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Ulrich NJ, Shen G, Bryant DA, Miller SR. Ecological diversification of a cyanobacterium through divergence of its novel chlorophyll d-based light-harvesting system. Curr Biol 2024; 34:2972-2979.e4. [PMID: 38851184 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.05.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/10/2024]
Abstract
The evolution of novel traits can have important consequences for biological diversification. Novelties such as new structures are associated with changes in both genotype and phenotype that often lead to changes in ecological function.1,2 New ecological opportunities provided by a novel trait can trigger subsequent trait modification or niche partitioning3; however, the underlying mechanisms of novel trait diversification are still poorly understood. Here, we report that the innovation of a new chlorophyll (Chl) pigment, Chl d, by the cyanobacterium Acaryochloris marina was followed by the functional divergence of its light-harvesting complex. We identified three major photosynthetic spectral types based on Chl fluorescence properties for a collection of A. marina laboratory strains for which genome sequence data are available,4,5 with shorter- and longer-wavelength types more recently derived from an ancestral intermediate phenotype. Members of the different spectral types exhibited extensive variation in the Chl-binding proteins as well as the Chl energy levels of their photosynthetic complexes. This spectral-type divergence is associated with differences in the wavelength dependence of both growth rate and photosynthetic oxygen evolution. We conclude that the divergence of the light-harvesting apparatus has consequently impacted A. marina ecological diversification through specialization on different far-red photons for photosynthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikea J Ulrich
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA
| | - Gaozhong Shen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 406 Althouse Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Donald A Bryant
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, 406 Althouse Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA
| | - Scott R Miller
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
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2
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Kosugi M, Ohtani S, Hara K, Toyoda A, Nishide H, Ozawa SI, Takahashi Y, Kashino Y, Kudoh S, Koike H, Minagawa J. Characterization of the far-red light absorbing light-harvesting chlorophyll a/ b binding complex, a derivative of the distinctive Lhca gene family in green algae. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1409116. [PMID: 38916036 PMCID: PMC11194369 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1409116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Prasiola crispa, an aerial green alga, exhibits remarkable adaptability to the extreme conditions of Antarctica by forming layered colonies capable of utilizing far-red light for photosynthesis. Despite a recent report on the structure of P. crispa's unique light-harvesting chlorophyll (Chl)-binding protein complex (Pc-frLHC), which facilitates far-red light absorption and uphill excitation energy transfer to photosystem II, the specific genes encoding the subunits of Pc-frLHC have not yet been identified. Here, we report a draft genome sequence of P. crispa strain 4113, originally isolated from soil samples on Ongul Island, Antarctica. We obtained a 92 Mbp sequence distributed in 1,045 scaffolds comprising 10,244 genes, reflecting 87.1% of the core eukaryotic gene set. Notably, 26 genes associated with the light-harvesting Chl a/b binding complex (LHC) were identified, including four Pc-frLHC genes, with similarity to a noncanonical Lhca gene with four transmembrane helices, such as Ot_Lhca6 in Ostreococcus tauri and Cr_LHCA2 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. A comparative analysis revealed that Pc-frLHC shares homology with certain Lhca genes found in Coccomyxa and Trebouxia species. This similarity indicates that Pc-frLHC has evolved from an ancestral Lhca gene with four transmembrane helices and branched out within the Trebouxiaceae family. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis conducted during the initiation of Pc-frLHC gene induction under red light illumination indicated that Pc-frLHC genes were induced independently from other genes associated with photosystems or LHCs. Instead, the genes of transcription factors, helicases, chaperones, heat shock proteins, and components of blue light receptors were identified to coexpress with Pc-frLHC. Those kinds of information could provide insights into the expression mechanisms of Pc-frLHC and its evolutional development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makiko Kosugi
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Shuji Ohtani
- Faculty of Education, Shimane University, Matsue, Japan
| | - Kojiro Hara
- Faculty of Bioresource Sciences, Akita Prefectural University, Akita, Japan
| | - Atsushi Toyoda
- Comparative Genomics Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
| | - Hiroyo Nishide
- Data Integration and Analysis Facility, National Institute for Basic Biology, National Institutes of Natural Science, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Shin-Ichiro Ozawa
- Institute of Plant Science and Resources, Okayama University, Kurashiki, Japan
| | - Yuichiro Takahashi
- Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | | | - Sakae Kudoh
- National Institute of Polar Research, Research Organization of Information and Systems, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Polar Science, School of Multidisciplinary Science, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Koike
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Jun Minagawa
- Division of Environmental Photobiology, National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan
- Graduate Institute for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI, Okazaki, Japan
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3
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Giovagnetti V, Ruban AV. The mechanism of regulation of photosystem I cross-section in the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2021; 72:561-575. [PMID: 33068431 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Photosystems possess distinct fluorescence emissions at low (77K) temperature. PSI emits in the long-wavelength region at ~710-740 nm. In diatoms, a successful clade of marine primary producers, the contribution of PSI-associated emission (710-717 nm) has been shown to be relatively small. However, in the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the source of the long-wavelength emission at ~710 nm (F710) remains controversial. Here, we addressed the origin and modulation of F710 fluorescence in this alga grown under continuous and intermittent light. The latter condition led to a strong enhancement in F710. Biochemical and spectral properties of the photosynthetic complexes isolated from thylakoid membranes were investigated for both culture conditions. F710 emission appeared to be associated with PSI regardless of light acclimation. To further assess whether PSII could also contribute to this emission, we decreased the concentration of PSII reaction centres and core antenna by growing cells with lincomycin, a chloroplast protein synthesis inhibitor. The treatment did not diminish F710 fluorescence. Our data suggest that F710 emission originates from PSI under the conditions tested and is enhanced in intermittent light-grown cells due to increased energy flow from the FCP antenna to PSI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasco Giovagnetti
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Alexander V Ruban
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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Kosugi M, Ozawa SI, Takahashi Y, Kamei Y, Itoh S, Kudoh S, Kashino Y, Koike H. Red-shifted chlorophyll a bands allow uphill energy transfer to photosystem II reaction centers in an aerial green alga, Prasiola crispa, harvested in Antarctica. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2020; 1861:148139. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2019.148139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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5
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Wolf BM, Blankenship RE. Far-red light acclimation in diverse oxygenic photosynthetic organisms. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2019; 142:349-359. [PMID: 31222688 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-019-00653-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Oxygenic photosynthesis has historically been considered limited to be driven by the wavelengths of visible light. However, in the last few decades, various adaptations have been discovered that allow algae, cyanobacteria, and even plants to utilize longer wavelength light in the far-red spectral range. These adaptations provide distinct advantages to the species possessing them, allowing the effective utilization of shade light under highly filtered light environments. In prokaryotes, these adaptations include the production of far-red-absorbing chlorophylls d and f and the remodeling of phycobilisome antennas and reaction centers. Eukaryotes express specialized light-harvesting pigment-protein complexes that use interactions between pigments and their protein environment to spectrally tune the absorption of chlorophyll a. If these adaptations could be applied to crop plants, a potentially significant increase in photon utilization in lower shaded leaves could be realized, improving crop yields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin M Wolf
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
| | - Robert E Blankenship
- Departments of Biology and Chemistry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
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Litvín R, Bína D, Herbstová M, Pazderník M, Kotabová E, Gardian Z, Trtílek M, Prášil O, Vácha F. Red-shifted light-harvesting system of freshwater eukaryotic alga Trachydiscus minutus (Eustigmatophyta, Stramenopila). PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2019; 142:137-151. [PMID: 31375979 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-019-00662-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Survival of phototrophic organisms depends on their ability to collect and convert enough light energy to support their metabolism. Phototrophs can extend their absorption cross section by using diverse pigments and by tuning the properties of these pigments via pigment-pigment and pigment-protein interaction. It is well known that some cyanobacteria can grow in heavily shaded habitats by utilizing far-red light harvested with far-red-absorbing chlorophylls d and f. We describe a red-shifted light-harvesting system based on chlorophyll a from a freshwater eustigmatophyte alga Trachydiscus minutus (Eustigmatophyceae, Goniochloridales). A comprehensive characterization of the photosynthetic apparatus of T. minutus is presented. We show that thylakoid membranes of T. minutus contain light-harvesting complexes of several sizes differing in the relative amount of far-red chlorophyll a forms absorbing around 700 nm. The pigment arrangement of the major red-shifted light-harvesting complex is similar to that of the red-shifted antenna of a marine alveolate alga Chromera velia. Evolutionary aspects of the algal far-red light-harvesting complexes are discussed. The presence of these antennas in eustigmatophyte algae opens up new ways to modify organisms of this promising group for effective use of far-red light in mass cultures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radek Litvín
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Biology Centre, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - David Bína
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
- Biology Centre, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Miroslava Herbstová
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Biology Centre, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Pazderník
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Microbiology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Opatovický mlýn, 379 81, Třeboň, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Kotabová
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Microbiology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Opatovický mlýn, 379 81, Třeboň, Czech Republic
| | - Zdenko Gardian
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Biology Centre, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Trtílek
- PSI (Photon Systems Instruments), spol. s r.o. Drásov 470, 664 24, Drásov, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Prášil
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Institute of Microbiology, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Opatovický mlýn, 379 81, Třeboň, Czech Republic
| | - František Vácha
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Biology Centre, The Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Niedzwiedzki DM, Wolf BM, Blankenship RE. Excitation energy transfer in the far-red absorbing violaxanthin/vaucheriaxanthin chlorophyll a complex from the eustigmatophyte alga FP5. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2019; 140:337-354. [PMID: 30701484 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-019-00615-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This work highlights spectroscopic investigations on a new representative of photosynthetic antenna complexes in the LHC family, a putative violaxanthin/vaucheriaxanthin chlorophyll a (VCP) antenna complex from a freshwater Eustigmatophyte alga FP5. A representative VCP-like complex, named as VCP-B3 was studied with both static and time-resolved spectroscopies with the aim of obtaining a deeper understanding of excitation energy migration within the pigment array of the complex. Compared to other VCP representatives, the absorption spectrum of the VCP-B3 is strongly altered in the range of the chlorophyll a Qy band, and is substantially red-shifted with the longest wavelength absorption band at 707 nm at 77 K. VCP-B3 shows a moderate xanthophyll-to-chlorophyll a efficiency of excitation energy transfer in the 50-60% range, 20-30% lower from comparable VCP complexes from other organisms. Transient absorption studies accompanied by detailed data fitting and simulations support the idea that the xanthophylls that occupy the central part of the complex, complementary to luteins in the LHCII, are violaxanthins. Target analysis suggests that the primary route of xanthophyll-to-chlorophyll a energy transfer occurs via the xanthophyll S1 state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dariusz M Niedzwiedzki
- Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering and Center for Solar Energy and Energy Storage, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
- Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA.
| | - Benjamin M Wolf
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
| | - Robert E Blankenship
- Department of Biology, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
- Department of Chemistry, Washington University in St Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63130, USA
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Büchel C. Light harvesting complexes in chlorophyll c-containing algae. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2019; 1861:148027. [PMID: 31153887 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Besides the so-called 'green lineage' of eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms that include vascular plants, a huge variety of different algal groups exist that also harvest light by means of membrane intrinsic light harvesting proteins (Lhc). The main taxa of these algae are the Cryptophytes, Haptophytes, Dinophytes, Chromeridae and the Heterokonts, the latter including diatoms, brown algae, Xanthophyceae and Eustigmatophyceae amongst others. Despite the similarity in Lhc proteins between vascular plants and these algae, pigmentation is significantly different since no Chl b is bound, but often replaced by Chl c, and a large diversity in carotenoids functioning in light harvesting and/or photoprotection is present. Due to the presence of Chl c in most of the taxa the name 'Chl c-containing organisms' has become common, however, Chl b-less is more precise since some harbour Lhc proteins that only bind one type of Chl, Chl a. In recent years huge progress has been made about the occurrence and function of Lhc in diatoms, so-called fucoxanthin chlorophyll proteins (FCP), where also the first molecular structure became available recently. In addition, especially energy transfer amongst the unusual pigments bound was intensively studied in many of these groups. This review summarises the present knowledge about the molecular structure, the arrangement of the different Lhc in complexes, the excitation energy transfer abilities and the involvement in photoprotection of the different Lhc systems in the so-called Chl c-containing organisms. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Light harvesting, edited by Dr. Roberta Croce.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Büchel
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue Straße 9, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany.
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