Gene Expression Analysis in Dunaliella salina Under Salt Stress

Abstract

Different salt concentrations are found in the large portion of water resources and ‎agriculture lands in which most of the plant species cannot be grown. Some microalgae species can be grown either in seawater or in brackish water which is not usable for normal agriculture. The present study analyzed the gene expressions associated ‎with salt stress in Dunaliella Salina. The expression of three coding genes namely ‎acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), channelrhodopsin-1 DChR1 protein (DC), and sodium-coupled phosphate transporter protein (DSSPT) were evaluated at three salinity levels: 3 gL-1 (low), 32 gL-1 (control), 100 gL-1 (high)‎. The analyzes were performed on the 5th, 10th and 17th day of culture. The results revealed that for Low and high salt treatments, the lowest gene expressions were observed on the 5th day of growth, however, the gene ‎expressions were increased with the growth of algae cells until the ‎‎10th day. It should be noted that, under low salinity conditions (3 gL-1), gene ‎expressions were lower than high salinity concentration (100 gL-1) and (32 gL-1) control during the growth.