Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet

Abstract Effects of nutrient‐imbalanced diet on the growth and fitness of zooplankton were widely reported as key issues to aquatic ecology. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving the physiological changes of zooplankton under nutrient stress. In this study, we investigated...

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Main Authors: Zhimeng Xu, Yingdong Li, Meng Li, Hongbin Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-08-01
Series:Ecology and Evolution
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7889
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author Zhimeng Xu
Yingdong Li
Meng Li
Hongbin Liu
author_facet Zhimeng Xu
Yingdong Li
Meng Li
Hongbin Liu
author_sort Zhimeng Xu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Effects of nutrient‐imbalanced diet on the growth and fitness of zooplankton were widely reported as key issues to aquatic ecology. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving the physiological changes of zooplankton under nutrient stress. In this study, we investigated the physiological fitness and transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna when exposed to nitrogen (N)‐limited or phosphorus (P)‐limited algal diet (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) compared to regular algae (N and P saturated). D. magna showed higher ingestion rates and overexpression of genes encoding digestive enzymes when fed with either N‐limited or P‐limited algae, reflecting the compensatory feeding. Under P‐limitation, both growth rate and reproduction rate of D. magna were greatly reduced, which could be attributed to the downregulated genes within the pathways of cell cycle and DNA replication. Growth rate of D. magna under N‐limitation was similar to normal group, which could be explained by the high methylation level (by degradation of methionine) supporting the body development. Phenotypic changes of D. magna under nutrient stress were explained by gene and pathway regulations from transcriptome data. Generally, D. magna invested more on growth under N‐limitation but kept maintenance (e.g., cell structure and defense to external stress) in priority under P‐limitation. Post‐translational modifications (e.g., methylation and protein folding) were important for D. magna to deal with nutrient constrains. This study reveals the fundamental mechanisms of zooplankton in dealing with elemental imbalanced diet and sheds light on the transfer of energy and nutrient in aquatic ecosystems.
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spelling doaj.art-23dfdee4ed5f468791aae59c7cb508dd2022-12-21T22:31:10ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582021-08-011116110091101910.1002/ece3.7889Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited dietZhimeng Xu0Yingdong Li1Meng Li2Hongbin Liu3SZU‐HKUST Joint PhD Program in Marine Environmental Science Shenzhen University Shenzhen ChinaDepartment of Ocean Science The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Kowloon ChinaSZU‐HKUST Joint PhD Program in Marine Environmental Science Shenzhen University Shenzhen ChinaDepartment of Ocean Science The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Kowloon ChinaAbstract Effects of nutrient‐imbalanced diet on the growth and fitness of zooplankton were widely reported as key issues to aquatic ecology. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving the physiological changes of zooplankton under nutrient stress. In this study, we investigated the physiological fitness and transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna when exposed to nitrogen (N)‐limited or phosphorus (P)‐limited algal diet (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) compared to regular algae (N and P saturated). D. magna showed higher ingestion rates and overexpression of genes encoding digestive enzymes when fed with either N‐limited or P‐limited algae, reflecting the compensatory feeding. Under P‐limitation, both growth rate and reproduction rate of D. magna were greatly reduced, which could be attributed to the downregulated genes within the pathways of cell cycle and DNA replication. Growth rate of D. magna under N‐limitation was similar to normal group, which could be explained by the high methylation level (by degradation of methionine) supporting the body development. Phenotypic changes of D. magna under nutrient stress were explained by gene and pathway regulations from transcriptome data. Generally, D. magna invested more on growth under N‐limitation but kept maintenance (e.g., cell structure and defense to external stress) in priority under P‐limitation. Post‐translational modifications (e.g., methylation and protein folding) were important for D. magna to deal with nutrient constrains. This study reveals the fundamental mechanisms of zooplankton in dealing with elemental imbalanced diet and sheds light on the transfer of energy and nutrient in aquatic ecosystems.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7889Daphnia magnahomeostasisnutrient limitationphenotypic performancetranscriptome
spellingShingle Zhimeng Xu
Yingdong Li
Meng Li
Hongbin Liu
Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet
Ecology and Evolution
Daphnia magna
homeostasis
nutrient limitation
phenotypic performance
transcriptome
title Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet
title_full Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet
title_fullStr Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet
title_full_unstemmed Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet
title_short Transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna to nitrogen‐ or phosphorus‐limited diet
title_sort transcriptomic response of daphnia magna to nitrogen or phosphorus limited diet
topic Daphnia magna
homeostasis
nutrient limitation
phenotypic performance
transcriptome
url https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7889
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AT yingdongli transcriptomicresponseofdaphniamagnatonitrogenorphosphoruslimiteddiet
AT mengli transcriptomicresponseofdaphniamagnatonitrogenorphosphoruslimiteddiet
AT hongbinliu transcriptomicresponseofdaphniamagnatonitrogenorphosphoruslimiteddiet