1,720,993 research outputs found
Rational engineering of photosynthetic electron flux enhances light-powered cytochrome P450 activity
No full textIn this study we exploited a modified photosynthetic electron-transfer chain (PET) in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7002, where electrons derived from water-splitting are used to power reactions catalyzed by a heterologous cytochrome P450 (CYP1A1). A simple in vivo fluorescent assay for CYP1A1 activity was employed to determine the impact of rationally engineering of photosynthetic electron flow. This showed that knocking out a subunit of the type I NADH dehydrogenase complex (NDH-1), suggested to be involved in cyclic photosynthetic electron flow (ΔndhD2), can double the activity of CYP1A1, with a concomitant increase in the flux of electrons from photosynthesis. This also resulted in an increase in cellular ATP and the ATP/NADPH ratio, suggesting that expression of a heterologous electron sink in photosynthetic organisms can be used to modify the bioenergetic landscape of the cell. We therefore demonstrate that CYP1A1 is limited by electron supply and that photosynthesis can be re-engineered to increase heterologous P450 activity for the production of high-value bioproducts. The increase in cellular ATP achieved could be harnessed to support metabolically demanding heterologous processes. Furthermore, this experimental system could provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of photosynthesis
Biogeography of Photosynthetic Light-Harvesting Genes in Marine Phytoplankton
No full textPhotosynthetic light-harvesting proteins are the mechanism by which energy enters the marine ecosystem. The dominant prokaryotic photoautotrophs are the cyanobacterial genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus that are defined by two distinct light-harvesting systems, chlorophyll-bound protein complexes or phycobilin-bound protein complexes, respectively. Here, we use the Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) Project as a unique and powerful tool to analyze the environmental diversity of photosynthetic light-harvesting genes in relation to available metadata including geographical location and physical and chemical environmental parameters
Supramolecular organization of phycobiliproteins in the chlorophyll d-containing cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina
No full textHere we report the high-resolution detail of the organization of phycobiliprotein structures associated with photosynthetic membranes of the chlorophyll d-containing cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina. Cryo-electron transmission-microscopy on native cell sections show extensive patches of near-crystalline phycobiliprotein rods that are associated with the stromal side of photosynthetic membranes. This supramolecular photosynthetic structure represents a novel mechanism of organizing the photosynthetic light-harvesting machinery. In addition, the specific location of phycobiliprotein patches suggests a physical separation of photosystem I and photosystem II reaction centres. Based on this finding and the known photosystem’s structure in Acaryochloris, we discuss possible membrane arrangements of photosynthetic membrane complexes in this species.<br/
Photosynthetic community responses to upwelling in mesoscale eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
No full textIn this paper we summarise the photo-physiological responses of phytoplankton to upwelling of macronutrients in mesoscale eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic (EDDIES project, Sargasso Sea) and subtropical North Pacific (E-FLUX project, Hawaii). The observations, obtained on two sets of cruises over 2 years, occupied six cyclonic eddies and two mode-water eddies. The photosynthetic physiological parameters were measured using a bench-top fluorescence induction and relaxation (FIRe) system and a submersible in situ fast repetition rate fluorometer (FRRF) deployed on an undulating towed vehicle. Both of these instruments were used to provide highly sensitive and well-resolved data on community responses. The responses are dependent on both the type of eddy and its stage of development. Our results indicate that, while cyclonic eddies in the Atlantic and Pacific can increase primary photosynthetic production early in their development, mode-water eddies in the subtropical North Atlantic can support patchy blooms of large diatoms for long periods of time (more than 3 months)
Structure of a photosystem II supercomplex isolated from Prochloron didemni retaining its chlorophyll a/b light-harvesting system
No full textProchlorophytes are a class of cyanobacteria that do not use phycobiliproteins as light-harvesting systems, but contain chlorophyll (Chl) a/b-binding Pcb proteins. Recently it was shown that Pcb proteins form an 18-subunit light-harvesting antenna ring around the photosystem I (PSI) trimeric reaction center complex of the prochlorophyte Prochlorococcus marinus SS120. Here we have investigated whether the symbiotic prochlorophyte Prochloron didemni also contains the same supermolecular complex. Using cells isolated directly from its ascidian host, we found no evidence for the presence of the Pcb-PSI supercomplex. Instead we have identified and characterized a supercomplex composed of photosystem II (PSII) and Pcb proteins. We show that 10-Pcb subunits associate with the PSII dimeric reaction center core to form a giant complex having an estimated Mr of 1,500 kDa with dimensions of 210 x 290 A. Five-Pcb subunits flank each long side of the dimer and assuming each binds 13 Chl molecules, increase the antenna size of PSII by approximately 200%. Fluorescence emission studies indicate that energy transfer occurs efficiently from the Pcb antenna. Modeling using the x-ray structure of cyanobacterial PSII suggests that energy transfer to the PSII reaction center is via the Chls bound to the CP47 and CP43 proteins
Accessory chlorophyll proteins in cyanobacterial photosystem I
No full textThe IsiA protein accumulates in many cyanobacteria under conditions of iron starvation. It is a Chl a-binding protein, which is closely related to the six-transmembrane ?-helical antenna family typified by CP43 of PS II. One of its functions is to provide an efficient accessory light harvesting system for Photosystem I (PS I) by forming a ring of 18 IsiA subunits around the trimeric reaction center core. This response is probably to compensate for a drop in the PS I level relative to Photosystem II (PS II) and, the level of phycobiliproteins, in response to iron deficiency. A similar accessory light harvesting system for PS I has been shown to occur in cyanobacteria that do not contain phycobiliproteins, often termed prochlorophytes. This light harvesting system is composed of Pcb proteins that are closely related to IsiA but bind Chl b as well as Chl a. Unlike IsiA, Pcb proteins can also provide accessory light harvesting systems for PS II. Some cyanobacteria contain phycobiliproteins and Pcb proteins, where both are able to function as light harvesting systems. In one case the Pcb protein seems to bind only Chl a (Fischerella muscicola) while in another they bind Chl a (Acaryochloris marina). Sequence analysis indicates that the IsiA/Pcb proteins have very similar pigment binding sites to those of CP43 and to a lesser extent to the other reaction center proteins of this family and have the capacity to accommodate several different forms of Chl. The six-transmembrane ?-helical Chl-binding proteins, of which IsiA and Pcb are members, seem to have evolved from a basic evolutionary building block providing both internal and accessory light harvesting systems for a wide range of photosynthetic organisms
Summertime trends in pelagic biogeochemistry at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain study site in the northeast Atlantic
No full textMeasurements of nitrate and carbon uptake made in July 2006 in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean are evaluated with reference to the photophysiology of the attendant phytoplankton population. Over the 11-day observation period integrated chlorophyll concentrations and carbon fixation rates decreased by 76% and 60%, respectively. Integrated nitrate uptake decreased by 50% from initial to final rates but was generally less variable than carbon fixation and chlorophyll in the intervening period. Satellite derived estimates of surface chlorophyll concentrations reveal the uptake observations to be coincident with, and subsequent to, a peak in summer time production. Large reductions in diatom and dinoflagellate abundance were also seen at this time, with indications that increased grazing, due to an increase in ciliate abundance, was an important mechanism terminating summertime production in the NE Atlantic. Meanwhile, the presence of consistently low values of Fv/Fm (<0.3), particularly in surface waters, suggests that production occurs, or is inhibited, with suboptimal photochemical efficiency widespread amongst the phytoplankton population. Furthermore, the low values of Fv/Fm were not alleviated by day-to-day variability in macronutrient concentration. The timing of our observations places them within the seasonal period recognised for the widespread phenomena of carbon overconsumption, and we estimate C:N uptake ratios at this time could be as high as 13:1
Long-term impacts of mixotrophy on ocean carbon storage: insights from a 10 000 year global model simulation
Full text linkMixotrophs-organisms that combine the use of light and inorganic resources with the ingestion of prey-have been shown in simulations to increase mean organism size and carbon export in the ocean. These simulations have, however, been limited to decade-long timescales that are insufficient to investigate the impacts of mixotrophy on the ocean's long-term capacity for carbon storage. Here we explore these long-term impacts using a low-resolution ocean model that resolves important feedbacks between surface ecology and the ocean interior over multi-millennial periods. The model was compared in two configurations: one with a strict distinction between phytoplankton and zooplankton populations and one in which all populations were assumed to be capable of mixotrophy. Consistent with earlier studies, we found that increased carbon and nutrient export associated with mixotrophy was rapidly established within the first few years of the simulation and was robust over long time scales. However, we also found that these increases were partially offset over longer time scales by a decline in “preformed” inorganic carbon and nutrients entering the deep ocean via the sinking of surface waters. Over the 10 000 year duration of the simulations, we found that ecologically-driven changes in C export increased the oceanic C inventory by up to 537 Pg, and that this was partially offset by decline of 150 Pg in the preformed C inventory, leaving a net increase of up to 387 PgC (∼1 %)
Evidence for polyploidy in the globally important diazotroph Trichodesmium
No full textPolyploidy is a well-described trait in some prokaryotic organisms; however, it is unusual in marine microbes from oligotrophic environments, which typically display a tendency towards genome streamlining. The biogeochemically significant diazotrophic cyanobacterium Trichodesmium is a potential exception. With a relatively large genome and a comparatively high proportion of non-protein-coding DNA, Trichodesmium appears to allocate relatively more resources to genetic material than closely related organisms and microbes within the same environment. Through simultaneous analysis of gene abundance and direct cell counts, we show for the first time that Trichodesmium spp. can also be highly polyploid, containing as many as 100 genome copies per cell in field-collected samples and >600 copies per cell in laboratory cultures. These findings have implications for the widespread use of the abundance of the nifH gene (encoding a subunit of the N2-fixing enzyme nitrogenase) as an approach for quantifying the abundance and distribution of marine diazotrophs. Moreover, polyploidy may combine with the unusual genomic characteristics of this genus both in reflecting evolutionary dynamics and influencing phenotypic plasticity and ecological resilience
Phosphite utilization by the globally important marine diazotroph Trichodesmium
No full textSpecies belonging to the filamentous cyanobacterial genus Trichodesmium are responsible for a significant fraction of oceanic nitrogen fixation. The availability of phosphorus (P) likely constrains the growth of Trichodesmium in certain regions of the ocean. Moreover, Trichodesmium species have recently been shown to play a role in an emerging oceanic phosphorus redox cycle, further highlighting the key role these microbes play in many biogeochemical processes in the contemporary ocean. Here, we show that Trichodesmium erythraeum?IMS101 can grow on the reduced inorganic compound phosphite as its sole source of P. The components responsible for phosphite utilization are identified through heterologous expression of the T. erythraeum?IMS101 Tery_0365–0368 genes, encoding a putative adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette transporter and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent dehydrogenase, in the model cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. We demonstrate that only combined expression of both the transporter and the dehydrogenase enables Synechocystis to utilize phosphite, confirming the function of Tery_0365-0367 as a phosphite uptake system (PtxABC) and Tery_0368 as a phosphite dehydrogenase (PtxD). Our findings suggest that reported uptake of phosphite by Trichodesmium consortia in the field likely reflects an active biological process by Trichodesmium. These results highlight the diversity of phosphorus sources available to Trichodesmium in a resource-limited ocean
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