{
  "abstract": "Microalgae endemic to desert ecosystems possess exceptional stress-resistance traits; however, the physiological and molecular drought-adaptation mechanisms of desert-dwelling Chlorella remain largely uncharacterized. Herein, we combined physiological-biochemical assays, ultrastructural observation, transcriptomics and metabolomics to dissect drought responses in Taklamakan-desert-origin Chlorella sp. under polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG-6000)-simulated mild (10%), moderate (20%), and severe (30%) drought stress, with mechanistic focus on moderate-drought conditions. Moderate drought repressed algal biomass (-26.32%), chlorophyll a (-24.40%), maximum photosystem II quantum yield (Fv/Fm, -16.55%) and effective quantum yield of photosystem II (ΦPSII, -24.35%). Malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulated (+50.69%), alongside elevated activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD, +156.74%) and catalase (CAT, +11.61%). Compatible solutes, including proline, soluble sugars, total protein and total lipid, increased significantly by 39.00%, 39.36%, 26.35% and 23.06%, respectively (p < 0.05). Moderate drought triggered cell swelling, partial cell-wall rupture and prominent enlargement of intracellular starch granules and lipid droplets. Transcriptomic profiling demonstrated up-regulation of transcription-translation and DNA-repair machinery, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, abscisic acid (ABA)/jasmonic acid (JA) signaling, and biosynthetic pathways for protective metabolites, whereas catabolic pathways and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling were suppressed. Untargeted metabolomics further validated accumulation of trehalose, stress-protective amino acids, vitamins and functional lipids, while chloroplast-membrane-related metabolites and catabolic intermediates declined. This multi-omics study systematically reveals physiological and molecular regulatory cascades underlying drought tolerance in desert Chlorella sp., providing candidate genes and metabolites to support microalgal resource exploitation for arid-zone applications.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "College of Life Sciences, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China.",
    "Key Laboratory of Oasis Town and Mountain-Basin System Ecology, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shihezi 832000, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kai Han"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yongshun Zhou"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ruyue Tan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Kaile Fan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mingliang Ding"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Junyan Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jianqiao Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jianfeng Gao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Fulong Chen"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anm80ac0qm53a.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/ijms27198439",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13664879",
  "id": "anm80ac0qm53a",
  "issns": [
    "1422-0067"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883689",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1110|Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214052520",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13664879?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13664879",
  "pmid": "42883689",
  "published": "2026-09-22",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anm80ac0qm53a.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42883689",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42883689"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1110|Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance",
      "subfield": "plant-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Physiological-Biochemical Characteristics and Omics Landscape of Drought Tolerance in Chlorella sp. from the Taklamakan Desert of China.",
  "title_text": "Physiological-Biochemical Characteristics and Omics Landscape of Drought Tolerance in Chlorella sp. from the Taklamakan Desert of China.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:16Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anm80ac0qm53a",
  "venue": "International journal of molecular sciences",
  "versions": []
}