A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Genetic engineering of dinoflagellate algae and the lethality of an introduced plastid terminal oxidase
Authors: Nimmo, Isabel C.; Evans, Catherine E.; Li, L. M.; Barbrook, Adrian C.; Geisler, Katrin; Kleiner, Friedrich Hans; Scarampi, Alberto; Kosmützky, Darius; Wey, Laura T.; Dorrell, Richard G.; Howe, Christopher J.; Nisbet, R. Ellen R.
Publication year: 2026
Journal: Protist
Article number: 126159
Volume: 181
ISSN: 1434-4610
eISSN: 1618-0941
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protis.2026.126159
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protis.2026.126159
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/523087346
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Dinoflagellate algae are a diverse group of single-celled eukaryotes, often living in marine environments. The majority of species are entirely free-living, but many can become symbionts with corals, jellyfish and other marine organisms. With rising sea temperatures, the function of the dinoflagellate photosynthetic machinery, and the redox state of the photosynthetic electron transport chain are impaired. This photosynthetic impairment is likely to be an important cause of coral bleaching. In the chloroplasts of plants and many algae, disturbance of the chloroplast redox state can be in part alleviated by the Plastid Terminal Oxidase protein (PTOX). Here, we made use of our newly developed genetic modification tools in the free-living dinoflagellate species Amphidinium carterae, which is found in both in temperate and tropical waters. We test if the introduction of PTOX to the chloroplast would allow A. carterae to withstand temperature stress. We find that the expression of the PTOX gene caused a lethal phenotype. Genetic engineering of dinoflagellate algae has long been problematic, and the ability to express heterologous proteins represents a significant advance in the long-term quest to engineer a heat-tolerant dinoflagellate.
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Funding information in the publication:
This research was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF4976.01 and GBMF9358) to CJH and RERN. CJH and RERN also acknowledge NERC (UKRI) grant NE/X010503/1 and Leverhulme Trust grant RPG-2025-195. DGK was funded by Gates Cambridge Trust and the Benn W Levy Trust, AS by a BBSRC studentship BB/M011194/1, and LTW by The Cambridge Trust. KG was funded by BBSRC (UKRI) grants BB/L014130/1 and BB/R021694/1. LML is a student from the FIRE PhD program funded by the Bettencourt Schueller foundation and the EURIP graduate program (ANR-17-EURE-0012). RGD acknowledges support from an ERC Starting Grant (‘ChloroMosaic’, grant number 101039760), awarded 2023-2028.
