Single Cell Analysis Linking Ribosomal (r)DNA and rRNA Copy Numbers to Cell Size and Growth Rate Provides Insights into Molecular Protistan Ecology

The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology
Rao Fu, Jun Gong

Abstract

Ribosomal (r)RNA and rDNA have been golden molecular markers in microbial ecology. However, it remains poorly understood how ribotype copy number (CN)-based characteristics are linked with diversity, abundance, and activity of protist populations and communities observed at organismal levels. Here, we applied a single-cell approach to quantify ribotype CNs in two ciliate species reared at different temperatures. We found that in actively growing cells, the per-cell rDNA and rRNA CNs scaled with cell volume (CV) to 0.44 and 0.58 powers, respectively. The modeled rDNA and rRNA concentrations thus appear to be much higher in smaller than in larger cells. The observed rRNA:rDNA ratio scaled with CV0.14 . The maximum growth rate could be well predicted by a combination of per-cell ribotype CN and temperature. Our empirical data and modeling on single-cell ribotype scaling are in agreement with both the metabolic theory of ecology and the growth rate hypothesis, providing a quantitative framework for linking cellular rDNA and rRNA CNs with body size, growth (activity), and biomass stoichiometry. This study also demonstrates that the expression rate of rRNA genes is constrained by cell size, and favors biomass rather than abundance-ba...Continue Reading

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Citations

Oct 20, 2018·Scientific Reports·Hongmei JingHongbin Liu
Oct 2, 2020·PLoS Computational Biology·Leah L WeberMohammed El-Kebir
Apr 18, 2021·Scientific Reports·Nastasia J FreyriaConnie Lovejoy
Apr 20, 2021·Frontiers in Microbiology·Isabelle B FournierWarwick F Vincent
Dec 9, 2021·The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology·Thomas Weisse, David J S Montagnes

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
nucleic acid extraction
PCR

Software Mentioned

SPSS

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