Phosphorus is an essential element for life on earth and is also important for modern agriculture, which is dependent on inorganic fertilizers from phosphate rock. Polyphosphate is a biological polymer of phosphate residues, which is accumulated in organisms during the biological wastewater treatment process to enhance biological phosphorus removal. Here, we investigated the relationship between polyphosphate accumulation and electron-dense bodies in the green alga Parachlorella kessleri. Under sulfur-depleted conditions, in which some symporter genes were upregulated, while others were downregulated, total phosphate accumulation increased in the early stage of culture compared to that under sulfur-replete conditions. The P signal was detected only in dense bodies by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Transmission electron microscopy revealed marked ultrastructural variations in dense bodies with and without polyphosphate. Our findings suggest that the dense body is a site of polyphosphate accumulation, and P. kessleri has potential as a phosphate-accumulating organism.

Bioimaging Center Graduate School of Frontier Science University of Tokyo Kashiwa Chiba 277 8562 Japan

Center for Omics and Bioinformatics Graduate School of Frontier Sciences University of Tokyo Kashiwa Chiba 277 8561 Japan

CREST Japan Science and Technology Agency Tokyo Japan

Department of Integrated Biosciences Graduate School of Frontier Sciences University of Tokyo Kashiwa Chiba 277 8562 Japan

Hitachi High Technologies Corporation Science and Medical Systems Business Group Nishi shinbashi Tokyo 105 8717 Japan

Institute of Microbiology CAS Centre Algatech Laboratory of Cell Cycles of Algae Třeboň Czech Republic

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