Isolation and characterization of peroxiredoxin 1 gene of Dunaliella salina

Peroxiredoxin 1 (Prdx1) is a ubiquitously expressed protein in eukaryotic cells, and plays an important role in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and redox signaling. Although Prdx1 has been better studied in yeasts and humans, only few Prdx1 genes have been cloned in green algae. The microalga Dunaliella salina (D. salina) is a model for the study of a variety of human cilia-related diseases. In this study, a suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library of D. salina was constructed, and 6 flagellum-associated genes including D. salina Prdx1 (DsPrdx1) were isolated and identified. A 956 bp full-length cDNA of DsPrdx1 was cloned using rapid amplification of cDNA end (RACE). The open reading frame (ORF) of this DNA sequence encodes a polypeptide of 201 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 22 kDa and a theoretical isoelectric point (pI) of 5.27. Sequence comparison showed that Prdx1 is highly evolutionarily conserved from the unicellular green alga D. salina to human. To our knowledge, this is the first reported full-length sequence of Prdx1 in D. salina. Interestingly, the protein expression of DsPrdx1 was obviously increased during flagellar disassembly in D. salina. Additionally, a yeast two-hybrid assay showed interaction between Prdx1 and RNA, and suggested that DsPrdx1 can protect RNA from degradation by RNase. Taken together, DsPrdx1 not only participates in flagellar disassembly, but also protects RNA from degradation.