Although both Astasia longa and Euglena gracilis belong to different genera, they share many morphological characters except that A. longa has no chloroplast. In the 1940’s, on the basis of the finding that in darkne...Although both Astasia longa and Euglena gracilis belong to different genera, they share many morphological characters except that A. longa has no chloroplast. In the 1940’s, on the basis of the finding that in darkness or upon addition of some chemicals, E. gracilis would fade reversibly or irreversibly, some scholars hypothesised that A. longa evolved from E. gracilis by losing chloroplast. The authors’ use of RAPD and cladistic analyses in a study on the evolutionary relationship between A .longa and E. gracilis showed that the A. longa ’s relationship with E. gracilis was closer than that with other green euglenoids. This proves the hypothesis that A. longa evolved from E. gracilis is reasonable. The results of this study suggest that saprophytic colorless euglenoids were transformed from green euglenoids by losing their choroplasts.展开更多
Euglena gracilis is a unicellular green eukaryotic microalga that features characteristics of both plants and animals.The photosynthetic function of its chloroplast is easily lost under stress resulting in bleached mu...Euglena gracilis is a unicellular green eukaryotic microalga that features characteristics of both plants and animals.The photosynthetic function of its chloroplast is easily lost under stress resulting in bleached mutants,while the physiological role of their residual plastid DNAs remains unclear.In this study,we obtained five bleached mutants by ofloxacin(Ofl)treatment,identified 12 residual plastid genes in five bleached mutants,and determined the mRNA levels in the wild type E.gracilis(WT)and one bleached mutant(OflB2)under dark and light stimulation conditions by quantitative reverse transcribed PCR(qRTPCR).Results show that the expression of all selected plastid genes in both WT and OflB2 mutant did not change significantly in darkness,while their responses to light stimulation were different.Under the light stimulation conditions,half of the genes did not change significantly,while most of the other genes were down-regulated in OflB2 mutant and up-regulated in WT.Therefore,the bleached mutant retains part of the plastid genome and the plastid relic is responsive to light.Our research will help to understand the functions of residual plastid DNA and evolution of chloroplasts.展开更多
The hydrodynamics and locomotion mechanism of Euglena Gracilis(E.Gracilis)is investigated using microscopic shadow imaging and micro particle image velocimetry(MicroPIV).Three distinct locomotion modes were observed:t...The hydrodynamics and locomotion mechanism of Euglena Gracilis(E.Gracilis)is investigated using microscopic shadow imaging and micro particle image velocimetry(MicroPIV).Three distinct locomotion modes were observed:translation,spin,and left/right turn.Since the flagellum was not possible to image,the strokes were identified by evaluating the flow field around the protist.The flow field information is obtained using a phase-separated PIV evaluation,which uses a histogram-thresholding based dynamic masking approach.The temporal resolution of the experiment was sufficient to identify the sequence of two modes,translation and spin,and the stroke-pulling frequency.The flow field result during a stroke is compared with existing Stokeslet dipole theories and flow disturbance decay with distance is investigated.The results indicate that the organism has a complex locomotion technique that allows the change of direction,axial orientation and propulsion.展开更多
Objective To study the effects of gamma-ray irradiation on carbon fixation (Specific production rate: SPR), CO2 utilization efficiency (CUE) and electron transfer rate (ETR) in the photosynthetic flagellate Euglena g...Objective To study the effects of gamma-ray irradiation on carbon fixation (Specific production rate: SPR), CO2 utilization efficiency (CUE) and electron transfer rate (ETR) in the photosynthetic flagellate Euglena gracilis strain Z in a dose-response dependent manner. Methods Euglena cells were cultured in an inorganic nutrient medium containing ammonium chloride or proteose peptone. Cells were exposed to gamma-ray at 5 doses (0, 100, 250, 350, 500 Gy for water). Five days after irradiation, three photosynthetic activities were measured. SPR, which is a carbon uptake rate per unit carbon mass, was determined by 13C tracer methodology. CUE was evaluated using a relation of carbon isotope fractionation in Calvin cycle. ETR in photosystem II (PS II) was measured by a chlorophyll fluorescence analysis. Results Even at a dose of 500 Gy, 80 % of ETR of the non-irradiated control (0 Gy) was sustained, while SPR and CUE were about half the level in the non-irradiated control at 500 Gy. Furthermore, the dose response of ETR was considerably different from the others. Conclusion Our findings suggest that not only PS II but also the Calvin cycle in the photosynthetic system is affected by gamma ray irradiation.展开更多
文摘Although both Astasia longa and Euglena gracilis belong to different genera, they share many morphological characters except that A. longa has no chloroplast. In the 1940’s, on the basis of the finding that in darkness or upon addition of some chemicals, E. gracilis would fade reversibly or irreversibly, some scholars hypothesised that A. longa evolved from E. gracilis by losing chloroplast. The authors’ use of RAPD and cladistic analyses in a study on the evolutionary relationship between A .longa and E. gracilis showed that the A. longa ’s relationship with E. gracilis was closer than that with other green euglenoids. This proves the hypothesis that A. longa evolved from E. gracilis is reasonable. The results of this study suggest that saprophytic colorless euglenoids were transformed from green euglenoids by losing their choroplasts.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.31670116)the Guangdong Innovation Research Team Fund(No.2014ZT05S078)the Shenzhen Grant Plan for Science&Technology(Nos.JCYJ20160308095910917,JCYJ20170818100339597,JCYJ 20130329114940668)。
文摘Euglena gracilis is a unicellular green eukaryotic microalga that features characteristics of both plants and animals.The photosynthetic function of its chloroplast is easily lost under stress resulting in bleached mutants,while the physiological role of their residual plastid DNAs remains unclear.In this study,we obtained five bleached mutants by ofloxacin(Ofl)treatment,identified 12 residual plastid genes in five bleached mutants,and determined the mRNA levels in the wild type E.gracilis(WT)and one bleached mutant(OflB2)under dark and light stimulation conditions by quantitative reverse transcribed PCR(qRTPCR).Results show that the expression of all selected plastid genes in both WT and OflB2 mutant did not change significantly in darkness,while their responses to light stimulation were different.Under the light stimulation conditions,half of the genes did not change significantly,while most of the other genes were down-regulated in OflB2 mutant and up-regulated in WT.Therefore,the bleached mutant retains part of the plastid genome and the plastid relic is responsive to light.Our research will help to understand the functions of residual plastid DNA and evolution of chloroplasts.
文摘The hydrodynamics and locomotion mechanism of Euglena Gracilis(E.Gracilis)is investigated using microscopic shadow imaging and micro particle image velocimetry(MicroPIV).Three distinct locomotion modes were observed:translation,spin,and left/right turn.Since the flagellum was not possible to image,the strokes were identified by evaluating the flow field around the protist.The flow field information is obtained using a phase-separated PIV evaluation,which uses a histogram-thresholding based dynamic masking approach.The temporal resolution of the experiment was sufficient to identify the sequence of two modes,translation and spin,and the stroke-pulling frequency.The flow field result during a stroke is compared with existing Stokeslet dipole theories and flow disturbance decay with distance is investigated.The results indicate that the organism has a complex locomotion technique that allows the change of direction,axial orientation and propulsion.
文摘Objective To study the effects of gamma-ray irradiation on carbon fixation (Specific production rate: SPR), CO2 utilization efficiency (CUE) and electron transfer rate (ETR) in the photosynthetic flagellate Euglena gracilis strain Z in a dose-response dependent manner. Methods Euglena cells were cultured in an inorganic nutrient medium containing ammonium chloride or proteose peptone. Cells were exposed to gamma-ray at 5 doses (0, 100, 250, 350, 500 Gy for water). Five days after irradiation, three photosynthetic activities were measured. SPR, which is a carbon uptake rate per unit carbon mass, was determined by 13C tracer methodology. CUE was evaluated using a relation of carbon isotope fractionation in Calvin cycle. ETR in photosystem II (PS II) was measured by a chlorophyll fluorescence analysis. Results Even at a dose of 500 Gy, 80 % of ETR of the non-irradiated control (0 Gy) was sustained, while SPR and CUE were about half the level in the non-irradiated control at 500 Gy. Furthermore, the dose response of ETR was considerably different from the others. Conclusion Our findings suggest that not only PS II but also the Calvin cycle in the photosynthetic system is affected by gamma ray irradiation.