Optimum conditions for transformation of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

This study was conducted to determine the optimal conditions for introduction of exogenous DNA into Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Of the three transformation techniques studied, electroporation, ultrasonic transformation and natural transformation, natural transformation showed the highest efficiency. Additionally, this study demonstrated that the higher plasmid concentration and longer homologous recombining fragments resulted in a greater number of transformants. For successful transformation, the lowest concentration of plasmid was 0.02 microg/ml, and the shortest homologous recombining fragment was 0.2 kb. Use of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in the logarithmic growth phase resulted in two-fold higher transformation rate than that of the same organism when cells in the latent phase or the plateau phase were used for transformation. Pretreatment of the host strain, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, with EDTA (2 mM) for two days prior to transformation increased the transformation efficiency by 23%. Additionally, incubation of the cells and DNA for 5 h under light conditions increased the transformation efficiency by two orders of magnitude. Moreover, recovery treatment of the cells before they were plated onto antibiotic medium also increased the transformation efficiency.     

Effect of increased PHA synthase activity on polyhydroxyalkanoates biosynthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase activity in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 was increased two-fold by introducing the PHA biosynthetic genes of Ralstonia eutropha. The resulting recombinant Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 strain was subjected to conditions that favor PHA accumulation and the effects of various carbon sources were studied. In addition, the fine structure of both wild-type and recombinant Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 was examined using freeze-fracture electron microscopy technique. The PHA granules in the recombinant Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 were localised near the thylakoid membranes. Maximum amount of PHA accumulation was obtained in the presence of acetate, where the number of granules in the recombinant cells ranged from 4 to 6 and their sizes were in the range of 70-240 nm. In comparison to wild-type Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, recombinant cells with increased PHA synthase activity showed only a marginal increase in PHA content suggesting that PHA synthase is not the rate limiting enzyme of PHA biosynthesis in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.     

Improved genetic transformation of the thermophilic cyanobacterium, Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1

We improved genetic transformation of the thermophilic cyanobacterium, Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1, by combining electroporation with a top agar method. Transformation was also improved when a disruptant of a putative type I restriction endonuclease (tll2230) was used as recipient cells. In particular, some constructs, with which wild type has never been transformed, were successfully integrated into the tll2230-disruptant. Single-crossover recombination was detected more frequently than the double-crossover recombination. In accordance with the presence of all the homologs of pil genes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, we found that T. elongatus is naturally transformable with exogenous DNA.     

Enhanced poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate accumulation in a unicellular cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

AIM: To stimulate poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulation in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by manipulating culture conditions. METHODS AND RESULTS: Stationary phase cultures of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 were subjected to N- and P-deficiency, chemoheterotrophy and limitations of gas-exchange. Enhanced PHB accumulation was observed under all the above conditions. However, interaction of P-deficiency with gas-exchange limitation (GEL) in the presence of exogenous carbon boosted PHB accumulation maximally. CONCLUSIONS: Combined effects of P-deficiency and GEL boosted PHB accumulation up to 38% (w/w) of dry cell weight (dcw) in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in the presence of fructose and acetate. This value is about eightfold higher as compared with the accumulation under photoautotrophic growth condition. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY: These results showed a good potential of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in accumulating poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate, an appropriate raw material for biodegradable and biocompatible plastic. Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate could be an important material for plastic and pharmaceutical industries.     

蓝细菌ORF469的分子克隆和缺失突变工程株的构建

PCR扩增了蓝细菌Synechocystis sp．PCC 6803的ORF469(编码469个氨基酸的开放阅读框),进一步以pUC118为载体将其克隆到E．Coli中,构建了pOQ2质粒。通过DNA体外重组,以红霉素抗性基因取代部分克隆化ORF469片段,又构建丁缺失ORF469片段(保留部分上游和下游序列)的pOQ22质粒。用pOQ22质粒转化Synechocystis sp．PCC 6803野生株细胞,获ORF489缺失突变工程株,它在红霉素抗性培养基上生长正常。对缺失突变工程株DNA的PCR和Southern blot分析证明,Synechocystis sp．PCC 6803的ORF469已被删除。色素测定结果揭示Synechocystis sp．PCC 6803中ORF469表达产物控制细胞内不依赖光的叶绿素生物合成。     

A promoter-probe vector-host system for the cyanobacterium, Synechocystis PCC6803

A vector-host system for testing promoters in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 has been constructed. It relies on a small Escherichia coli promoter-probe plasmid, pFF11, which has four unique restriction sites in a polylinker upstream from the cat reporter gene. This plasmid is able to obtain a cyanobacterial origin of replication by homologous recombination with the resident plasmid of the recipient host, generating a new E. coli-Synechocystis PCC6803 shuttle vector. This plasmid does not confer any detectable chloramphenicol acetyl transferase activity to this cyanobacterium in the absence of a promoter insert. Several heterologous promoters were tested in Synechocystis PCC6803 using this system. Results obtained with the lambda pR promoter and the repressor-encoding cI857 gene demonstrate that these elements can be used for high-level and tightly regulated gene expression in Synechocystis PCC6803.     

Stable transformation of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 induced by UV irradiation.

Irradiation of the photoheterotrophic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 with low levels of UV light allows for stable, integrative transformation of these cells by heterologous DNA. In this system, transformation does not rely on an autonomously replicating plasmid and is independent of homologous recombination. Cells treated with UV light in the absence of DNA and cells given DNA but not exposed to UV do not yield antibiotic-resistant colonies in platings of up to 2 X 10(8) cells. Optimal conditions for this UV-induced transformation are described. Analysis of the transformants indicates that (i) only a segment of the introduced plasmid is found in the DNA of the transformed cells; (ii) in independently isolated clones, DNA insertion apparently occurs at different sites in the chromosome; and (iii) hybridization data suggest that insertion in one of the transformants may have occurred into a region of the chromosome that is repeated or that integration of plasmid DNA may have been accompanied by a rearrangement or duplication of DNA sequences near the insertion site. DNA isolated from the primary transformants as well as a cloned fragment containing the UV-inserted plasmid sequence and flanking cyanobacterial DNA transform wild-type cells at a high frequency (5.0 X 10(-4) and 1.5 X 10(-5), respectively). Possible mechanisms of this transformation system are discussed, as are the potential uses of this system as an integrative cloning-complementation vector and as a mutagenic agent in which the genetic lesion is already tagged with a selectable marker.     

Insertional mutagenesis by random cloning of antibiotic resistance genes into the genome of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis strain PCC 6803

The facultative heterotrophic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 was transformed by HaeII Cmr fragments ligated at random to HaeII DNA fragments of the host genome. A similar transformation was done with an AvaII Kmr marker ligated to AvaII host DNA fragments. Integration of the resistance markers into the host genome led to a high frequency of stable Kmr and Cmr transformants. Physical analysis of individual transformants indicated that this result was due to homologous recombination by conversionlike events leading to insertion of the Cmr (or Kmr) gene between two HaeII (or AvaII) sites of the host genome, with precise deletion of the host DNA between these sites. In contrast, integrative crossover of circular DNA molecules with homology to the host DNA is very rare in this cyanobacterium. Strain PCC 6803 was shown to have about 12 genomic copies per cell in standard growth conditions, which complicates the detection of recessive mutations induced by chemical or UV mutagenesis. Random disruption of the host DNA by insertional transformation provides a convenient alternative to transposon mutagenesis in cyanobacteria and may help to overcome the difficulties encountered in generating recessive mutants by classical mutagenesis.     

集胞藻PCC6803铜离子诱导表达平台的构建

在集胞藻PCC6803中,基因敲除是研究基因功能的最直接有效的方法,但是对于某些生存必需的基因则无法通过这种方法获得突变株。为研究集胞藻PCC6803中此类基因的功能,在其基因组中构建了一个petE基因启动子（PpetE）控制的铜离子诱导表达的平台。将集胞藻PpetE装配在lacZ报告基因的上游,通过同源双交换整合到这种蓝藻的基因组中。通过调节培养基中铜离子的浓度发现,lacZ的表达能够人为控制。特别是当铜离子浓度在6－400nmoL／L范围时,LacZ活力随铜离子浓度增加呈S型增长关系。利用这个铜离子诱导表达平台,可以控制某些必需基因的表达：提供铜离子维持细胞生存;而撤去铜离子时则关闭基因的表达,可以观察其对生命活动的影响。     

集胞藻的随机插入诱变和光激活异养突变株的筛选

以4－碱基限制性内切酶部分酶切集胞藻PCC6803基因文库总质粒DNA,并插入卡那霉素抗性基因标记,构建了二级随机插入诱变文库。以该诱变文库总DNA转化集胞藻PCC6803,得到大量有抗性标记基因随机插入的转化子,利用这一方法获得了不能进行光激活异养生长的突变株,并克隆了抗性标记基因插入部位DNA片段,在持续光照但加DCMU抑制光合作用的情况下,这些突变株仍然能够利用葡萄糖异养生长,推测突变基因与短时光信号的感应有关。     

Sucrose accumulation in salt-stressed cells of agp gene deletion-mutant in cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803

The agp gene encoding the ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase is involved in cyanobacterial glycogen synthesis and glucosylglycerol formation. By in vitro DNA recombination technology, a mutant with partial deletion of agp gene in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was constructed. This mutant could not synthesize glycogen or the osmoprotective substance glucosylglycerol. In the mutant cells grown in the medium containing 0.9 M NaCl for 96 h, no glucosylglycerol was detected and the total amount of sucrose was 29 times of that of in wild-type cells. Furthermore, the agp deletion mutant could tolerate up to 0.9 M salt concentration. Our results suggest that sucrose might act as a similar potent osmoprotectant as glucosylglycerol in cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.     

phrA, the major photoreactivating factor in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 codes for a cyclobutane-pyrimidine-dimer-specific DNA photolyase

A new broad-host-range plasmid, pSL1211, was constructed for the over-expression of genes in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. The plasmid was derived from RSF1010 and an Escherichia coli over-expression plasmid, pTrcHisC. Over-expressed protein is made with a removable N-terminal histidine tag. The plasmid was used to over-express the phrA gene and purify the gene product from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. PhrA is the major ultraviolet-light-resistant factor in the cyanobacterium. The purified PhrA protein exhibited an optical absorption spectrum similar to that of the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) DNA photolyase from Synechocuccus sp. strain PCC 6301 (Anacystis nidulans). Mass spectrometry analysis of PhrA indicated that the protein contains 8-hydroxy-5-deazariboflavin and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH2) as cofactors. PhrA repairs only cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer but not pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidinone photoproducts. On the basis of these results, the PhrA protein is classified as a class I, HDF-type, CPD DNA photolyase.     

Isolation and functional characterization of Ca2+/H+ antiporters from cyanobacteria

Genome sequences of cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, and Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 revealed the presence of a single Ca2+/H+ antiporter in these organisms. Here, we isolated the putative Ca2+/H+ antiporter gene from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (synCAX) as well as a homologous gene from a halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica (apCAX). In contrast to plant vacuolar CAXs, the full-length apCAX and synCAX genes complemented the Ca2+-sensitive phenotype of an Escherichia coli mutant. ApCAX and SynCAX proteins catalyzed specifically the Ca2+/H+ exchange reaction at alkaline pH. Immunological analysis suggested their localization in plasma membranes. The Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 cells disrupted of synCAX exhibited lower Ca2+ efflux activity and a salt-sensitive phenotype. Overexpression of ApCAX and SynCAX enhanced the salt tolerance of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 cells. Mutagenesis analyses indicate the importance of two conserved acidic amino acid residues, Glu-74 and Glu-324, in the transmembrane segments for the exchange activity. These results clearly indicate that cyanobacteria contain a Ca2+/H+ antiporter in their plasma membranes, which plays an important role for salt tolerance.     

增强型绿色荧光蛋白在集胞藻6803中的表达

利用聚球藻7942热休克基因groESL的启动子和报告基因egfp,构建了表达载体pUC-Tegfp并转化集胞藻6803,并通过所制备抗体对转基因藻进行蛋白免疫印迹检测.结果发现,在转基因藻株T-egfp的细胞粗提液中含有能与eGFP抗体特异结合的蛋白质,表明外源增强型绿色荧光蛋白基因(egfp)在集胞藻6803中成功表达.     

人肝金属硫蛋白突变体β基因通过同源重组在蓝藻中的克隆与表达

将人肝金属硫蛋白（ＭＴ）突变体β基因插入到中间载体ｐＲＬ－４３９上的强启动子ＰｐｓｂＡ 下游,利用载体ｐＲＬ－β上的ＰｐｓｂＡ 和β基因与ｐｈａｓｍ ｉｄ ｐＴＺ１８－８上整合平台ＰｓｂＢ,构建整合表达载体ｐＴＺ－β．整合平台ＰｓｂＢ与集胞藻（Ｓｙｎｅｃｈｏｃｙｓｔｉｓｓｐ．ＰＣＣ６８０３）染色体ＤＮＡ 上ｐｓｂＢ基因下游片段为同源序列．为了发生单交换同源重组,将外源基因β插入到整合平台ＰｓｂＢ下游的克隆位点．利用自然转化方法将表达载体ｐＴＺ－β整合到Ｓｙｎｅｃｈｏｃｙｓｔｉｔｓｐ．ＰＣＣ６８０３的染色体上．经氨苄青霉素筛选得到遗传性状稳定的转基因蓝藻．Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ ｂｌｏｔｔｉｎｇ 证明β基因已整合到Ｓｙｎｅｃｈｏｃｙｓｔｉｓ ｓｐ．ＰＣＣ６８０３的染色体上;Ｗｅｓｔｅｒｎ ｂｌｏｔｔｉｎｇ 表明β基因已在蓝藻中表达．ＥＬＩＳＡ 测定在Ｚｎ２＋ 浓度为１５０ μｍ ｌ／Ｌ时表达量最高,为５９０ μｇ／ｇ 鲜藻;原子吸收表明转β基因的藻对Ｚｎ２＋ 的富集能力约为野生型的２倍．     

Stable positional cloning of long continuous DNA in the Bacillus subtilis genome vector

Direct cloning of a long continuous genome segment in a Bacillus subtilis genome vector was demonstrated for the first time. Two small DNA fragments had to be installed in the vector prior to cloning. The DNA between these two fragments was cloned via homologous recombination. The efficiency of cloning was estimated using the 3,573-kb genome of a cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Recombinants were selected using the internal selection system of the Bacillus genome vector or with the antibiotic resistance marker in the cyanobacterial genome. Designated genomic segments as large as 77-kb were cloned by means of a single procedure. Cloning efficiency is affected by the molecular weight of the donor DNA and the size of the DNA to be cloned. The method is suitable for direct target cloning of large-sized DNA.     

利用同源重组构建蓝藻集胞藻6803ndhO基因突变株及其分子鉴定

蓝藻NADPH脱氢酶(NDH-1)是一种重要的光合膜蛋白复合体,参与CO2吸收、围绕光系统I的循环电子传递和细胞呼吸。迄今为止,人们在蓝藻细胞中已鉴定出15种NDH-1复合体亚基(NdhA-NdhO)。然而,人们对NdhO亚基的研究尚不够,至今未见有反向遗传学等方面的研究。在通过构建同源重组载体、自然转化和多次继代筛选后,对转化子进行了PCR和蛋白免疫印迹鉴定。结果表明,卡那霉素基因已成功地插入到ndhO基因的保守区域,并完全破坏了ndhO基因的蛋白表达,从而获得了ndhO基因缺失的突变株,为进一步研究NdhO亚基对NDH-1复合体的稳定性和生理功能等奠定了实验基础。     

Regulation of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 glutamine synthetase activity in a Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 derivative strain bearing the Anabaena glnA gene and a mutated host glnA gene.

The glnA gene from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 was cloned by hybridization with the glnA gene from Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, and a deletion-insertion mutation of the Synechocystis gene was generated in vitro. A strain derived from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 which contained integrated into the chromosome, in addition to its own glnA gene, the Anabaena glnA gene was constructed. From that strain, a Synechocystis sp. glnA mutant could be obtained by transformation with the inactivated Synechocystis glnA gene; this mutant grew by using Anabaena glutamine synthetase and was not a glutamine auxotroph. A Synechocystis sp. glnA mutant could not be obtained, however, from the wild-type Synechocystis sp. The Anabaena glutamine synthetase enzyme was subject to ammonium-promoted inactivation when expressed in the Synechocystis strain but not in the Anabaena strain itself.     

启动子PpetE与Pcpc560对集胞藻PCC 6803生物合成乙醇的影响

为了增加工程集胞藻PCC 6803的乙醇合成产量,通过选用强启动子Pcpc560 驱动并提高外源乙醇合成基因(pdc,yqhD)的表达,从而促进乙醇的生产。具体方法利用同源双交换引入来源于运动型发酵单胞菌的丙酮酸脱羧酶基因(pdc)与来源于大肠杆菌的NADPH依赖型醛还原酶基因(yqhD)并选用不同的启动子来驱动其表达。通过逆转录定量PCR分析,比较在不同启动子驱动的情况下,外源乙醇合成基因(pdc,yqhD)的表达情况并检测相应突变株的乙醇产量。结果显示相较于中等启动子,铜离子诱导启动子PpetE,来源于集胞藻PCC 6803的光强启动子Pcpc560显著促进了外源乙醇合成基因(pdc,yqhD)的表达,并增加了工程菌株乙醇合成的产量。超强启动子Pcpc560搭配pdc,yqhD的组合表达,显著提高了工程菌株的乙醇合成产量。