dThe filamentous, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 accumulates sucrose as a compatible solute against salt stress. Sucrose-phosphate synthase activity, which is responsible for the sucrose synthesis, is increased by salt stress, but the mechanism underlying the regulation of sucrose synthesis remains unknown. In the present study, a response regulator, OrrA, was shown to control sucrose synthesis. Expression of spsA, which encodes a sucrose-phosphate synthase, and susA and susB, which encode sucrose synthases, was induced by salt stress. In the orrA disruptant, salt induction of these genes was completely abolished. The cellular sucrose level of the orrA disruptant was reduced to 40% of that in the wild type under salt stress conditions. Moreover, overexpression of orrA resulted in enhanced expression of spsA, susA, and susB, followed by accumulation of sucrose, without the addition of NaCl. We also found that SigB2, a group 2 sigma factor of RNA polymerase, regulated the early response to salt stress under the control of OrrA. It is concluded that OrrA controls sucrose synthesis in collaboration with SigB2.

The filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 differentiates specialized cells for nitrogen fixation called heterocysts upon limitation of combined nitrogen in the medium. During heterocyst differentiation, expression of approximately 500 genes is upregulated with spatiotemporal regulation. In the present study, we investigated the functions of sigma factors of RNA polymerase in the regulation of heterocyst differentiation. The transcript levels of sigC, sigE, and sigG were increased during heterocyst differentiation, while expression of sigJ was downregulated. We carried out DNA microarray analysis to identify genes regulated by SigC, SigE, and SigG. It was indicated that SigC regulated the expression of genes involved in heterocyst differentiation and functions. Moreover, genes regulated by SigC partially overlapped with those regulated by SigE, and deficiency of SigC was likely to be compensated by SigE.