Abstract
Performance of photosynthesis and nitrogenase activity in a novel cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. strain BO 8402, isolated from Lake Constance, located at the northern fringe of the Alps in central Europe, and of a stable derivative, strain BO 9201, were examined. Strain BO 8402 is characterized by an extraordinarily high level of autofluorescence originating from paracrystalline phycobiliprotein-linker complexes located in inclusion bodies (W. Reuter, M. Westermann, S. Brass, A. Ernst, P. Böger, and W. Wehrmeyer, J. Bacteriol. 176:896-904, 1994). Energy transfer between paracrystalline phycobiliproteins and the photosystems is inefficient, resulting in a high oxygen compensation point and a decreased growth rate. The derivative strain BO 9201 exhibits hemidiscoidal phycobilisomes that support a high growth rate, even under low light intensities. Because of the differences in photosynthetic performance, anaerobic light-stimulated nitrogenase activity is maintained at higher light intensity in the original strain BO 8402 than in the derivative strain BO 9201. The results indicate that the formation of paracrystalline phycobiliproteins in Synechocystis sp. strain BO 8402 represents a hitherto-unknown means for a unicellular cyanobacterium to extend its capacity to fix nitrogen in the light.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Arnon D. I., McSwain B. D., Tsujimoto H. Y., Wada K. Photochemical activity and components of membrane preparations from blue-green algae. I. Coexistence of two photosystems in relation to chlorophyll a and removal of phycocyanin. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1974 Aug 23;357(2):231–245. doi: 10.1016/0005-2728(74)90063-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Bruce D., Brimble S., Bryant D. A. State transitions in a phycobilisome-less mutant of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1989 Apr 17;974(1):66–73. doi: 10.1016/s0005-2728(89)80166-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Defrancesco N., Potts M. Cloning of nifHD from Nostoc commune UTEX 584 and of a flanking region homologous to part of the Azotobacter vinelandii nifU gene. J Bacteriol. 1988 Jul;170(7):3297–3300. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.7.3297-3300.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fay P. Oxygen relations of nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria. Microbiol Rev. 1992 Jun;56(2):340–373. doi: 10.1128/mr.56.2.340-373.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Glazer A. N. Light harvesting by phycobilisomes. Annu Rev Biophys Biophys Chem. 1985;14:47–77. doi: 10.1146/annurev.bb.14.060185.000403. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Golden S. S., Brusslan J., Haselkorn R. Expression of a family of psbA genes encoding a photosystem II polypeptide in the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2. EMBO J. 1986 Nov;5(11):2789–2798. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1986.tb04569.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Reuter W., Westermann M., Brass S., Ernst A., Böger P., Wehrmeyer W. Structure, composition, and assembly of paracrystalline phycobiliproteins in Synechocystis sp. strain BO 8402 and of phycobilisomes in the derivative strain BO 9201. J Bacteriol. 1994 Feb;176(3):896–904. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.3.896-904.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Southern E. M. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol. 1975 Nov 5;98(3):503–517. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(75)80083-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Su X., Fraenkel P. G., Bogorad L. Excitation energy transfer from phycocyanin to chlorophyll in an apcA-defective mutant of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. J Biol Chem. 1992 Nov 15;267(32):22944–22950. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]