Transcriptional Response of Osmolyte Synthetic Pathways and Membrane Transporters in a Euryhaline Diatom During Long‐term Acclimation to a Salinity Gradient

How diatoms respond to fluctuations in osmotic pressure is important from both ecological and applied perspectives. It is well known that osmotic stress affects photosynthesis and can result in the accumulation of compounds desirable in pharmaceutical and alternative fuel industries. Gene expression responses to osmotic stress have been studied in short‐term trials, but it is unclear whether the same mechanisms are recruited during long‐term acclimation. We used RNA‐seq to study the genome‐wide transcription patterns in the euryhaline diatom, Cyclotella cryptica, following long‐term acclimation to salinity that spanned the natural range of fresh to oceanic water. Long‐term acclimated C. cryptica exhibited induced synthesis or repressed degradation of the osmolytes glycine betaine, taurine and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Although changes in proline concentration is one of the main responses in short‐term osmotic stress, we did not detect a transcriptional change in proline biosynthetic pathways in our long‐term experiment. Expression of membrane transporters showed a general tendency for increased import of potassium and export of sodium, consistent with the electrochemical gradients and dependence on co‐transported molecules. Our results show substantial between‐genotype differences in growth and gene expression reaction norms and suggest that the regulation of proline synthesis important in short‐term osmotic stress might not be maintained in long‐term acclimation. Further examination using time‐course gene expression experiments, metabolomics and genetic validation of gene functions would reinforce patterns inferred from RNA‐seq data.