Seaweed recruitment can be manipulated both through attachment structures and the timing of propagule production. Moreover, from a practical perspective control over fertility and gamete release is vital for embryological work and modern genomics. We focus on the regulation of release periodicity in Dictyota dichotoma, aiming to understand fertility by examining (1) the abiotic factors influencing fertility and (2) the lunar endogenous clock controlling the synchronous release of male and female gametes. Like in animals, seaweed reproductions is regulated by circadian, circalunar and seasonal rhythms. In the lab, we study the temperature tolerance of Dictyota populations in response to elevated temperatures in the context of global warming.
- Bogaert KA*, Beeckman T, De Clerck O (2016) Abiotic regulation of growth and fertility in the sporophyte of Dictyota dichotoma (Hudson) J.V. Lamouroux (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae). Journal of Applied Phycology 28: 2915-2924.
- Liu, X., Bogaert, KA., Engelen, A. H., Leliaert, F., Roleda, M. Y., & De Clerck, O.* (2017). Seaweed reproductive biology: environmental and genetic controls. Botanica Marina, 60(2), 89-108.
Embryological work on kelps requires control over fertility. In seaweeds that release their gametes externally, obtaining large populations of synchronously developing zygotes free from viable parthenotes and maternal tissue is easy. The attachment of eggs to the maternal gametophyte and the repeated gamete release over days obscure different cohorts. The occurrence of parthenogenetic development further conflates the study of kelp embryogenesis. Here, we aim to contribute insights for the study of economically important kelps, aiding sustainable seaweed aquaculture. For example by synchronizing kelp fertilisation and by mitigating the occurrence of parthenotes.
- Dries E, Meyers Y, Liesner D, Gonzaga F, Becker, J, Zakka EE., Beeckman T, Coelho S, De Clerck O & Bogaert KA* (2024). Cell wall-mediated maternal control of apical-basal patterning of the kelp Undaria pinnatifida. New Phytologist, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19953
Using metabolic responses of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to varying culture conditions we highlighted potential enhancements in biomass productivity and component accumulation provides valuable insights for advancing sustainable biotechnological applications in low-light and CO2-limited environments.
- Bogaert KA, Perez E, Rumin J, Giltay A, Carone M, Coosemans N, Radoux M, Eppe G, Levine RD, Remacle F, Remacle C. (2019) Metabolic, physiological, and transcriptomics analysis of batch cultures of the green microalga Chlamydomonas grown on different acetate concentrations. Cells 8: 1367
- Willamme R, Bogaert KA, Remacle F, Remacle C (2018) Surprisal analysis of the transcriptomic response of the green microalga Chlamydomonas to the addition of acetate during day/night cycles. Chemical Physics 514, 154-163
- Bogaert KA, Manoharan-basil SS, Perez E, Levine RD, Remacle F, Remacle C (2018) Surprisal analysis of genome-wide transcript profiling identifies differentially expressed genes and pathways associated with four growth conditions in the microalga Chlamydomonas. PLoS One 13: e0195142