Efficient phage-mediated pigment biosynthesis in oceanic cyanobacteria

Although the oceanic cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus harvests light with a chlorophyll antenna [1-3] rather than with the phycobilisomes that are typical of cyanobacteria, some strains express genes that are remnants of the ancestral Synechococcus phycobilisomes [4]. Similarly, some Prochlorococcus cyanophages, which often harbor photosynthesis-related genes [5], also carry homologs of phycobilisome pigment biosynthesis genes [6, 7]. Here, we investigate four such genes in two cyanophages that both infect abundant Prochlorococcus strains [8]: homologs of heme oxygenase (ho1), 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (pebA), ferredoxin (petF) in the myovirus P-SSM2, and a phycocyanobilin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (pcyA) homolog in the myovirus P-SSM4. We demonstrate that the phage homologs mimic the respective host activities, with the exception of the divergent phage PebA homolog. In this case, the phage PebA single-handedly catalyzes a reaction for which uninfected host cells require two consecutive enzymes, PebA and PebB. We thus renamed the phage enzyme phycoerythrobilin synthase (PebS). This gene, and other pigment biosynthesis genes encoded by P-SSM2 (petF and ho1), are transcribed during infection, suggesting that they can improve phage fitness. Analyses of global ocean metagenomes show that PcyA and Ho1 occur in both cyanobacteria and their phages, whereas the novel PebS-encoding gene is exclusive to phages.     

Functional expression of plastid allophycocyanin genes in a cyanobacterium.

In Cyanophora paradoxa, the allophycocyanin apoprotein subunits, alpha and beta, are encoded in the cyanelle (plastid) genome. These genes were transferred to the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 on a plasmid replicon. Phycobilisomes isolated from transformed cyanobacteria were found to contain C. paradoxa allophycocyanin subunits. Thus, these plastid genes are expressed in the cyanobacterium as polypeptides which become linked to a chromophore and are incorporated into the light-harvesting apparatus.     

A class-I intron in a cyanelle tRNA gene from Cyanophora paradoxa: phylogenetic relationship between cyanelles and plant chloroplasts

Cyanelles are photosynthetic organelles which are considered as intermediates between cyanobacteria and chloroplasts, and which have been found in unicellular eukaryotes such as Cyanophora paradoxa. The nucleotide sequence of a 667-bp region of the cyanelle genome from Cyanophora paradoxa containing genes coding for tRNA(UUCGlu) and tRNA(UAALeu) has been determined. The gene coding for tRNA(UAALeu) is split by a 232-bp intron which has a secondary structure typical for class-I structured introns and which is closely related to the intron located in the corresponding gene from liverwort and higher plant chloroplasts. It appears therefore that these tRNA(UAALeu) genes are all derived from one common ancestral gene which already contained a class-I intron.     

Ribosomal protein L35: identification in spinach chloroplasts and isolation of a cDNA clone encoding its cytoplasmic precursor

We describe the isolation of spinach chloroplast ribosomal protein L35 and characterization of a cDNA clone encoding its cytoplasmic precursor. This protein was only recently identified in ribosomes, but the sequences of four L35 genes have now been reported and confirm its presence in eubacteria, chloroplasts, and cyanelles. Using N-terminal sequence data, oligonucleotides were designed and a cDNA library was screened. The nucleotide sequence of the cDNA clones shows that the spinach L35 protein is encoded as a precursor of 159 residues, comprising a mature protein of 73 residues and a transit peptide of 86 residues. The cleavage site for forming the mature protein is deduced to be Thr-Val-Phe-Ala decreases Ala-Lys-Gly-Tyr. The L35 protein in the photosynthetic organelle of the protozoan Cyanophora paradoxa is encoded in the organelle DNA [Bryant & Stirewalt (1990) FEBS Lett. 259, 273-280]. The corresponding gene has not been found in the chloroplast DNA of a lower plant (liverwort) and two higher plants. Our results demonstrate that the L35 protein in a higher plant (spinach) is encoded in the nucleus. This finding, in light of the endosymbiont hypothesis, suggests an organelle to nucleus transfer of the L35 gene at the evolutionary beginnings of land plants.     

Identification of a vinyl reductase gene for chlorophyll synthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana and implications for the evolution of Prochlorococcus species

Chlorophyll metabolism has been extensively studied with various organisms, and almost all of the chlorophyll biosynthetic genes have been identified in higher plants. However, only the gene for 3,8-divinyl protochlorophyllide a 8-vinyl reductase (DVR), which is indispensable for monovinyl chlorophyll synthesis, has not been identified yet. In this study, we isolated an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant that accumulated divinyl chlorophyll instead of monovinyl chlorophyll by ethyl methanesulfonate mutagenesis. Map-based cloning of this mutant resulted in the identification of a gene (AT5G18660) that shows sequence similarity with isoflavone reductase genes. The mutant phenotype was complemented by the transformation with the wild-type gene. A recombinant protein encoded by AT5G18660 was expressed in Escherichia coli and found to catalyze the conversion of divinyl chlorophyllide to monovinyl chlorophyllide, thereby demonstrating that the gene encodes a functional DVR. DVR is encoded by a single copy gene in the A. thaliana genome. With the identification of DVR, finally all genes required for chlorophyll biosynthesis have been identified in higher plants. Analysis of the complete genome of A. thaliana showed that it has 15 enzymes encoded by 27 genes for chlorophyll biosynthesis from glutamyl-tRNA(glu) to chlorophyll b. Furthermore, identification of the DVR gene helped understanding the evolution of Prochlorococcus marinus, a marine cyanobacterium that is dominant in the open ocean and is uncommon in using divinyl chlorophylls. A DVR homolog was not found in the genome of P. marinus but found in the Synechococcus sp WH8102 genome, which is consistent with the distribution of divinyl chlorophyll in marine cyanobacteria of the genera Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus.     

Plant Proteins Are Smaller Because They Are Encoded by Fewer Exons than Animal Proteins

Protein size is an important biochemical feature since longer proteins can harbor more domains and therefore can display more biological functionalities than shorter proteins. We found remarkable differences in protein length, exon structure, and domain count among different phylo-genetic lineages. While eukaryotic proteins have an average size of 472 amino acid residues (aa), average protein sizes in plant genomes are smaller than those of animals and fungi. Proteins unique to plants are ?81 aa shorter than plant proteins conserved among other eukaryotic lineages. The smaller average size of plant proteins could neither be explained by endosymbiosis nor subcellular compartmentation nor exon size, but rather due to exon number. Metazoan proteins are encoded on average by ?10 exons of small size [?176 nucleotides (nt)]. Streptophyta have on average only ?5.7 exons of medium size (?230 nt). Multicellular species code for large proteins by increasing the exon number, while most unicellular organisms employ rather larger exons (>400 nt). Among sub-cellular compartments, membrane proteins are the largest (?520 aa), whereas the smallest proteins correspond to the gene ontology group of ribosome (?240 aa). Plant genes are encoded by half the number of exons and also contain fewer domains than animal proteins on average. Interestingly, endosymbiotic proteins that migrated to the plant nucleus became larger than their cyanobacterial orthologs. We thus conclude that plants have proteins larger than bacteria but smaller than animals or fungi. Compared to the average of eukaryotic species, plants have ?34%more but ?20%smal-ler proteins. This suggests that photosynthetic organisms are unique and deserve therefore special attention with regard to the evolutionary forces acting on their genomes and proteomes.     

The human serum amyloid A (SAA)-encoding gene GSAA1: nucleotide sequence and possible autocrine-collagenase-inducer function

We have determined the genomic sequence of the human GSAA1 gene, a member of the family of acute-phase human serum amyloid A (SAA)-encoding genes. This sequence predicts a mature protein of 104 amino acids (aa), several of which differ from residues usually conserved in the sequence of SAA proteins isolated from serum. Despite coding differences, however, the four-exon structure of GSAA1 resembles that of other SAA genes in humans and mice. The N-terminal 25 aa of the mature GSAA1 protein are virtually identical to those of an 'SAA-like' autocrine collagenase inducer produced by rabbit synovial fibroblasts; the latter also differ from the corresponding aa found in SAA in serum. We propose that GSAA1 is the human gene coding for a protein closely related to the SAA, but which is adapted to this important autocrine cytokine function.     

Nucleus-encoded, plastid-targeted acetolactate synthase genes in two closely related chlorophytes, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri: phylogenetic origins and recent insertion of introns

Acetolactate synthase (ALS) catalyzes the first committed step in the synthesis of branched-chain amino acids. In green plants and fungi, ALS is encoded by a nuclear gene whose product is targeted to plastids (in plants) or to mitochondria (in fungi). In red algae, the gene is plastid-encoded. We have determined the complete sequence of nucleus-encoded ALS genes from the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri. Phylogenetic analyses of the ALS gene family indicate that the ALS genes of green algae and plants are closely related, sharing a recent common ancestor. Furthermore, although these genes are clearly of eubacterial origin, a relationship to the ALS genes of red algae and cyanobacteria (endosymbiotic precursors of plastids) is only weakly indicated. The algal ALS genes are distinguished from their homologs in higher plants by the fact that they are interrupted by numerous spliceosomal introns; plant ALS genes completely lack introns. The restricted phylogenetic distribution of these introns suggests that they were inserted recently, after the divergence of these green algae from plants. Two introns in the Volvox ALS gene, not found in the Chlamydomonas gene, are positioned precisely at sites which resemble “proto-splice” sequences in the Chlamydomonas gene.     

Cytochrome c6 from Cyanophora paradoxa. Characterization of the protein and the cDNA of the precursor and import into isolated cyanelles.

In the eukaryotic alga Cyanophora paradoxa, which does not contain plastocyanin, photosynthetic electron transport from the cytochrome b6/f complex to photosystem I is mediated by cytochrome c6. Cytochrome c6 was purified to homogeneity by column chromatography and FPLC. The relative molecular mass of the holoprotein was determined by two different mass spectrometric methods (californium-252 plasma desorption and UV matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization) giving 9251 +/- 3.3 Da. N-terminal Edman microsequencing yielded information on approx. 30 amino acid residues. Based on these data and on highly conserved regions of cytochromes c6, degenerate oligonucleotides were designed and used for PCR to amplify the genomic DNA of C. paradoxa. Screening of a C. paradoxa cDNA library yielded several clones coding for preapo-cytochrome c6. The deduced sequence of the mature protein was verified by plasma desorption mass spectrometric peptide mapping and shows high similarity to those of cytochromes c6 from cyanobacteria and algae. Cytochrome c6 appears to be encoded by a single nuclear gene (petJ) in C. paradoxa. As the mature protein is located in the lumen of the thylakoid membrane, it has to traverse three biological membranes as well as the unique peptidoglycan layer of the cyanelles before it reaches its final subcellular locale. Thus the transit sequence is composed of two different targeting signals: a stroma targeting peptide resembling those of higher plants with respect to hydropathy plots and amino acid composition and a hydrophobic signal peptide functioning as a thylakoid-traversing domain. There are indications for alternative sorting of part of the cyanelle cytochrome c6 pool to the periplasmic space. This is the first known bipartite transit sequence of a cyanelle precursor protein from C. paradoxa, a model organism concerning the endosymbiotic origin of plastids. Labeled precursor is efficiently imported into isolated cyanelles, then routed into thylakoids and processed to the mature protein. Hitherto, in vitro protein translocation was not reported for cyanobacterial-type thylakoids.     

葡萄NCED基因家族进化及表达分析

9-顺式-环氧类胡萝卜素双加氧酶(NCED)是植物体内ABA生物合成的关键限速酶, 参与植物对干旱、外源ABA和高盐的响应过程, 降低环境胁迫对植株的危害。基于全基因组鉴定分析葡萄(Vitis vinifera) NCED基因家族成员, 探讨各成员的物种进化关系及各个基因成员在不同组织中的时空表达模式及对干旱、ABA和高盐(NaCl)胁迫的响应, 为进一步揭示该基因家族成员的生物学功能奠定基础。在葡萄基因组中共发现12个NCED基因。其推测的编码蛋白质长度在510 (VvNCED2)-625 aa (VvNCED10)之间。VvNCED蛋白的分子量最大值是70.53 kDa (VvNCED10), 最小值是57.85 kDa (VvNCED2)。在从祖先基因分化之后, 葡萄NCED基因发生了5次复制事件, 同时有2次丢失事件。NCED1/2、NCED3/4、NCED6/7和NCED9/10基因对被认为是通过片段复制产生。上述4对复制基因复制时间分布在3.08-120.0百万年前, 晚于单双子叶植物分化的时间。与对照相比, VvNCED1在ABA处理48小时后显著上调(72.1%), 而VvNCED2显著下调(84.0%)。VvNCED6只在干旱处理14、21和28天的根系中表达量高于对照, 分别为对照的2.49、1.05和1.09倍。VvNCED7只在干旱处理14天的根系中表达量高于对照, 为对照的1.07倍。在ABA处理72小时后, VvNCED3表达量较对照显著下调(59.5%), 而VvNCED4较对照显著上调(169.9%)。VvNCED3/VvNCED4分别在NaCl处理24和48小时出现显著性峰值, 较对照分别上调219.2%和114.4%。保守结构域不同组成和不同胁迫处理下差异表达模式是NCED蛋白发生功能分化的基础。推测NCED在进化过程中发生的功能分化有利于复制事件的发生。     

Extrinsic proteins of photosystem II: an intermediate member of PsbQ protein family in red algal PS II.

The oxygen-evolving photosystem II (PS II) complex of red algae contains four extrinsic proteins of 12 kDa, 20 kDa, 33 kDa and cyt c-550, among which the 20 kDa protein is unique in that it is not found in other organisms. We cloned the gene for the 20-kDa protein from a red alga Cyanidium caldarium. The gene consists of a leader sequence which can be divided into two parts: one for transfer across the plastid envelope and the other for transfer into thylakoid lumen, indicating that the gene is encoded by the nuclear genome. The sequence of the mature 20-kDa protein has low but significant homology with the extrinsic 17-kDa (PsbQ) protein of PS II from green algae Volvox Carteri and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, as well as the PsbQ protein of higher plants and PsbQ-like protein from cyanobacteria. Cross-reconstitution experiments with combinations of the extrinsic proteins and PS IIs from the red alga Cy. caldarium and green alga Ch. reinhardtii showed that the extrinsic 20-kDa protein was functional in place of the green algal 17-kDa protein on binding to the green algal PS II and restoration of oxygen evolution. From these results, we conclude that the 20-kDa protein is the ancestral form of the extrinsic 17-kDa protein in green algal and higher plant PS IIs. This provides an important clue to the evolution of the oxygen-evolving complex from prokaryotic cyanobacteria to eukaryotic higher plants. The gene coding for the extrinsic 20-kDa protein was named psbQ' (prime).     

Nucleotide sequence of the Vibrio alginolyticus calcium-dependent, detergent-resistant alkaline serine exoprotease A

The nucleotide sequence of the Vibrio alginolyticus alkaline serine exoprotease A (ProA) gene cloned in Escherichia coli was determined. The exoprotease A gene (proA) consisted of 1602 bp which encoded a protein of 534 amino acids (aa) with an Mr of 55,900. The region upstream from the gene was characterized by a putative promoter consensus region (-10 -35), a ribosome-binding site and ATG start codon. The proA gene encodes a typical 21-aa N-terminal signal sequence which, when fused to alkaline phosphatase by means of transposon TnphoA, was able to mediate transport of the alkaline phosphatase to the periplasm in E. coli. Deletions of up to 106 aa from the C terminus of ProA did not result in the loss of extracellular protease activity. Additional V. alginolyticus genes were not involved in the secretion into the medium of the cloned ProA in E. coli. The amino acid sequence of ProA showed low overall homology to a Serratia marcescens serine exoprotease but significant homology was detected with other subtilisin family exoproteases. The fungal proteinase K, another sodium dodecyl sulfate-resistant protease, had 44% aa homology with ProA.     

Nucleus-encoded, plastid-targeted acetolactate synthase genes in two closely related chlorophytes, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri : phylogenetic origins and recent insertion of introns

Acetolactate synthase (ALS) catalyzes the first committed step in the synthesis of branched-chain amino acids. In green plants and fungi, ALS is encoded by a nuclear gene whose product is targeted to plastids (in plants) or to mitochondria (in fungi). In red algae, the gene is plastid-encoded. We have determined the complete sequence of nucleus-encoded ALS genes from the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri. Phylogenetic analyses of the ALS gene family indicate that the ALS genes of green algae and plants are closely related, sharing a recent common ancestor. Furthermore, although these genes are clearly of eubacterial origin, a relationship to the ALS genes of red algae and cyanobacteria (endosymbiotic precursors of plastids) is only weakly indicated. The algal ALS genes are distinguished from their homologs in higher plants by the fact that they are interrupted by numerous spliceosomal introns; plant ALS genes completely lack introns. The restricted phylogenetic distribution of these introns suggests that they were inserted recently, after the divergence of these green algae from plants. Two introns in the Volvox ALS gene, not found in the Chlamydomonas gene, are positioned precisely at sites which resemble “proto-splice” sequences in the Chlamydomonas gene. Received: 27 November 1998 / Accepted: 21 April 1999     

葡萄NCED基因家族进化及表达分析

9-顺式-环氧类胡萝卜素双加氧酶(NCED)是植物体内ABA生物合成的关键限速酶, 参与植物对干旱、外源ABA和高盐的响应过程, 降低环境胁迫对植株的危害。基于全基因组鉴定分析葡萄(Vitis vinifera) NCED基因家族成员, 探讨各成员的物种进化关系及各个基因成员在不同组织中的时空表达模式及对干旱、ABA和高盐(NaCl)胁迫的响应, 为进一步揭示该基因家族成员的生物学功能奠定基础。在葡萄基因组中共发现12个NCED基因。其推测的编码蛋白质长度在510 (VvNCED2)-625 aa (VvNCED10)之间。VvNCED蛋白的分子量最大值是70.53 kDa (VvNCED10), 最小值是57.85 kDa (VvNCED2)。在从祖先基因分化之后, 葡萄NCED基因发生了5次复制事件, 同时有2次丢失事件。NCED1/2、NCED3/4、NCED6/7和NCED9/10基因对被认为是通过片段复制产生。上述4对复制基因复制时间分布在3.08-120.0百万年前, 晚于单双子叶植物分化的时间。与对照相比, VvNCED1在ABA处理48小时后显著上调(72.1%), 而VvNCED2显著下调(84.0%)。VvNCED6只在干旱处理14、21和28天的根系中表达量高于对照, 分别为对照的2.49、1.05和1.09倍。VvNCED7只在干旱处理14天的根系中表达量高于对照, 为对照的1.07倍。在ABA处理72小时后, VvNCED3表达量较对照显著下调(59.5%), 而VvNCED4较对照显著上调(169.9%)。VvNCED3/VvNCED4分别在NaCl处理24和48小时出现显著性峰值, 较对照分别上调219.2%和114.4%。保守结构域不同组成和不同胁迫处理下差异表达模式是NCED蛋白发生功能分化的基础。推测NCED在进化过程中发生的功能分化有利于复制事件的发生。