Metabolic adaptation of diatoms to hypersalinity

Microalgae are important primary producers and form the basis for the marine food web. As global climate changes, so do salinity levels that algae are exposed to. A metabolic response of algal cells partly alleviates the resulting osmotic stress. Some metabolites involved in the response are well studied, but the full metabolic implications of adaptation remain unclear. Improved analytical methodology provides an opportunity for additional insight. We can now follow responses to stress in major parts of the metabolome and derive comprehensive charts of the resulting metabolic re-wiring. In this study, we subjected three species of diatoms to high salinity conditions and compared their metabolome to controls in an untargeted manner. The three well-investigated species with sequenced genomes Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Thalassiosira pseudonana, and Skeletonema marinoi were selected for our survey. The microalgae react to salinity stress with common adaptations in the metabolome by amino acid up-regulation, production of saccharides, and inositols. But also species-specific dysregulation of metabolites is common. Several metabolites previously not connected with osmotic stress reactions are identified, including 4-hydroxyproline, pipecolinic acid, myo-inositol, threonic acid, and acylcarnitines. This expands our knowledge about osmoadaptation and calls for further functional characterization of metabolites and pathways in algal stress physiology.