Use of algae in the study of essential cell processes

Abstract

Maintenance of genomic stability is of crucial importance for all living organisms. It is no surprise that during evolution, a series of highly selective and efficient systems to detect DNA damage and control its repair have evolved. To this end, signal transduction pathways are involved in pausing the cell division cycle to provide time for repair, and ultimately releasing the cell cycle from arrest. Genetic components of the damage and replication checkpoints have been identified and a working model is beginning to emerge. This area of biological inquiry has received a great deal of attention in the past decade with the realization that the underlying regulatory mechanisms controlling the cell cycle are conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution. Many of the key players in this response have structural and functional counterparts in species as diverse as yeast and human. In recent years attention has also been paid to the plant kingdom suggesting that checkpoint controls have been highly conserved during evolution. The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a suitable model organism for the study of basic cellular processes including cell cycle regulation and DNA repair. To investigate how algal cells accomplish these tasks, we have isolated mutants in the recognition and repair of DNA damage or in the response to DNA damage.