Identification of Specific Variations in a Non-Motile Strain of Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 Originated from ATCC 27184 by Whole Genome Resequencing

Abstract

Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a widely used model organism in basic research and biofuel biotechnology application. Here, we report the genomic sequence of chromosome and seven plasmids of a glucose-tolerant, non-motile strain originated from ATCC 27184, GT-G, in use at Guangzhou. Through high-throughput genome re-sequencing and verification by Sanger sequencing, eight novel variants were identified in its chromosome and plasmids. The eight novel variants, especially the five non-silent mutations might have interesting effects on the phenotype of GT-G strains, for example the truncated Sll1895 and Slr0322 protein. These resequencing data provide background information for further research and application based on the GT-G strain and also provide evidence to study the evolution and divergence of Synechocystis 6803 globally.

Phenotypic characterization of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 substrains reveals differences in sensitivity to abiotic stress

“…Synechocystis substrains GT-B and GT-L were not motile, whereas substrain PCC-B showed negative phototaxis on agar plates (top illumination by warm white light through a 3 cm circular area in the middle of standard 10 cm agar plate). This is in agreement with previously published motility distribution among PCC-derived and ATCC-derived Synechocystis substrains [ 10 , 13 ]. All Synechocystis substrains used in this study were not sensitive to the presence of shear stress introduced by rotation of the cylindrical stirrer bar inside the cuvette up to 210 rpm or maximal circular velocity 0.4 m s -1 .…”

“…with different deposition and/or maintenance history) can vary on both genotype and phenotype levels. Several Synechocystis substrains were re-sequenced in addition to the first sequenced Kazusa strain [ 3 , 4 ] and several specific (mostly single-point) mutations were identified within genes related to photosynthesis, transport, or motility [ 7 – 13 ]. In addition, variability in genome copy number was reported recently [ 14 ].…”

“…In addition, variability in genome copy number was reported recently [ 14 ]. However, even though the documented phenotypic variations include changes in essential cellular parameters such as content and composition of photosynthetic complexes [ 12 ], pigment composition [ 12 , 15 ], cell size [ 15 ], motility [ 7 , 13 ] or glucose tolerance [ 7 , 16 ], variations among Synechocystis substrains in the complex cellular traits such as growth rates were never reported up to date.…”

Recent Advances in Biological Functions of Thick Pili in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

“…The direction of movement correlates with localization of PilB patches at the inner membrane . The identification of key genes involved in the motility of Synechocystis began from the observation of some spontaneous mutants with different motility (Tajima et al, 2011;Kanesaki et al, 2012;Trautmann et al, 2012;Morris et al, 2014;Ding et al, 2015). There are two distinct major groups of Synechocystis substrains: the motile PCC and non-motile GT-lineages (Morris et al, 2017).…”

“…There are two distinct major groups of Synechocystis substrains: the motile PCC and non-motile GT-lineages (Morris et al, 2017). Genes critical for motility and pilus biosynthesis may have mutations among strains, for instance a frameshift mutation in pilC (Bhaya et al, 2000), insertion in spkA, deletion upstream and within slr2031, and/or deletion of a single nucleotide within slr0322 (Ding et al, 2015). Widespread genomic variations may contribute to the discovery of Synechocystis strain-specific mutations related to motility.…”