Subcellular localization of the BtpA protein in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

Photosystem I is a large pigment-protein complex embedded in the thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. In the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, the btpA gene encodes a 30-kDa polypeptide. Mutations in this gene significantly affect accumulation of the reaction center proteins of photosystem I in Synechocystis 6803 [Bartsevich, V. V. & Pakrasi, H. B. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 6372-6378]. We describe here the intracellular localization of the BtpA protein. Immunolocalization in Synechocystis 6803 cells demonstrated that the BtpA protein is tightly associated with the thylakoid membranes. Phase fractionation in the detergent Triton X-114 indicated that BtpA is a peripheral membrane protein. To determine which surface of the thylakoid membrane BtpA is exposed to, we used a two-phase polymer partitioning technique to develop a novel method to isolate inside-out and right-side-out thylakoid vesicles from Synechocystis 6803. Treatments of such vesicles with different salts and protease showed that the BtpA protein is an extrinsic membrane protein which is exposed to the cytoplasmic face of the thylakoid membrane.     

PratA, a periplasmic tetratricopeptide repeat protein involved in biogenesis of photosystem II in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The light reactions of oxygenic photosynthesis are mediated by multisubunit pigment-protein complexes situated within the specialized thylakoid membrane system. The biogenesis of these complexes is regulated by transacting factors that affect the expression of the respective subunit genes and/or the assembly of their products. Here we report on the analysis of the PratA gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 that encodes a periplasmic tetratricopeptide repeat protein of formerly unknown function. Targeted inactivation of PratA resulted in drastically reduced photosystem II (PSII) content. Protein pulse labeling experiments of PSII subunits indicated that the C-terminal processing of the precursor of the reaction center protein D1 is compromised in the pratA mutant. Moreover, a direct interaction of PratA and precursor D1 was demonstrated by applying yeast two-hybrid analyses. This suggests that PratA represents a factor facilitating D1 maturation via the endoprotease CtpA. The periplasmic localization of PratA supports a model that predicts the initial steps of PSII biogenesis to occur at the plasma membrane of cyanobacterial cells.     

The BtpA protein stabilizes the reaction center proteins of photosystem I in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 at low temperature

Specific inhibition of photosystem I (PSI) was observed under low-temperature conditions in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. Growth at 20 degrees C caused inhibition of PSI activity and increased degradation of the PSI reaction center proteins PsaA and PsaB, while no significant changes were found in the level and activity of photosystem II (PSII). BtpA, a recently identified extrinsic thylakoid membrane protein, was found to be a necessary regulatory factor for stabilization of the PsaA and PsaB proteins under such low-temperature conditions. At normal growth temperature (30 degrees C), the BtpA protein was present in the cell, and its genetic deletion caused an increase in the degradation of the PSI reaction center proteins. However, growth of Synechocystis cells at 20 degrees C or shifting of cultures grown at 30 degrees C to 20 degrees C led to a rapid accumulation of the BtpA protein, presumably to stabilize the PSI complex, by lowering the rates of degradation of the PsaA and PsaB proteins. A btpA deletion mutant strain could not grow photoautotrophically at low temperature, and exhibited rapid degradation of the PSI complex after transfer of the cells from normal to low temperature.     

Plasma membrane of Synechocystis PCC 6803: a heterogeneous distribution of membrane proteins

Proteomic studies carried out previously on the plasma membrane of Synechocystis have identified several peripheral and integral proteins. The distribution of these proteins along the membrane still remains obscure. In this study, the distribution of proteins along the plasma membrane of Synechocystis was carried out using subfractions, the right-side-out (RSO) and inside-out (ISO) vesicles, fractionated from a pure and specific fraction of the plasma membrane. These subfractions were analyzed and quantified for several proteins by immunoblotting. It was found that the ISO fraction contained higher quantities of preD1, D1 and PsaD, the integral proteins of photosystem I and II known to be present also in the plasma membrane. Lower amounts of peripheral vesicle inducing protein Vipp1 and nitrate/nitrite binding protein NrtA were present in the ISO compared to the RSO fraction. On the contrary, the distribution of two integral transporter proteins, SbtA and PxcA, was found equal in both fractions. Our studies clearly establish that the plasma membrane of Synechocystis has a heterogeneous composition with respect to protein distribution. The accumulation of photosynthesis-associated proteins in the ISO fraction provides evidence that the discrete regions of the plasma membrane harbor sites for biogenesis of photosystems.     

Towards functional proteomics of membrane protein complexes in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The composition and dynamics of membrane protein complexes were studied in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by two-dimensional blue native/SDS-PAGE followed by matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry. Approximately 20 distinct membrane protein complexes could be resolved from photoautotrophically grown wild-type cells. Besides the protein complexes involved in linear photosynthetic electron flow and ATP synthesis (photosystem [PS] I, PSII, cytochrome b6f, and ATP synthase), four distinct complexes containing type I NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH-1) subunits were identified, as well as several novel, still uncharacterized protein complexes. The dynamics of the protein complexes was studied by culturing the wild type and several mutant strains under various growth modes (photoautotrophic, mixotrophic, or photoheterotrophic) or in the presence of different concentrations of CO2, iron, or salt. The most distinct modulation observed in PSs occurred in iron-depleted conditions, which induced an accumulation of CP43' protein associated with PSI trimers. The NDH-1 complexes, on the other hand, responded readily to changes in the CO2 concentration and the growth mode of the cells and represented an extremely dynamic group of membrane protein complexes. Our results give the first direct evidence, to our knowledge, that the NdhF3, NdhD3, and CupA proteins assemble together to form a small low CO2-induced protein complex and further demonstrate the presence of a fourth subunit, Sll1735, in this complex. The two bigger NDH-1 complexes contained a different set of NDH-1 polypeptides and are likely to function in respiratory and cyclic electron transfer. Pulse labeling experiments demonstrated the requirement of PSII activity for de novo synthesis of the NDH-1 complexes.     

Lumenal proteins involved in respiratory electron transport in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803

Cyanobacterial thylakoids catalyze both photosynthetic and respiratory activities. In a photosystem I-less Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 strain, electrons generated by photosystem II appear to be utilized by cytochrome oxidase. To identify the lumenal electron carriers (plastocyanin and/or cytochromes c ₅₅₃, c ₅₅₀, and possibly c _M) that are involved in transfer of photosystem II-generated electrons to the terminal oxidase, deletion constructs for genes coding for these components were introduced into a photosystem I-less Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 strain, and electron flow out of photosystem II was monitored in resulting strains through chlorophyll fluorescence yields. Loss of cytochrome c ₅₅₃ or plastocyanin, but not of cytochrome c ₅₅₀, decreased the rate of electron flow out of photosystem II. Surprisingly, cytochrome c _M could not be deleted in a photosystem I-less background strain, and also a double-deletion mutant lacking both plastocyanin and cytochromec ₅₅₃ could not be obtained. Cytochrome c _M has some homology with the cytochrome c-binding regions of the cytochromecaa₃ -type cytochrome oxidase from Bacillus spp. and Thermus thermophilus. We suggest that cytochrome c _M is a component of cytochrome oxidase in cyanobacteria that serves as redox intermediate between soluble electron carriers and the cytochromeaa₃ complex, and that either plastocyanin or cytochrome c ₅₅₃ can shuttle electrons from the cytochrome b_6f complex to cytochrome c _M.     

Proteomics of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803: identification of plasma membrane proteins

Cyanobacteria are unique prokaryotes since they in addition to outer and plasma membranes contain the photosynthetic membranes (thylakoids). The plasma membranes of Synechocystis 6803, which can be completely purified by density centrifugation and polymer two-phase partitioning, have been found to be more complex than previously anticipated, i.e. they appear to be essential for assembly of the two photosystems. A proteomic approach for the characterization of cyanobacterial plasma membranes using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analysis revealed a total of 57 different membrane proteins of which 17 are integral membrane spanning proteins. Among the 40 peripheral proteins 20 are located on the periplasmic side of the membrane, while 20 are on the cytoplasmic side. Among the proteins identified are subunits of the two photosystems as well as Vipp1, which has been suggested to be involved in vesicular transport between plasma and thylakoid membranes and is thus relevant to the possibility that plasma membranes are the initial site for photosystem biogenesis. Four subunits of the Pilus complex responsible for cell motility were also identified as well as several subunits of the TolC and TonB transport systems. Several periplasmic and ATP-binding proteins of ATP-binding cassette transporters were also identified as were two subunits of the F(0) membrane part of the ATP synthase.     

Purification of glutamyl-tRNA reductase from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

delta-Aminolevulinic acid is the universal precursor for all tetrapyrroles including hemes, chlorophylls, and bilins. In plants, algae, cyanobacteria, and many other bacteria, delta-aminolevulinic acid is synthesized from glutamate in a reaction sequence that requires three enzymes, ATP, NADPH, and tRNA(Glu). The three enzymes have been characterized as glutamyl-tRNA synthetase, glutamyl-tRNA reductase, and glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase. All three enzymes have been separated and partially characterized from plants and algae. In prokaryotic phototrophs, only the glutamyl-tRNA synthetase and glutamate-1-semialdehyde aminotransferase have been decribed. We report here the purification and some properties of the glutamyl-tRNA reductase from extracts of the unicellular cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. The glutamyl-tRNA reductase has been purified over 370-fold to apparent homogeneity. Its native molecular mass was determined to be 350 kDa by glycerol density gradient centrifugation, and its subunit size was estimated to be 39 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined for 42 residues. Much higher activity occurred with NADPH than with NADH as the reduced pyridine nucleotide substrate. Half-maximal rates occurred at 5 microM NADPH, whereas saturation was not reached even at 10 mM NADH. Purified Synechocystis glutamyl-tRNA reductase was inhibited 50% by 5 microM heme. Activity was unaffected by 10 microM 3-amino-2,3-dihydrobenzoic acid. No flavin, pyridine nucleotide, or other light-absorbing prosthetic group was detected on the purified enzyme. The catalytic turnover number of purified Synechocystis glutamyl-tRNA reductase is comparable to those of prokaryotic and plastidic glutamyl-tRNA synthetases.     

Salt-dependent protein phosphorylation in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803

Abstract We have isolated a Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 438 (serogroup 123) mutant which has the ability to form nodules on serogroup 123 nodulation-restricting plant introduction genotypes and soybeans containing the Rj4 allele. The identity of the mutant was confirmed by using a serocluster 123-specific DNA probe, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and serogroup-specific fluorescent antibodies. While the mutant contains Tn 5 inserted into a cryptic, non nod gene-containing locus, site-directed mutagenesis and complementation studies indicated that the transposon is not responsible for host-range extension. The mutant and the wild-type parent had the same chromatographic profiles of [¹⁴C]acetate-labelled extracellular B. japonicum nod factors.     

Proteomics of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Identification of novel integral plasma membrane proteins

The cyanobacterial plasma membrane is an essential cell barrier with functions such as the control of taxis, nutrient uptake and secretion. These functions are carried out by integral membrane proteins, which are difficult to identify using standard proteomic methods. In this study, integral proteins were enriched from purified plasma membranes of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using urea wash followed by protein resolution in 1D SDS/PAGE. In total, 51 proteins were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting using MALDI-TOF MS. More than half of the proteins were predicted to be integral with 1-12 transmembrane helices. The majority of the proteins had not been identified previously, and include members of metalloproteases, chemotaxis proteins, secretion proteins, as well as type 2 NAD(P)H dehydrogenase and glycosyltransferase. The obtained results serve as a useful reference for further investigations of the address codes for targeting of integral membrane proteins in cyanobacteria.     

Phycobilisome linker proteins are phosphorylated in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The controversial issue of protein phosphorylation from the photosynthetic apparatus of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has been reinvestigated using new detection tools that include various immunological and in vivo labeling approaches. The set of phosphoproteins detected with these methods includes ferredoxin-NADPH reductase and the linker proteins of the phycobilisome antenna. Using mutants that lack a specific set of linker proteins and are affected in phycobilisome assembly, we show that the phosphoproteins from the phycobilisomes correspond to the membrane, rod, and rod-core linkers. These proteins are in a phosphorylated state within the assembled phycobilisomes. Their dephosphorylation requires partial disassembly of the phycobilisomes and further contributes to their complete disassembly in vitro. In vivo we observed linker dephosphorylation upon long-term exposure to higher light intensities and under nitrogen limitation, two conditions that lead to remodeling and turnover of phycobilisomes. We conclude that this phosphorylation process is instrumental in the regulation of assembly/disassembly of phycobilisomes and should participate in signaling for their proteolytic cleavage and degradation.     

pilG Gene cluster and split pilL genes involved in pilus biogenesis,motility and genetic transformation in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The unicellular motile cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 exhibits phototactic motility that depends on the type IV-like thick pilus structure. By gene disruption analysis, we showed that a gene cluster of slr1041, slr1042, slr1043 and slr1044, whose predicted products are homologous to PatA, CheY, CheW and MCP, respectively, was more or less required for pilus assembly, motility and natural transformation competency with extraneous DNA. By sequence homology, the missing cheA-like gene in this cluster was identified as novel split genes, slr0073 and slr0322, at separate loci on the genome. This was confirmed by non-motile phenotype of their disruptants. Unique hyperpiliation was observed in the slr1042 and slr0073 disruptants, suggestive of their specific interaction with pilT1. The genes, thus identified as pil genes in this study, were designated pilG (slr1041), pilH (slr1042), pilI (slr1043), pilJ (slr1044), pilL-N (slr0073) and pilL-C (slr0322).     

Light-regulated promoters from Synechocystis PCC6803 share a consensus motif involved in photoregulation

A library of Synechocystis PCC6803 (S.6803) DNA cioned in front of the promoterless cat reporter gene of the plasmid pFF11 was used to transform S.6803 to high light-dependent resistance to chloramphenicol. In five clones harbouring a stably replicating pFF11-derived plasmid, this phenotype occurred independently of the photosystem II electron transport and resulted from the correlated increase of CAT activity level and cat mRNA accumulation. The five promoter inserts contained no Escherichia collω70 promoter element, in agreement with their lack of activity in this organism, but shared two conserved motifs. Two secondary mutations, which restored light-regulated promoter activity to an inactive mutant of the smallest insert, mapped within one of the common motifs, emphasizing the probable involvement of this element in photoregulation.     

Proteomic studies of the thylakoid membrane of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Purified thylakoid membranes from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 were used for the first time in proteomic studies. The membranes were prepared by a combination of sucrose density centrifugation and aqueous polymer two-phase partitioning. In total, 76 different proteins were identified from 2- and 1-D gels by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. Twelve of the identified proteins have a predicted Sec/Tat signal peptide. Fourteen of the proteins were known, or predicted to be, integral membrane proteins. Among the proteins identified were subunits of the well-characterized thylakoid membrane constituents Photosystem I and II, ATP synthase, cytochrome b6f-complex, NADH dehydrogenase, and phycobilisome complex. In addition, novel thylakoid membrane proteins, both integral and peripheral were found, including enzymes involved in protein folding and pigment biosynthesis. The latter were the chlorophyll biosynthesis enzymes, light-dependent protochlorophyllide reductase and geranylgeranyl reductase as well as phytoene desaturase involved in carotenoid biosynthesis and a water-soluble carotenoid-binding protein. Interestingly, in view of the protein sorting mechanism in cyanobacteria, one of the two signal peptidases type I of Synechocystis was found in the thylakoid membrane, whereas the second one has been identified previously in the plasma membrane. Sixteen proteins are hypothetical proteins with unknown function.     

Computational protein structure modeling and analysis of UV-B stress protein in Synechocystis PCC 6803

This study focuses on Ultra Violet stress (UVS) gene product which is a UV stress induced protein from cyanobacteria, Synechocystis PCC 6803. Three dimensional structural modeling of target UVS protein was carried out by homology modeling method. 3F2I pdb from Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 was selected as a suitable template protein structure. Ultimately, the detection of active binding regions was carried out for characterization of functional sites in modeled UV-B stress protein. The top five probable ligand binding sites were predicted and the common binding residues between target and template protein was analyzed. It has been validated for the first time that modeled UVS protein structure from Synechocystis PCC 6803 was structurally and functionally similar to well characterized UVS protein of another cyanobacterial species, Nostoc sp PCC 7120 because of having same structural motif and fold with similar protein topology and function. Investigations revealed that UVS protein from Synechocystis sp. might play significant role during ultraviolet resistance. Thus, it could be a potential biological source for remediation for UV induced stress.     

Isolation of salt-induced periplasmic proteins from Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803

Periplasmic proteins were obtained from control cells and salt-adapted cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using the method of cold osmotic shock. Two of these proteins (PP 1, apparent mol. mass 27.6 kDa, and PP 3, apparent mol. mass 39.9 kDa) were accumulated in high amounts in the periplasm of salt-adapted cells, while the major periplasmic protein (PP 2, apparent mol. mass 36.0 kDa) was accumulated independently from salt. After isolation from gels and partial sequencing, the proteins could be assigned to proteins deduced from the complete genome sequence of Synechocystis. Neither salt-induced periplasmic proteins (PP 1, Slr0924 and PP 3, Slr1485) exhibited sequence similarity to proteins of known function from databases. The major protein (PP 2-Slr0513) showed significant sequence similarities to iron-binding proteins. All proteins included typical leader sequences at their N-terminus. Received: 21 September 1998 / Accepted: 17 December 1998