• Mass Spectrometry Letters
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.163-171
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• 2021

Emiliania huxleyi is a marine phytoplankton that plays a critical role in global carbon and sulfur cycling. The genome of E. huxleyi has been sequenced, and an in-depth proteomic profile of this organism has been reported. This study analyzed the phosphoproteome of E. huxleyi and identified its changes under calcium-limited conditions. A TiO₂ microcolumn was used for phosphopeptide enrichment, followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Overall, we identified 7,010 phosphorylated sites on 3,355 phosphopeptides associated with 2,929 phosphoproteins in E. huxleyi. Quantitative analysis revealed changes in the phosphoproteome in E. huxleyi when ambient conditions changed to calcium-limited conditions, notably the phosphorylation of some transporters was altered. This study provides an overview of protein phosphorylation in E. huxleyi and paves the way for further investigations of its biological functions.

• ALGAE
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 2018

Emiliania huxleyi (a haptophyte) is the most abundant coccolithophore species that produces delicate calcite scales called coccoliths. In this study, we identified several candidate genes associated with coccolith production by comparing the transcriptomes of the calcifying (CCMP 371) and non-calcifying (CCMP 2090) strains of E. huxleyi. Among the candidates, genes highly expressed in CCMP 371 were identified. To confirm whether these genes are associated with calcification, we modulated coccolith production in CCMP 371 by culturing it at different calcium concentrations. At an ambient (10 mM) concentration of calcium in the growth medium, CCMP 371 sustained its calcifying ability. However, at a low (0.1 mM) concentration or absence of calcium, there was no calcite formation, demonstrating that calcium-limiting conditions negatively affect calcification. We also evaluated the expression patterns of the putative genes in cells grown at different calcium concentrations by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In addition, we showed that the growth rate of cells cultured under calcium-limiting conditions does not differ from that under ambient conditions. Further studies are required to investigate the roles of the putative calcification-associated genes at the molecular level.