Assembly of the light-harvesting chlorophyll antenna in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii requires expression of the CpFTSY and CpSRP43 genes

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Heterohexamers Formed by CcmK3 and CcmK4 Increase the Complexity of Beta Carboxysome Shells.

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) encapsulate enzymes within a selectively permeable, proteinaceous shell. Carboxysomes are BMCs containing ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase and carbonic anhydrase that enhance carbon dioxide fixation. The carboxysome shell consists of three structurally characterized protein types, each named after the oligomer they form: BMC-H (hexamer), BMC-P (pentamer), and BMC-T (trimer). These three protein types form cyclic homooligomers with pores at the center of symmetry that enable metabolite transport across the shell. Carboxysome shells contain multiple BMC-H paralogs, each with distinctly conserved residues surrounding the pore, which are assumed to be associated with specific metabolites. We studied the regulation of β-carboxysome shell composition by investigating the BMC-H genes ccmK3 and ccmK4 situated in a locus remote from other carboxysome genes. We made single and double deletion mutants of ccmK3 and ccmK4 in Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 and show that, unlike CcmK3, CcmK4 is necessary for optimal growth. In contrast to other CcmK proteins, CcmK3 does not form homohexamers; instead CcmK3 forms heterohexamers with CcmK4 with a 1:2 stoichiometry. The CcmK3-CcmK4 heterohexamers form stacked dodecamers in a pH-dependent manner. Our results indicate that CcmK3-CcmK4 heterohexamers potentially expand the range of permeability properties of metabolite channels in carboxysome shells. Moreover, the observed facultative formation of dodecamers in solution suggests that carboxysome shell permeability may be dynamically attenuated by "capping" facet-embedded hexamers with a second hexamer. Because β-carboxysomes are obligately expressed, heterohexamer formation and capping could provide a rapid and reversible means to alter metabolite flux across the shell in response to environmental/growth conditions

The chloroplast signal recognition particle (CpSRP) pathway as a tool to minimize chlorophyll antenna size and maximize photosynthetic productivity.

The concept of the Truncated Light-harvesting chlorophyll Antenna (TLA) size, as a tool by which to maximize sunlight utilization and photosynthetic productivity in microalgal mass cultures or high-density plant canopies, is discussed. TLA technology is known to improve sunlight-to-product energy conversion efficiencies and is hereby exemplified by photosynthetic productivity estimates of wild type and a TLA strain under simulated mass culture conditions. Recent advances in the generation of TLA-type mutants by targeting genes of the chloroplast signal-recognition particle (CpSRP) pathway, affecting the thylakoid membrane assembly of light-harvesting proteins, are also summarized. Two distinct CpSRP assembly pathways are recognized, one entailing post-translational, the other a co-translational mechanism. Differences between the post-translational and co-translational integration mechanisms are outlined, as these pertain to the CpSRP-mediated assembly of thylakoid membrane protein complexes in higher plants and green microalgae. The applicability of the CpSRP pathway genes in efforts to generate TLA-type strains with enhanced solar energy conversion efficiency in photosynthesis is evaluated

Bacterial microcompartments: catalysis-enhancing metabolic modules for next generation metabolic and biomedical engineering.

Bacterial cells have long been thought to be simple cells with little spatial organization, but recent research has shown that they exhibit a remarkable degree of subcellular differentiation. Indeed, bacteria even have organelles such as magnetosomes for sensing magnetic fields or gas vesicles controlling cell buoyancy. A functionally diverse group of bacterial organelles are the bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) that fulfill specialized metabolic needs. Modification and reengineering of these BMCs enable innovative approaches for metabolic engineering and nanomedicine

Maximizing photosynthetic efficiency and culture productivity in cyanobacteria upon minimizing the phycobilisome light-harvesting antenna size

AbstractA phycocyanin-deletion mutant of Synechocystis (cyanobacteria) was generated upon replacement of the CPC-operon with a kanamycin resistance cassette. The Δcpc transformant strains (Δcpc) exhibited a green phenotype, compared to the blue-green of the wild type (WT), lacked the distinct phycocyanin absorbance at 625nm, and had a lower Chl per cell content and a lower PSI/PSII reaction center ratio compared to the WT. Molecular and genetic analyses showed replacement of all WT copies of the Synechocystis DNA with the transgenic version, thereby achieving genomic DNA homoplasmy. Biochemical analyses showed the absence of the phycocyanin α- and β-subunits, and the overexpression of the kanamycin resistance NPTI protein in the Δcpc. Physiological analyses revealed a higher, by a factor of about 2, intensity for the saturation of photosynthesis in the Δcpc compared to the WT. Under limiting intensities of illumination, growth of the Δcpc was slower than that of the WT. This difference in the rate of cell duplication diminished gradually as growth irradiance increased. Identical rates of cell duplication of about 13h for both WT and Δcpc were observed at about 800μmolphotonsm−2s−1 or greater. Culture productivity analyses under simulated bright sunlight and high cell-density conditions showed that biomass accumulation by the Δcpc was 1.57-times greater than that achieved by the WT. Thus, the work provides first-time direct evidence of the applicability of the Truncated Light-harvesting Antenna (TLA)-concept in cyanobacteria, entailing substantial improvements in the photosynthetic efficiency and productivity of mass cultures upon minimizing the phycobilisome light-harvesting antenna size

Maximizing photosynthetic efficiency and culture productivity in cyanobacteria upon minimizing the phycobilisome light-harvesting antenna size.

A phycocyanin-deletion mutant of Synechocystis (cyanobacteria) was generated upon replacement of the CPC-operon with a kanamycin resistance cassette. The Δcpc transformant strains (Δcpc) exhibited a green phenotype, compared to the blue-green of the wild type (WT), lacked the distinct phycocyanin absorbance at 625nm, and had a lower Chl per cell content and a lower PSI/PSII reaction center ratio compared to the WT. Molecular and genetic analyses showed replacement of all WT copies of the Synechocystis DNA with the transgenic version, thereby achieving genomic DNA homoplasmy. Biochemical analyses showed the absence of the phycocyanin α- and β-subunits, and the overexpression of the kanamycin resistance NPTI protein in the Δcpc. Physiological analyses revealed a higher, by a factor of about 2, intensity for the saturation of photosynthesis in the Δcpc compared to the WT. Under limiting intensities of illumination, growth of the Δcpc was slower than that of the WT. This difference in the rate of cell duplication diminished gradually as growth irradiance increased. Identical rates of cell duplication of about 13h for both WT and Δcpc were observed at about 800μmolphotonsm(-2)s(-1) or greater. Culture productivity analyses under simulated bright sunlight and high cell-density conditions showed that biomass accumulation by the Δcpc was 1.57-times greater than that achieved by the WT. Thus, the work provides first-time direct evidence of the applicability of the Truncated Light-harvesting Antenna (TLA)-concept in cyanobacteria, entailing substantial improvements in the photosynthetic efficiency and productivity of mass cultures upon minimizing the phycobilisome light-harvesting antenna size

Modulation of the light-harvesting chlorophyll antenna size in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by TLA1 gene over-expression and RNA interference.

Truncated light-harvesting antenna 1 (TLA1) is a nuclear gene proposed to regulate the chlorophyll (Chl) antenna size in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The Chl antenna size of the photosystems and the chloroplast ultrastructure were manipulated upon TLA1 gene over-expression and RNAi downregulation. The TLA1 over-expressing lines possessed a larger chlorophyll antenna size for both photosystems and contained greater levels of Chl b per cell relative to the wild type. Conversely, TLA1 RNAi transformants had a smaller Chl antenna size for both photosystems and lower levels of Chl b per cell. Western blot analyses of the TLA1 over-expressing and RNAi transformants showed that modulation of TLA1 gene expression was paralleled by modulation in the expression of light-harvesting protein, reaction centre D1 and D2, and VIPP1 genes. Transmission electron microscopy showed that modulation of TLA1 gene expression impacts the organization of thylakoid membranes in the chloroplast. Over-expressing lines showed well-defined grana, whereas RNAi transformants possessed loosely held together and more stroma-exposed thylakoids. Cell fractionation suggested localization of the TLA1 protein in the inner chloroplast envelope and potentially in association with nascent thylakoid membranes, indicating a role in Chl antenna assembly and thylakoid membrane biogenesis. The results provide a mechanistic understanding of the Chl antenna size regulation by the TLA1 gene