylla, from an anthropogenic habitat previously shown to contain a novel UV sunscreen compound, was confirmed by analysis of its rbcL gene. This alga has the capacity to tolerate strong water-limiting conditions. The photosynthetic performance and ultrastructural changes under desiccation and osmotic stress were investigated.

Actin-Dynamics in Plant Cells: The Function of Actin-Perturbing Substances: Jasplakinolide, Chondramides, Phalloidin, Cytochalasins, and Latrunculins.

This chapter gives an overview of the most common F-actin-perturbing substances that are used to study actin dynamics in living plant cells in studies on morphogenesis, motility, organelle movement, or when apoptosis has to be induced. These substances can be divided into two major subclasses: F-actin-stabilizing and -polymerizing substances like jasplakinolide and chondramides and F-actin-severing compounds like chytochalasins and latrunculins. Jasplakinolide was originally isolated form a marine sponge, and can now be synthesized and has become commercially available, which is responsible for its wide distribution as membrane-permeable F-actin-stabilizing and -polymerizing agent, which may even have anticancer activities.

Transcriptomics of desiccation tolerance in the streptophyte green alga Klebsormidium reveal a land plant-like defense reaction.

Background: Water loss has significant effects on physiological performance and survival rates of algae. However, despite the prominent presence of aeroterrestrial algae in terrestrial habitats, hardly anything is known about the molecular events that allow aeroterrestrial algae to survive harsh environmental conditions. We analyzed the transcriptome and physiology of a strain of the alpine aeroterrestrial alga Klebsormidium crenulatum under control and strong desiccation-stress conditions.