High salinity acclimatization alleviated cadmium toxicity in Dunaliella salina: Transcriptomic and physiological evidence

•Stable growth of algae was obtained after 12-week high salinity acclimatization.•High salinity alleviated cadmium toxicity but did not affect Cd uptake.•Fv/Fm and antioxidant capacity were enhanced by salinity under Cd exposure.•Comparative transcriptomic analysis was performed.•Enriched pathways of ribosome and photosynthesis were identified. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that high salinity acclimatization can mitigate cadmium (Cd) toxicity in the microalga Dunaliella salina. To this end, microalgal cells were subjected to high salinity (60 g/L) for 12 weeks until the growth rate remained stable between generations and were then exposed to 2.5 mg/L of Cd for 4 days. Acute Cd toxicity impaired cell growth by increasing Cd bioaccumulation and lipid peroxidation, which reduced cellular pigment, total protein, and glutathione content. It also significantly weakened photosynthetic efficiency and total antioxidant capacity. However, acclimatization to high salinity alleviated these negative effects under Cd stress. To understand the potential mechanisms behind this phenomenon, 12 cDNA libraries from control, Cd-exposed (Cd), high salinity-acclimated (Salinity), and high salinity-acclimated with Cd exposure (Salinity + Cd) cells were derived using RNA sequencing. A total of 2019, 1799, 2150 and 1256 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified from sample groups Salinity / Control, Cd / Control, Salinity + Cd / Control, and Salinity + Cd / Cd, respectively. Some of these DEGs were significantly enriched in ribosome, photosynthesis, stress defense, and photosynthesis-antenna proteins. Among these genes, 82 ribosomal genes were up-regulated in Salinity / Control (corrected P = 3.8 × 10−28), while 81 were down-regulated in Cd / Control (corrected P = 1.1 × 10-24). Moreover, high salinity acclimatization up-regulated 8 photosynthesis genes and 18 stress defense genes compared with the control. Additionally, 3 photosynthesis genes, 11 stress defense genes and 11 genes encoding light harvesting proteins were up-regulated by high salinity acclimatization under Cd exposure. Overall, high salinity acclimatization mitigated Cd toxicity, possibly by up-regulating the transcription of photosynthesis, stress defense, and ribosomal genes. These results provide new insights on cross-tolerance in microalgae.