Accumulation of Cyanophycin Granules as a Result of Phosphate Limitation in <i>Agmenellum quadruplicatum</i>

Stevens, S. E.; Paone, Domenic A. M.; Balkwill, David L.

doi:10.1104/pp.67.4.716

Cited by 83 publications

(51 citation statements)

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“…On the other hand, nitrogen from the supplied organic nitrogen source would be used to synthesize glutamate and then cyanophycin. This contrasts with previous evidence that cyanophycin is synthesized from products of protein degradation (Simon, 1973;Allen & Hawley, 1983;Stevens et al, 1981b).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

Transient accumulations of cyanophycin in Anabaena cylindrica and Synechocystis 6308

Mackerras

Chazal

Smith

1990

Journal of General Microbiology

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Cyanophycin, the nitrogen reserve compound in cyanobacteria, has a dynamic metabolism during transitions between the metabolic states of nitrogen deficiency and nitrogen repletion and vice versa. Cyanophycin was transiently synthesized when ammonia-grown Anabaena cyfindrica or Synechystis 6308 consumed a limited amount of ammonia. It was synthesized during the phase of declining ammonia concentration, and its degradation was complete by the time the external ammonia had been completely consumed. When nitrogen-starved cells of A. cyZindriCa or SynechcyStis 6308 were given a usable source of fixed nitrogen, cyanophycin again accumulated transiently. This synthesis of cyanophycin was triggered by the suddenly renewed availability of fixed nitrogen, and not by the subsequent decline in the external concentration of fixed nitrogen. The cyanophycin was degraded when balanced exponential growth was again possible. Transient accumulations of cyanophycin with similar kinetics were also observed when ammonia was added to nitrogen-fixing A. cyZindkka. It is suggested that cyanophycin serves as a dynamic reservoir which separates the environmental supply of fixed nitrogen from the metabolic demands of the cells, and that this provides a mechanism which enables cyanobacteria to maximize their share of any available fixed nitrogen. This would give cyanobacteria a competitive advantage over other organisms.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 54%

Transient accumulations of cyanophycin in Anabaena cylindrica and Synechocystis 6308

Mackerras

Chazal

Smith

1990

Journal of General Microbiology

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“…Cyanophycin is a nitrogen-rich reserve polymer synthesized nonribosomally from aspartate and arginine by the enzyme cyanophycin synthetase; the polymer is degraded by cyanophycinase (Simon, 1987). Cyanophycin levels vary with growth conditions, but can be high in stationary-phase cultures or under conditions in which the growth potential of the cell decreases because of a limitation for nutrients such as sulfate or phosphate (Stevens and Poane, 1981). Cyanophycin has also been implicated in the integration of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in unicellular and filamentous cyanobacteria (Mackerras et al, 1990).…”

Section: Identification Of Genes Specific Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

Population level functional diversity in a microbial community revealed by comparative genomic and metagenomic analyses

et al. 2007

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In microbial mat communities of Yellowstone hot springs, ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence diversity patterns indicate the presence of closely related bacterial populations along environmental gradients of temperature and light. To identify the functional bases for adaptation, we sequenced the genomes of two cyanobacterial (Synechococcus OS-A and OS-B 0 ) isolates representing ecologically distinct populations that dominate at different temperatures and are major primary producers in the mat. There was a marked lack of conserved large-scale gene order between the two Synechococcus genomes, indicative of extensive genomic rearrangements. Comparative genomic analyses showed that the isolates shared a large fraction of their gene content at high identity, yet, differences in phosphate and nitrogen utilization pathways indicated that they have adapted differentially to nutrient fluxes, possibly by the acquisition of genes by lateral gene transfer or their loss in certain populations. Comparisons of the Synechococcus genomes to metagenomic sequences derived from mats where these Synechococcus stains were originally isolated, revealed new facets of microbial diversity. First, Synechococcus populations at the lower temperature regions of the mat showed greater sequence diversity than those at high temperatures, consistent with a greater number of ecologically distinct populations at the lower temperature. Second, we found evidence of a specialized population that is apparently very closely related to Synechococcus OS-B 0 , but contains genes that function in the uptake of reduced ferrous iron. In situ expression studies demonstrated that these genes are differentially expressed over the diel cycle, with highest expression when the mats are anoxic and iron may be in the reduced state. Genomic information from these mat-specific isolates and metagenomic information can be coupled to detect naturally occurring populations that are associated with different functionalities, not always represented by isolates, but which may nevertheless be important for niche partitioning and the establishment of microbial community structure.

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“…Anacystis nidulans (Synechococcus 6301), a unicellular cyanobacterium, exhibits marked physiological and biochemical changes when deprived of phosphate. Following deprivation, growth stops and the cells become bleached; the light harvesting phycobilisome complex is degraded, Chl levels decline, and cyanophycin granules accumulate (21). In addition, both acid soluble and insoluble phosphorus pools begin to decline and phosphate uptake is significantly enhanced (8).…”

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Identification and Purification of a Derepressible Alkaline Phosphatase from Anacystis nidulans R2

Block

Grossman²

1988

Plant Physiol.

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We have examined the increase in alkaline phosphatase activity in the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2 upon phosphate deprivation. Much of the activity is released into the medium when A. nidulans is osmotically shocked, indicating that the enzyme is located either in the periplasmic space or is loosely bound to the cell wall. The polypeptide associated with phosphatase activity has been identified as a single species of Mr 160,000. Bacillus licheniformis (11), and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (28). In E. coli the alkaline phosphatase gene is part of the complex pho regulon which is controlled by the single repressor substance inorganic phosphate (22,24). The genes of the pho regulon are scattered on the E. coli chromosome and the products of these genes are both structural elements required for elevated phosphate acquisition and regulatory elements involved in transcriptional control. While both genetic and biochemical approaches have increased our understanding of several events which accompany phosphate limitation and the functions of certain polypeptides encoded by member genes of the pho regulon, many aspects of the regulation are still unclear. In the eukaryotic organism S. cerevisiae (1, 28) the genes involved in acclimation to low phosphate conditions are also dispersed on the genome and encode numerous structural and regulatory elements. As in E. coli, elevated synthesis of alkaline phosphatase in this organism during phosphate deprivation has been used to analyze the molecular control of gene regulation during acclimation.In this paper, we confirm the appearance of an alkaline phosphatase activity in the cyanobacterium A. nidulans during phosphate deprivation and demonstrate that much of the activity is localized to the periplasmic space. Furthermore, the polypeptide responsible for the phosphatase activity was purified from periplasmic proteins extracted from phosphate-starved cells. Antibodies prepared against the denatured monomer were used to confirm the identification of the enzyme.MATERIALS AND METHODS Culture Conditions. Anacystis nidulans, strain R2, was grown to mid-logarithmic phase (2-5 x 108 cells/ml) at 30°C in BG-11 medium (20) bubbled with 3% CO2 in air. Growth was in continuous light at an intensity of 100 ,umol m-2 s-. To achieve phosphate deprivation, cells were harvested by centrifugation at 3500g for 5 min, washed in BG-11 medium in which KH2PO4 was replaced by KCl (phosphate-free medium) and then resuspended in phosphate-free medium at a 3 to 4 times lower cell density.Measurement of Phosphatase Activity. Either whole cell suspensions (unlysed) or preparations of periplasmic proteins (see below) were made to 0.2 M Tris-HC1 (pH 8.5), 2 mM MgCI2, and 3.6 mM p-nitrophenyl-P (Sigma) (final volume 1.5 ml), unless otherwise specified, and incubated at 37°C for 5 to 15 min.The reaction was stopped with 150 gl of 4 N NaOH, the mixture centrifuged 4 min in an Eppendorf microfuge (7000g), and the absorbance of the supernatant measured at 400 nm and compared to a standard ab...

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Accumulation of Cyanophycin Granules as a Result of Phosphate Limitation in Agmenellum quadruplicatum

Cited by 83 publications

References 10 publications

Transient accumulations of cyanophycin in Anabaena cylindrica and Synechocystis 6308

Transient accumulations of cyanophycin in Anabaena cylindrica and Synechocystis 6308

Population level functional diversity in a microbial community revealed by comparative genomic and metagenomic analyses

Identification and Purification of a Derepressible Alkaline Phosphatase from Anacystis nidulans R2

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