A High-Throughput Assay for Quantifying Phenotypic Traits of Microalgae.

Argyle, PA; Hinners, J; Walworth, NG; Collins, S; Levine, NM; Doblin, MA

A High-Throughput Assay for Quantifying Phenotypic Traits of Microalgae.

Argyle, PA Hinners, J Walworth, NG Collins, S Levine, NM Doblin, MA

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Publisher:: Frontiers Media SA
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Frontiers in microbiology, 2021, 12, pp. 706235
Issue Date:: 2021-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Argyle, PA
dc.contributor.author	Hinners, J
dc.contributor.author	Walworth, NG
dc.contributor.author	Collins, S
dc.contributor.author	Levine, NM
dc.contributor.author	Doblin, MA
dc.date.accessioned	2021-11-29T03:52:01Z
dc.date.available	2021-09-09
dc.date.available	2021-11-29T03:52:01Z
dc.date.issued	2021-01
dc.identifier.citation	Frontiers in microbiology, 2021, 12, pp. 706235
dc.identifier.issn	1664-302X
dc.identifier.issn	1664-302X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/151903
dc.description.abstract	High-throughput methods for phenotyping microalgae are in demand across a variety of research and commercial purposes. Many microalgae can be readily cultivated in multi-well plates for experimental studies which can reduce overall costs, while measuring traits from low volume samples can reduce handling. Here we develop a high-throughput quantitative phenotypic assay (QPA) that can be used to phenotype microalgae grown in multi-well plates. The QPA integrates 10 low-volume, relatively high-throughput trait measurements (growth rate, cell size, granularity, chlorophyll a, neutral lipid content, silicification, reactive oxygen species accumulation, and photophysiology parameters: ETRmax, I<sub>k</sub>, and alpha) into one workflow. We demonstrate the utility of the QPA on <i>Thalassiosira</i> spp., a cosmopolitan marine diatom, phenotyping six strains in a standard nutrient rich environment (f/2 media) using the full 10-trait assay. The multivariate phenotypes of strains can be simplified into two dimensions using principal component analysis, generating a trait-scape. We determine that traits show a consistent pattern when grown in small volume compared to more typical large volumes. The QPA can thus be used for quantifying traits across different growth environments without requiring exhaustive large-scale culturing experiments, which facilitates experiments on trait plasticity. We confirm that this assay can be used to phenotype newly isolated diatom strains within 4 weeks of isolation. The QPA described here is highly amenable to customisation for other traits or unicellular taxa and provides a framework for designing high-throughput experiments. This method will have applications in experimental evolution, modelling, and for commercial applications where screening of phytoplankton traits is of high importance.
dc.format	Electronic-eCollection
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Frontiers Media SA
dc.relation.ispartof	Frontiers in microbiology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3389/fmicb.2021.706235
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	0502 Environmental Science and Management, 0503 Soil Sciences, 0605 Microbiology
dc.title	A High-Throughput Assay for Quantifying Phenotypic Traits of Microalgae.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	12
utslib.location.activity	Switzerland
utslib.for	0502 Environmental Science and Management
utslib.for	0503 Soil Sciences
utslib.for	0605 Microbiology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - C3 - Climate Change Cluster
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2021-11-29T03:51:54Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	12

Abstract:

High-throughput methods for phenotyping microalgae are in demand across a variety of research and commercial purposes. Many microalgae can be readily cultivated in multi-well plates for experimental studies which can reduce overall costs, while measuring traits from low volume samples can reduce handling. Here we develop a high-throughput quantitative phenotypic assay (QPA) that can be used to phenotype microalgae grown in multi-well plates. The QPA integrates 10 low-volume, relatively high-throughput trait measurements (growth rate, cell size, granularity, chlorophyll a, neutral lipid content, silicification, reactive oxygen species accumulation, and photophysiology parameters: ETRmax, I_k, and alpha) into one workflow. We demonstrate the utility of the QPA on Thalassiosira spp., a cosmopolitan marine diatom, phenotyping six strains in a standard nutrient rich environment (f/2 media) using the full 10-trait assay. The multivariate phenotypes of strains can be simplified into two dimensions using principal component analysis, generating a trait-scape. We determine that traits show a consistent pattern when grown in small volume compared to more typical large volumes. The QPA can thus be used for quantifying traits across different growth environments without requiring exhaustive large-scale culturing experiments, which facilitates experiments on trait plasticity. We confirm that this assay can be used to phenotype newly isolated diatom strains within 4 weeks of isolation. The QPA described here is highly amenable to customisation for other traits or unicellular taxa and provides a framework for designing high-throughput experiments. This method will have applications in experimental evolution, modelling, and for commercial applications where screening of phytoplankton traits is of high importance.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/151903