Euglena gracilis (Euglenophyceae) produces abscisic acid and cytokinins and responds to their exogenous application singly and in combination with other growth regulators

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine the optimal concentrations of a wide spectrum of exogenous phytohormones for effective stimulation of cell division and production of maximum cell yield in Euglena gracilis Klebs cultured in vitro. Results indicate that two hormones combined exert more effective growth stimulation than a single hormone or three, four or five different hormones combined. Specifically, trans-zeatin at 10−7 M combined with abscisic acid at 10−9 M produced optimal conditions for growth, yielding the maximum cell concentration. High concentrations of exogenous phytohormones were toxic to Euglena. The addition of trans-zeatin, N6-isopentenyladenine, and benzylaminopurine to Euglena cultures resulted in dense, dark green chloroplasts, suggesting that exogenous phytohormones increased the production of chlorophyll. Given the response to exogenous growth regulators, the study identified and quantified the types of endogenous cytokinins (CKs) and abscisic acid (ABA) synthesized in vitro by Euglena gracilis. HPLC-(ESI) MS/MS analysis revealed that the algal cells produced and released into the medium a mixture of CKs and ABA. The main CKs identified in the cell pellets and supernatant samples were from a t-RNA degradation pathway and included: cis-zeatin (cZ) derivatives cZR, cZNT, MeSZ and MeSZR, and to a lesser extent, the free base N6-isopentenyladenine (iP) and its derivatives iPR, iPNT, MeSiP and MeSiPA. A positive response to ABA, and the relatively high levels detected in E. gracilis, suggest that this hormone is important for alleviating stress conditions of in vitro culture that might otherwise restrict cell division.