Breakthrough in unlocking genetic potential of ocean microbes
The international project, co-led by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in the UK, unlocks the potential of the largest untapped genetic resource for the development of natural products such as novel antibacterial, antiviral, anti-parasitic and antifungal compounds.
Ocean microbes regulate global cycles of carbon and essential nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Despite their significance, government and industry funding is still largely used for research and development with non-marine organisms. This is partly due to a lack of awareness of the importance of marine microbes, limited understanding about their biology, as well as difficulties in accessing and sustainably exploiting them.
Addressing this requires genetic manipulation tools that have not been readily available for many different ecologically and biotechnologically important groups of marine microbes such as protists, which share a subcellular organisation similar to plants and animals.
Unlike plants and animals, they are unicellular and of remarkable diversity. Some represent the origins of complex life forms on land, others such as photosynthetic protists, called phytoplankton, contribute almost as much to global annual carbon fixation as land plants.
Published in the journal Nature Methods, this new study aims to improve understanding of the basic biology and evolution of marine protists, with potentially valuable outcomes for evolutionary studies, nanotechnology, biotechnology, medicine, and pharmacology.
The three-year collaborative project, supported primarily by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, involved 53 international laboratories comprising more than 100 researchers. It has resulted in the development of new genetic model systems, summarised in a synthetic 'Transformation Roadmap'. This outlines DNA delivery methods, gene expression constructs and genome editing approaches, and is available as a resource for the wider research community.
Lead UK author Thomas Mock, professor of marine microbiology at UEA's School of Environmental Sciences, said the study builds on decades of research that have contributed to an increasingly coherent picture of the oceanic ecosystem.
"The oceans harbour the most significant microbial diversity on Earth in terms of maintaining habitability," said Prof Mock. "These organisms and how their genes function are therefore incredibly important to understand because of their vital role in the health of the planet. They also represent how life has evolved over the last 1.5 billion years. They are so old that it's not been possible to fully understand their cell biology and functional biodiversity.
"Our reported breakthroughs on genetic manipulation will allow the research community to dissect cellular mechanisms from a range of important protists, which will collectively provide insights into their reproduction, metabolism and signaling.
"These insights will improve our understanding about their role in the oceans, and they are invaluable for biotechnological applications such as building factories for biofuel or the production of bioactive compounds."
The study involved attempting to introduce foreign DNA into the host genomes of 39 protist species, in order to understand their gene functions and how they adapt to changes. Of these, more than 50% were genetically manipulated successfully, which will now enable researchers to carry out functional studies of thousands of new genes carried in their genomes.
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of East Anglia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
Drahomíra Faktorová et al. Genetic tool development in marine protists: Emerging model organisms for experimental cell biology. Nature Methods, 2020 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-020-0796-x
Ubigene Biosciences is co-founded by biological academics and elites from China, the United States, and France. We are located in Guangzhou Science City, which serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Ubigene Biosciences has 1000㎡ office areas and laboratories, involving genome editing, cell biology technology, and zebrafish research. We provide products and services for plasmids, viruses, cells, and zebrafish. We aim to provide customers with better gene-editing tools for cell or animal research.
We developed CRISPR-U™ and CRISPR-B™ (based on CRISPR/Cas9 technology) which is more efficient than general CRISPR/Cas9 in double-strand breaking, CRISPR-U™ and CRISPR-B™ can greatly improve the efficiency of homologous recombination, easily achieve knockout (KO), point mutation (PM) and knockin (KI) in vitro and in vivo.
Genome Editing Platform
——Focusing on the Application of CRISPR-U™ and CRISPR-B™ Gene Editing Technology
1. Provides various types of gene-editing vectors for different species.2. Provides different virus packaging services, including lentiviruses, adenoviruses and adeno-associated viruses.3. Provides high-quality services for gene knockout, point mutation and knockin cell lines.
Cell Biology Platform
——Focusing on primary cell
1. Provides over 400 types of primary cells.2. Provides culture strategies and related products for different cell types.3. Provides cell biology-related services such as cell isolation, extraction and validation.
Subscribe Us
Gene Editing Services
EZ-editor™
Red Cotton Gene knockout Project
