Thylakoid plasticity primes photoprotection in diatoms
- 1LPCV, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire et Vegetale, Universite Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, INRAE, IRIG-DBSCI, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38000 Grenoble, France
Abstract
For many millions of years, diatoms have been major primary producers in marine ecosystems, supporting food webs and contributing to carbon sequestration through the export of photosynthetically fixed carbon to the deep ocean, mitigating atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and global climate. A key factor in their ecological success is their ability to rapidly adapt to fluctuating light, balancing efficient light harvesting under dim conditions with energy dissipation under excess light. However, the mechanisms behind this regulation have not been fully elucidated. This study shows that several processes contribute to dissipating excess excitation energy in diatoms exposed to light stress: (i) the detachment of the oxygen-evolving complex proteins from the PSII core, leading to energy dissipation via charge recombination, (ii) Non-Photochemical Quenching (NPQ) in the antenna, i.e., thermal dissipation of excited states and (iii) excitation energy transfer from PSII to PSI via energy spillover. The latter process is observed in parallel with high light-induced topological changes of the thylakoids that may favor transient interactions between the photosystems. Along with the accumulation of light-stress-protecting carotenoids on longer time-scales, this ensemble of photoprotective mechanisms provides a dynamic and flexible response to the light challenges expected in coastal marine habitats.
Related
- Nitric Oxide Signaling in Photosynthetic Resilience: Linking Photoprotection and Carbon Gain in Tropical Crops
- Deciphering photosynthetic protein networks: a crosslinking‐ MS strategy for studying functional thylakoid membranes
- Sustained photoprotection involves enhanced fluorescence intermittency in a subpopulation of LHCII
- Thylakoid Nanoarchitecture and Photosystem II Energy Partitioning in Response to Treatment with Huminatrin Concentrate “Boron”
- A morphology-driven workflow to decipher 3D electron microscopy segmentation in diatoms
BibTeX
@misc{compte2026thylakoid,
title = {{Thylakoid plasticity primes photoprotection in diatoms}},
author = {D. Perez Compte and D. Tolleter and C. Uwizeye and C. Giustini and L. Pernet and D. Fenel and C. Moriscot and W. Wietrzynski and R. Unnep and G. Nagy and G. Garab and P.-H. Jouneau and G. Schoehn and A. Krieger-Liszkay and B. D. Engel and P. Albanese and G. Finazzi and S. Flori},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.27.761787},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.27.761787v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Thylakoid plasticity primes photoprotection in diatoms
AU - D. Perez Compte
AU - D. Tolleter
AU - C. Uwizeye
AU - C. Giustini
AU - L. Pernet
AU - D. Fenel
AU - C. Moriscot
AU - W. Wietrzynski
AU - R. Unnep
AU - G. Nagy
AU - G. Garab
AU - P.-H. Jouneau
AU - G. Schoehn
AU - A. Krieger-Liszkay
AU - B. D. Engel
AU - P. Albanese
AU - G. Finazzi
AU - S. Flori
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/27
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.27.761787
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.27.761787v1
AB - For many millions of years, diatoms have been major primary producers in marine ecosystems, supporting food webs and contributing to carbon sequestration through the export of photosynthetically fixed carbon to the deep ocean, mitigating atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and global climate. A key factor in their ecological success is their ability to rapidly adapt to fluctuating light, balancing efficient light harvesting under dim conditions with energy dissipation under excess light. However, the mechanisms behind this regulation have not been fully elucidated. This study shows that several processes contribute to dissipating excess excitation energy in diatoms exposed to light stress: (i) the detachment of the oxygen-evolving complex proteins from the PSII core, leading to energy dissipation via charge recombination, (ii) Non-Photochemical Quenching (NPQ) in the antenna, i.e., thermal dissipation of excited states and (iii) excitation energy transfer from PSII to PSI via energy spillover. The latter process is observed in parallel with high light-induced topological changes of the thylakoids that may favor transient interactions between the photosystems. Along with the accumulation of light-stress-protecting carotenoids on longer time-scales, this ensemble of photoprotective mechanisms provides a dynamic and flexible response to the light challenges expected in coastal marine habitats.
ER -