Some Cyanobacteria Synthesize Semi-amylopectin Type α-Polyglucans Instead of Glycogen

Nakamura, Yasunori; Takahashi, Junichiro; Sakurai, Aya; Inaba, Yumiko; Suzuki, Eiji; Nihei, Satoko; Fujiwara, Shoko; Tsuzuki, Mikio; Miyashita, Hideaki; Ikemoto, Hisato; Kawachi, Masanobu; Sekiguchi, Hiroshi; Kurano, Norihide

doi:10.1093/pcp/pci045

Cited by 106 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It has not been detected in cyanobacteria. This is true also for those cyanobacteria that synthesize starch (semiamylopectin) and could therefore be considered ancestors of chloroplasts (150). The evolutionary origin of the [FeFe] hydrogenase of green algae is a mystery yet to be resolved (132,146).…”

Section: Hydrogenases In Generalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen Fixation and Hydrogen Metabolism in Cyanobacteria

Bothe

Schmitz²,

Yates

et al. 2010

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

365

222

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARY This review summarizes recent aspects of (di)nitrogen fixation and (di)hydrogen metabolism, with emphasis on cyanobacteria. These organisms possess several types of the enzyme complexes catalyzing N2 fixation and/or H2 formation or oxidation, namely, two Mo nitrogenases, a V nitrogenase, and two hydrogenases. The two cyanobacterial Ni hydrogenases are differentiated as either uptake or bidirectional hydrogenases. The different forms of both the nitrogenases and hydrogenases are encoded by different sets of genes, and their organization on the chromosome can vary from one cyanobacterium to another. Factors regulating the expression of these genes are emerging from recent studies. New ideas on the potential physiological and ecological roles of nitrogenases and hydrogenases are presented. There is a renewed interest in exploiting cyanobacteria in solar energy conversion programs to generate H2 as a source of combustible energy. To enhance the rates of H2 production, the emphasis perhaps needs not to be on more efficient hydrogenases and nitrogenases or on the transfer of foreign enzymes into cyanobacteria. A likely better strategy is to exploit the use of radiant solar energy by the photosynthetic electron transport system to enhance the rates of H2 formation and so improve the chances of utilizing cyanobacteria as a source for the generation of clean energy.

show abstract

Section: Hydrogenases In Generalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen Fixation and Hydrogen Metabolism in Cyanobacteria

Bothe

Schmitz²,

Yates

et al. 2010

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

365

222

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Until recently, the distribution of starch seemed restricted to photosynthetic eukaryotes, including several secondary endosymbiosis lineages derived from Archaeplastida, such as the cryptophytes (Deschamps et al, 2006), the dinoflagellates (Dauvillée et al, 2009), and some apicomplexa parasites (Coppin et al, 2005). However, more recent studies revealed the existence of starch-like structures in unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria belonging to the order Chroococcales (Nakamura et al, 2005;Deschamps et al, 2008;Suzuki et al, 2013). The presence of anomalous glycogen particles had already been identified previously in this clade, while it is only very recently that this material was recognized as starch-like and the term "semiamylopectin" was coined to describe the major amylopectin-like fraction within these granules (Schneegurt et al, 1994;Suzuki et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergent Evolution of Polysaccharide Debranching Defines a Common Mechanism for Starch Accumulation in Cyanobacteria and Plants

et al. 2013

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Starch, unlike hydrosoluble glycogen particles, aggregates into insoluble, semicrystalline granules. In photosynthetic eukaryotes, the transition to starch accumulation occurred after plastid endosymbiosis from a preexisting cytosolic host glycogen metabolism network. This involved the recruitment of a debranching enzyme of chlamydial pathogen origin. The latter is thought to be responsible for removing misplaced branches that would otherwise yield a water-soluble polysaccharide. We now report the implication of starch debranching enzyme in the aggregation of semicrystalline granules of single-cell cyanobacteria that accumulate both glycogen and starch-like polymers. We show that an enzyme of analogous nature to the plant debranching enzyme but of a different bacterial origin was recruited for the same purpose in these organisms. Remarkably, both the plant and cyanobacterial enzymes have evolved through convergent evolution, showing novel yet identical substrate specificities from a preexisting enzyme that originally displayed the much narrower substrate preferences required for glycogen catabolism.

show abstract

“…A second observation inspiring the hypothesis of Deschamps et al [54] is the discovery of starch-like structures in unicellular group V diazotrophic cyanobacteria [55]. These starch-like molecules are synthesized using enzymes that are phylogenetically related to the ones involved in starch metabolism in Archaeplastida, and have not been found in any other group of Cyanobacteria so far.…”

Section: Metabolic Symbiosis and Primary Endosymbiosismentioning

confidence: 95%

Primary endosymbiosis: have cyanobacteria and Chlamydiae ever been roommates?

Deschamps

2014

Acta Soc Bot Pol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eukaryotes acquired the ability to process photosynthesis by engulfing a cyanobacterium and transforming it into a genuine organelle called the plastid. This event, named primary endosymbiosis, occurred once more than a billion years ago, and allowed the emergence of the Archaeplastida, a monophyletic supergroup comprising the green algae and plants, the red algae and the glaucophytes. Of the other known cases of symbiosis between cyanobacteria and eukaryotes, none has achieved a comparable level of cell integration nor reached the same evolutionary and ecological success than primary endosymbiosis did. Reasons for this unique accomplishment are still unknown and difficult to comprehend. The exploration of plant genomes has revealed a considerable amount of genes closely related to homologs of Chlamydiae bacteria, and probably acquired by horizontal gene transfer. Several studies have proposed that these transferred genes, which are mostly involved in the functioning of the plastid, may have helped the settlement of primary endosymbiosis. Some of these studies propose that Chlamydiae and cyanobacterial symbionts coexisted in the eukaryotic host of the primary endosymbiosis, and that Chlamydiae provided solutions for the metabolic symbiosis between the cyanobacterium and the host, ensuring the success of primary endosymbiosis. In this review, I present a reevaluation of the contribution of Chlamydiae genes to the genome of Archaeplastida and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this tripartite model for primary endosymbiosis.

show abstract

Some Cyanobacteria Synthesize Semi-amylopectin Type α-Polyglucans Instead of Glycogen

Cited by 106 publications

References 18 publications

Nitrogen Fixation and Hydrogen Metabolism in Cyanobacteria

Nitrogen Fixation and Hydrogen Metabolism in Cyanobacteria

Convergent Evolution of Polysaccharide Debranching Defines a Common Mechanism for Starch Accumulation in Cyanobacteria and Plants

Primary endosymbiosis: have cyanobacteria and Chlamydiae ever been roommates?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About