Identification of specific proteins involved in the desiccation-tolerance of the red alga Pyropia yezoensis

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K07582
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Aquatic life science
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: YAMAGUCHI Kenichi 長崎大学, 水産・環境科学総合研究科(水産), 准教授 (90363473)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 桑野 和可 長崎大学, 水産・環境科学総合研究科(水産), 教授 (60301363)
• Research Collaborator: MIWA Yasuhiko 福山大学, 生命工学部海洋生物科学科, 教授
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: スサビノリ / 乾燥耐性 / LEA / 熱可溶性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The red alga Pyropia yezoensis, which is used to prepare nori-sheets (sushi-nori, omusubi-nori, etc.), inhabits the intertidal zone and is highly tolerant to desiccation. By far, factors involved in the desiccation tolerance of this species have been unidentified, and molecular mechanisms of the desiccation tolerance are still unclear. In this study, we found that heating-soluble fraction extracted from the thalli of P. yezoensis contains protective activity against dehydration-induced inactivation of desiccation-sensitive enzymes, and identified two LEA (late embryogenesis abundant)-like proteins that showed weak sequence similarity with higher plant LEA proteins. The expression levels of these LEA-like proteins were prominent in the intertidal species of Pyropia, whereas those were very low in the subtidal species.

Free Research Field

水圏生命科学