Diel Trade-Off Between Anabolism and Catabolism: Coordinated Diel Regulation of Physiology, Transcription and Metabolism in Harmful Algae Microcystis aeruginosa.

Microcystis aeruginosa exhibits a diel rhythm with daytime upregulation of anabolic pathways and nighttime activation of catabolic pathways, organizing metabolism into opposing modules.

• Why it matters: Understanding diel regulation in bloom-forming cyanobacteria like Microcystis is crucial for predicting and managing harmful algal blooms, which threaten water quality and ecosystem health.
• What they did: The study combined physiological measurements, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to analyze diel dynamics under a 14-h:10-h light-dark cycle, revealing distinct gene expression and metabolite patterns.
• The result: Findings show a coordinated trade-off between daytime anabolism and nighttime catabolism, providing mechanistic insights that could inform bloom monitoring and control strategies.