Under conditions of iron-stress, the Photosystem II associated chlorophyll a protein complex designated CP 43', which is encoded by the isiA gene, becomes the major pigment-protein complex in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. The isiB gene, which is located immediately downstream of isiA, encodes the protein flavodoxin, which can functionally replace ferredoxin under conditions of iron stress. We have constructed two cyanobacterial insertion mutants which are lacking (i) the CP 43' apoprotein (designated isiA (-)) and (ii) flavodoxin (designated isiB (-)). The function of CP 43' was studied by comparing the cell characteristics, PS II functional absorption cross-sections and Chl a fluorescence parameters from the wild-type, isiA (-) and isiB (-) strains grown under iron-stressed conditions. In all strains grown under iron deprivation, the cell number doubling time was maintained despite marked changes in pigment composition and other cell characteristics. This indicates that iron-starved cells remained viable and that their altered phenotype suggests an adequate acclimation to low iron even in absence of CP 43' and/or flavodoxin. Under both iron conditions, no differences were detected between the three strains in the functional absorption crossection of PS II determined from single turnover flash saturation curves of Chl a fluorescence. This demonstrates that CP 43' is not part of the functional light-harvesting antenna for PS II. In the wild-type and the isiB (-) strain grown under iron-deficient conditions, CP 43' was present in the thylakoid membrane as an uncoupled Chl-protein complex. This was indicated by (1) an increase of the yield of prompt Chl a fluorescence (Fo) and (2) the persistence after PS II trap closure of a fast fluorescence decay component showing a maximum at 685 nm.
The enzyme superoxide dismutase is ubiquitous in aerobic organisms where it plays a major role in alleviating oxygen-radical toxicity. An insertion mutation introduced into the iron superoxide dismutase locus (designated sodE) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 created a mutant strain devoid of detectable iron superoxide dismutase activity. Both wild-type and mutant strains exhibited similar photosynthetic activity and viability when grown with 17 jmolm-2-s'1 illumination in liquid culture supplemented with 3% carbon dioxide. In contrast, the sodB mutant exhibited significantly greater damage to its photosynthetic system than the wild-type strain when grown under increased oxygen tension or with methyl viologen. Although damage occurs at both photosystems I and II, it is primarily localized at photosystem I in the sodB mutant. Growth in 100% molecular oxygen for 24 hr decreased photoacoustically measured energy storage in 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea and abolished the fluorescence state 2 to state 1 transition in the sodB mutant, indicating interruption of cyclic electron flow around photosystem I. Analysis of the flash-induced absorption transient at 705 nm indicated that the interruption of cyclic electron flow occurred in the return part of the cycle, between the two [4 Fe-4 SI centers of photosystem I, FA and FB, and cytochrome f. Even though the sodB mutant was more sensitive to damage by active oxygen than wild-type cells, both strains were equally sensitive to the photoinhibition of photosystem II caused by exposure to strong light.
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