Molecular Features and mRNA Expression of the Receptor for Activated C Kinase 1 from Symbiodinium microadriaticum ssp. microadriaticum During Growth and the Light/Dark cycle.

Two genes of the RACK1 homolog from the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Symbiodinium microadriaticum ssp. microadriaticum (SmicRACK1), termed SmicRACK1A and SmicRACK1B, were found tandemly arrayed and displayed a single synonymous substitution (T/C) encoding threonine. They included two exons of 942 bp each, encoding 313 amino acids with seven WD-40 repeats and two PKC-binding motifs. The protein theoretical mass and pI were 34,200 Da and 5.9, respectively. SmicRACK1 showed maximum identities with RACK1 homologs at the amino acid and nucleotide level, respectively, of 92 and 84% with S. minutum, and phylogenetic analysis revealed clustered related RACK1 sequences from the marine dinoflagellates S. minutum, Heterocapsa triquetra, Karenia brevis, and Alexandrium tamarense. Interestingly, light-dependent regulatory elements were found both within the 282 bp SmicRACK1A promotor sequence, and within an intergenic sequence of 359 nucleotides that separated both genes, which strongly suggest light-related functions. This was further supported by mRNA accumulation analysis, which fluctuated along the light and dark phases of the growth cycle showing maximum specific peaks under either condition. Finally, qRT-PCR analysis revealed differential SmicRACK1 mRNA accumulation with maxima at 6 and 20 d of culture. Our SmicRACK1 characterization suggests roles in active growth and proliferation, as well as light/dark cycle regulation in S. microadriaticum.