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Li X, Hou W, Lei J, Chen H, Wang Q. The Unique Light-Harvesting System of the Algal Phycobilisome: Structure, Assembly Components, and Functions. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24119733. [PMID: 37298688 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24119733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The phycobilisome (PBS) is the major light-harvesting apparatus in cyanobacteria and red algae. It is a large multi-subunit protein complex of several megadaltons that is found on the stromal side of thylakoid membranes in orderly arrays. Chromophore lyases catalyse the thioether bond between apoproteins and phycobilins of PBSs. Depending on the species, composition, spatial assembly, and, especially, the functional tuning of different phycobiliproteins mediated by linker proteins, PBSs can absorb light between 450 and 650 nm, making them efficient and versatile light-harvesting systems. However, basic research and technological innovations are needed, not only to understand their role in photosynthesis but also to realise the potential applications of PBSs. Crucial components including phycobiliproteins, phycobilins, and lyases together make the PBS an efficient light-harvesting system, and these provide a scheme to explore the heterologous synthesis of PBS. Focusing on these topics, this review describes the essential components needed for PBS assembly, the functional basis of PBS photosynthesis, and the applications of phycobiliproteins. Moreover, key technical challenges for heterologous biosynthesis of phycobiliproteins in chassis cells are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Wenwen Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Jiaxi Lei
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Hui Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
- Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China
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2
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Jackson PJ, Hitchcock A, Brindley AA, Dickman MJ, Hunter CN. Absolute quantification of cellular levels of photosynthesis-related proteins in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2023; 155:219-245. [PMID: 36542271 PMCID: PMC9958174 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-022-00990-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Quantifying cellular components is a basic and important step for understanding how a cell works, how it responds to environmental changes, and for re-engineering cells to produce valuable metabolites and increased biomass. We quantified proteins in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 given the general importance of cyanobacteria for global photosynthesis, for synthetic biology and biotechnology research, and their ancestral relationship to the chloroplasts of plants. Four mass spectrometry methods were used to quantify cellular components involved in the biosynthesis of chlorophyll, carotenoid and bilin pigments, membrane assembly, the light reactions of photosynthesis, fixation of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and hydrogen and sulfur metabolism. Components of biosynthetic pathways, such as those for chlorophyll or for photosystem II assembly, range between 1000 and 10,000 copies per cell, but can be tenfold higher for CO2 fixation enzymes. The most abundant subunits are those for photosystem I, with around 100,000 copies per cell, approximately 2 to fivefold higher than for photosystem II and ATP synthase, and 5-20 fold more than for the cytochrome b6f complex. Disparities between numbers of pathway enzymes, between components of electron transfer chains, and between subunits within complexes indicate possible control points for biosynthetic processes, bioenergetic reactions and for the assembly of multisubunit complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip J Jackson
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK.
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK.
| | - Andrew Hitchcock
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Amanda A Brindley
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Mark J Dickman
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | - C Neil Hunter
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
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3
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Carrigee LA, Frick JP, Liu X, Karty JA, Trinidad JC, Tom IP, Yang X, Dufour L, Partensky F, Schluchter WM. The phycoerythrobilin isomerization activity of MpeV in Synechococcus sp. WH8020 is prevented by the presence of a histidine at position 141 within its phycoerythrin-I β-subunit substrate. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1011189. [PMID: 36458192 PMCID: PMC9705338 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1011189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine Synechococcus efficiently harvest available light for photosynthesis using complex antenna systems, called phycobilisomes, composed of an allophycocyanin core surrounded by rods, which in the open ocean are always constituted of phycocyanin and two phycoerythrin (PE) types: PEI and PEII. These cyanobacteria display a wide pigment diversity primarily resulting from differences in the ratio of the two chromophores bound to PEs, the green-light absorbing phycoerythrobilin and the blue-light absorbing phycourobilin. Prior to phycobiliprotein assembly, bilin lyases post-translationally catalyze the ligation of phycoerythrobilin to conserved cysteine residues on α- or β-subunits, whereas the closely related lyase-isomerases isomerize phycoerythrobilin to phycourobilin during the attachment reaction. MpeV was recently shown in Synechococcus sp. RS9916 to be a lyase-isomerase which doubly links phycourobilin to two cysteine residues (C50 and C61; hereafter C50, 61) on the β-subunit of both PEI and PEII. Here we show that Synechococcus sp. WH8020, which belongs to the same pigment type as RS9916, contains MpeV that demonstrates lyase-isomerase activity on the PEII β-subunit but only lyase activity on the PEI β-subunit. We also demonstrate that occurrence of a histidine at position 141 of the PEI β-subunit from WH8020, instead of a leucine in its counterpart from RS9916, prevents the isomerization activity by WH8020 MpeV, showing for the first time that both the substrate and the enzyme play a role in the isomerization reaction. We propose a structural-based mechanism for the role of H141 in blocking isomerization. More generally, the knowledge of the amino acid present at position 141 of the β-subunits may be used to predict which phycobilin is bound at C50, 61 of both PEI and PEII from marine Synechococcus strains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsay A. Carrigee
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, United States
- Environmental Laboratory, Engineering and Research Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers, Vicksburg, MS, United States
| | - Jacob P. Frick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Xindi Liu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, United States
| | - Jonathan A. Karty
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, United States
| | | | - Irin P. Tom
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Xiaojing Yang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Louison Dufour
- Ecology of Marine Plankton Team, UMR 7144 Adaptation and Diversity in the Marine Environment, Station Biologique, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Roscoff, France
| | - Frédéric Partensky
- Ecology of Marine Plankton Team, UMR 7144 Adaptation and Diversity in the Marine Environment, Station Biologique, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Roscoff, France
| | - Wendy M. Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA, United States
- *Correspondence: Wendy M. Schluchter,
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4
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Chen H, Qi H, Xiong P. Phycobiliproteins-A Family of Algae-Derived Biliproteins: Productions, Characterization and Pharmaceutical Potentials. Mar Drugs 2022; 20:md20070450. [PMID: 35877743 PMCID: PMC9318637 DOI: 10.3390/md20070450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are colored and water-soluble biliproteins found in cyanobacteria, rhodophytes, cryptomonads and cyanelles. They are divided into three main types: allophycocyanin, phycocyanin and phycoerythrin, according to their spectral properties. There are two methods for PBPs preparation. One is the extraction and purification of native PBPs from Cyanobacteria, Cryptophyta and Rhodophyta, and the other way is the production of recombinant PBPs by heterologous hosts. Apart from their function as light-harvesting antenna in photosynthesis, PBPs can be used as food colorants, nutraceuticals and fluorescent probes in immunofluorescence analysis. An increasing number of reports have revealed their pharmaceutical potentials such as antioxidant, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects. The advances in PBP biogenesis make it feasible to construct novel PBPs with various activities and produce recombinant PBPs by heterologous hosts at low cost. In this review, we present a critical overview on the productions, characterization and pharmaceutical potentials of PBPs, and discuss the key issues and future perspectives on the exploration of these valuable proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- School of Life Sciences and Medicine, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China;
- Correspondence:
| | - Hongtao Qi
- School of Life Sciences, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, China;
| | - Peng Xiong
- School of Life Sciences and Medicine, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255000, China;
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Li Y, Chen M. The specificity of the bilin lyase CpcS for chromophore attachment to allophycocyanin in the chlorophyll f-containing cyanobacterium Halomicronima hongdechloris. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2022; 151:213-223. [PMID: 34564824 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-021-00878-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Phycobilisomes are light-harvesting antenna complexes of cyanobacteria and red algae that are comprised of chromoproteins called phycobiliproteins. PBS core structures are made up of allophycocyanin subunits. Halomicronema hongdechloris (H. hongdechloris) is one of the cyanobacteria that produce chlorophyll f (Chl f) under far-red light and is regulated by the Far-Red Light Photoacclimation gene cluster. There are five genes encoding APC in this specific gene cluster, and they are responsible for assembling the red-shifted PBS in H. hongdechloris grown under far-red light. In this study, the five apc genes located in the FaRLiP gene cluster were heterologously expressed in an Escherichia coli reconstitution system. The canonical APC-encoding genes were also constructed in the same system for comparison. Additionally, five annotated phycobiliprotein lyase-encoding genes (cpcS) from the H. hongdechloris genome were phylogenetically classified and experimentally tested for their catalytic properties including their contribution to the shifted absorption of PBS. Through analysis of recombinant proteins, we determined that the heterodimer of CpcS-I and CpcU are able to ligate a chromophore to the APC-α/APC-β subunits. We discuss some hypotheses towards understanding the roles of the specialised APC and contributions of PBP lyases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaqiong Li
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Min Chen
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
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Dagnino-Leone J, Figueroa CP, Castañeda ML, Youlton AD, Vallejos-Almirall A, Agurto-Muñoz A, Pavón Pérez J, Agurto-Muñoz C. Phycobiliproteins: Structural aspects, functional characteristics, and biotechnological perspectives. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:1506-1527. [PMID: 35422968 PMCID: PMC8983314 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Revised: 02/18/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are fluorescent proteins of various colors, including fuchsia, purple-blue and cyan, that allow the capture of light energy in auxiliary photosynthetic complexes called phycobilisomes (PBS). PBPs have several highly preserved structural and physicochemical characteristics. In the PBS context, PBPs function is capture luminous energy in the 450–650 nm range and delivers it to photosystems allowing photosynthesis take place. Besides the energy harvesting function, PBPs also have shown to have multiple biological activities, including antioxidant, antibacterial and antitumours, making them an interesting focus for different biotechnological applications in areas like biomedicine, bioenergy and scientific research. Nowadays, the main sources of PBPs are cyanobacteria and micro and macro algae from the phylum Rhodophyta. Due to the diverse biological activities of PBPs, they have attracted the attention of different industries, such as food, biomedical and cosmetics. This is why a large number of patents related to the production, extraction, purification of PBPs and their application as cosmetics, biopharmaceuticals or diagnostic applications have been generated, looking less ecological impact in the natural prairies of macroalgae and less culture time or higher productivity in cyanobacteria to satisfy the markets and applications that require high amounts of these molecules. In this review, we summarize the main structural characteristics of PBPs, their biosynthesys and biotechnological applications. We also address current trends and future perspectives of the PBPs market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Dagnino-Leone
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Cristina Pinto Figueroa
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Mónica Latorre Castañeda
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Andrea Donoso Youlton
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Alejandro Vallejos-Almirall
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Andrés Agurto-Muñoz
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
| | - Jessy Pavón Pérez
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos (CyTA), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000 Chile
| | - Cristian Agurto-Muñoz
- Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile
- Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos (CyTA), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000 Chile
- Corresponding author at: Grupo Interdisciplinario de Biotecnología Marina (GIBMAR), Centro de Biotecnología, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4030000, Chile.
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7
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Molecular bases of an alternative dual-enzyme system for light color acclimation of marine Synechococcus cyanobacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2019715118. [PMID: 33627406 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019715118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine Synechococcus cyanobacteria owe their ubiquity in part to the wide pigment diversity of their light-harvesting complexes. In open ocean waters, cells predominantly possess sophisticated antennae with rods composed of phycocyanin and two types of phycoerythrins (PEI and PEII). Some strains are specialized for harvesting either green or blue light, while others can dynamically modify their light absorption spectrum to match the dominant ambient color. This process, called type IV chromatic acclimation (CA4), has been linked to the presence of a small genomic island occurring in two configurations (CA4-A and CA4-B). While the CA4-A process has been partially characterized, the CA4-B process has remained an enigma. Here we characterize the function of two members of the phycobilin lyase E/F clan, MpeW and MpeQ, in Synechococcus sp. strain A15-62 and demonstrate their critical role in CA4-B. While MpeW, encoded in the CA4-B island and up-regulated in green light, attaches the green light-absorbing chromophore phycoerythrobilin to cysteine-83 of the PEII α-subunit in green light, MpeQ binds phycoerythrobilin and isomerizes it into the blue light-absorbing phycourobilin at the same site in blue light, reversing the relationship of MpeZ and MpeY in the CA4-A strain RS9916. Our data thus reveal key molecular differences between the two types of chromatic acclimaters, both highly abundant but occupying distinct complementary ecological niches in the ocean. They also support an evolutionary scenario whereby CA4-B island acquisition allowed former blue light specialists to become chromatic acclimaters, while former green light specialists would have acquired this capacity by gaining a CA4-A island.
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Carrigee LA, Frick JP, Karty JA, Garczarek L, Partensky F, Schluchter WM. MpeV is a lyase isomerase that ligates a doubly linked phycourobilin on the β-subunit of phycoerythrin I and II in marine Synechococcus. J Biol Chem 2021; 296:100031. [PMID: 33154169 PMCID: PMC7948978 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.015289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Synechococcus cyanobacteria are widespread in the marine environment, as the extensive pigment diversity within their light-harvesting phycobilisomes enables them to utilize various wavelengths of light for photosynthesis. The phycobilisomes of Synechococcus sp. RS9916 contain two forms of the protein phycoerythrin (PEI and PEII), each binding two chromophores, green-light absorbing phycoerythrobilin and blue-light absorbing phycourobilin. These chromophores are ligated to specific cysteines via bilin lyases, and some of these enzymes, called lyase isomerases, attach phycoerythrobilin and simultaneously isomerize it to phycourobilin. MpeV is a putative lyase isomerase whose role in PEI and PEII biosynthesis is not clear. We examined MpeV in RS9916 using recombinant protein expression, absorbance spectroscopy, and tandem mass spectrometry. Our results show that MpeV is the lyase isomerase that covalently attaches a doubly linked phycourobilin to two cysteine residues (C50, C61) on the β-subunit of both PEI (CpeB) and PEII (MpeB). MpeV activity requires that CpeB or MpeB is first chromophorylated by the lyase CpeS (which adds phycoerythrobilin to C82). Its activity is further enhanced by CpeZ (a homolog of a chaperone-like protein first characterized in Fremyella diplosiphon). MpeV showed no detectable activity on the α-subunits of PEI or PEII. The mechanism by which MpeV links the A and D rings of phycourobilin to C50 and C61 of CpeB was also explored using site-directed mutants, revealing that linkage at the A ring to C50 is a critical step in chromophore attachment, isomerization, and stability. These data provide novel insights into β-PE biosynthesis and advance our understanding of the mechanisms guiding lyase isomerases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsay A Carrigee
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Jacob P Frick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Jonathan A Karty
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Laurence Garczarek
- Ecology of Marine Plankton (ECOMAP) Team, Station Biologique, Sorbonne Université & CNRS, UMR 7144, Roscoff, France
| | - Frédéric Partensky
- Ecology of Marine Plankton (ECOMAP) Team, Station Biologique, Sorbonne Université & CNRS, UMR 7144, Roscoff, France
| | - Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
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Nguyen AA, Joseph KL, Bussell AN, Pokhrel S, Karty JA, Kronfel CM, Kehoe DM, Schluchter WM. CpeT is the phycoerythrobilin lyase for Cys-165 on β-phycoerythrin from Fremyella diplosiphon and the chaperone-like protein CpeZ greatly improves its activity. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2020; 1861:148284. [PMID: 32777305 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2020.148284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Bilin lyases are enzymes which ligate linear tetrapyrrole chromophores to specific cysteine residues on light harvesting proteins present in cyanobacteria and red algae. The lyases responsible for chromophorylating the light harvesting protein phycoerythrin (PE) have not been fully characterized. In this study, we explore the role of CpeT, a putative bilin lyase, in the biosynthesis of PE in the cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon. Recombinant protein studies show that CpeT alone can bind phycoerythrobilin (PEB), but CpeZ, a chaperone-like protein, is needed in order to correctly and efficiently attach PEB to the β-subunit of PE. MS analyses of the recombinant β-subunit of PE coexpressed with CpeT and CpeZ show that PEB is attached at Cys-165. Purified phycobilisomes from a cpeT knockout mutant and wild type (WT) samples from F. diplosiphon were analyzed and compared. The cpeT mutant contained much less PE and more phycocyanin than WT cells grown under green light, conditions which should maximize the production of PE. In addition, Northern blot analyses showed that the cpeCDESTR operon mRNAs were upregulated while the cpeBcpeA mRNAs were downregulated in the cpeT mutant strain when compared with WT, suggesting that CpeT may also play a direct or indirect regulatory role in transcription of these operons or their mRNA stability, in addition to its role as a PEB lyase for Cys-165 on β-PE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam A Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Kes Lynn Joseph
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Adam N Bussell
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Suman Pokhrel
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Jonathan A Karty
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Christina M Kronfel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - David M Kehoe
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA.
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Abstract
Modified tetrapyrroles are large macrocyclic compounds, consisting of diverse conjugation and metal chelation systems and imparting an array of colors to the biological structures that contain them. Tetrapyrroles represent some of the most complex small molecules synthesized by cells and are involved in many essential processes that are fundamental to life on Earth, including photosynthesis, respiration, and catalysis. These molecules are all derived from a common template through a series of enzyme-mediated transformations that alter the oxidation state of the macrocycle and also modify its size, its side-chain composition, and the nature of the centrally chelated metal ion. The different modified tetrapyrroles include chlorophylls, hemes, siroheme, corrins (including vitamin B12), coenzyme F430, heme d1, and bilins. After nearly a century of study, almost all of the more than 90 different enzymes that synthesize this family of compounds are now known, and expression of reconstructed operons in heterologous hosts has confirmed that most pathways are complete. Aside from the highly diverse nature of the chemical reactions catalyzed, an interesting aspect of comparative biochemistry is to see how different enzymes and even entire pathways have evolved to perform alternative chemical reactions to produce the same end products in the presence and absence of oxygen. Although there is still much to learn, our current understanding of tetrapyrrole biogenesis represents a remarkable biochemical milestone that is summarized in this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donald A Bryant
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717
| | - C Neil Hunter
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, United Kingdom
| | - Martin J Warren
- School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NJ, United Kingdom
- Quadram Institute Bioscience, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UQ, United Kingdom
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11
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Hu PP, Hou JY, Xu YL, Niu NN, Zhao C, Lu L, Zhou M, Scheer H, Zhao KH. The role of lyases, NblA and NblB proteins and bilin chromophore transfer in restructuring the cyanobacterial light-harvesting complex ‡. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 102:529-540. [PMID: 31820831 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 11/29/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Phycobilisomes are large light-harvesting complexes attached to the stromal side of thylakoids in cyanobacteria and red algae. They can be remodeled or degraded in response to changing light and nutritional status. Both the core and the peripheral rods of phycobilisomes contain biliproteins. During biliprotein biosynthesis, open-chain tetrapyrrole chromophores are attached covalently to the apoproteins by dedicated lyases. Another set of non-bleaching (Nb) proteins has been implicated in phycobilisome degradation, among them NblA and NblB. We report in vitro experiments with lyases, biliproteins and NblA/B which imply that the situation is more complex than currently discussed: lyases can also detach the chromophores and NblA and NblB can modulate lyase-catalyzed binding and detachment of chromophores in a complex fashion. We show: (i) NblA and NblB can interfere with chromophorylation as well as chromophore detachment of phycobiliprotein, they are generally inhibitors but in some cases enhance the reaction; (ii) NblA and NblB promote dissociation of whole phycobilisomes, cores and, in particular, allophycocyanin trimers; (iii) while NblA and NblB do not interact with each other, both interact with lyases, apo- and holo-biliproteins; (iv) they promote synergistically the lyase-catalyzed chromophorylation of the β-subunit of the major rod component, CPC; and (v) they modulate lyase-catalyzed and lyase-independent chromophore transfers among biliproteins, with the core protein, ApcF, the rod protein, CpcA, and sensory biliproteins (phytochromes, cyanobacteriochromes) acting as potential traps. The results indicate that NblA/B can cooperate with lyases in remodeling the phycobilisomes to balance the metabolic requirements of acclimating their light-harvesting capacity without straining the overall metabolic economy of the cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping-Ping Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Jian-Yun Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Ya-Li Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Nan-Nan Niu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Cheng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Lu Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Ming Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
| | - Hugo Scheer
- Department Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Str. 67, D-80638, München, Germany
| | - Kai-Hong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, China
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Carrigee LA, Mahmoud RM, Sanfilippo JE, Frick JP, Strnat JA, Karty JA, Chen B, Kehoe DM, Schluchter WM. CpeY is a phycoerythrobilin lyase for cysteine 82 of the phycoerythrin I α-subunit in marine Synechococcus. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2020; 1861:148215. [PMID: 32360311 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2020.148215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Marine Synechococcus are widespread in part because they are efficient at harvesting available light using their complex antenna, or phycobilisome, composed of multiple phycobiliproteins and bilin chromophores. Over 40% of Synechococcus strains are predicted to perform a type of chromatic acclimation that alters the ratio of two chromophores, green-light-absorbing phycoerythrobilin and blue-light-absorbing phycourobilin, to optimize light capture by phycoerythrin in the phycobilisome. Lyases are enzymes which catalyze the addition of bilin chromophores to specific cysteine residues on phycobiliproteins and are involved in chromatic acclimation. CpeY, a candidate lyase in the model strain Synechococcus sp. RS9916, added phycoerythrobilin to cysteine 82 of only the α subunit of phycoerythrin I (CpeA) in the presence or absence of the chaperone-like protein CpeZ in a recombinant protein expression system. These studies demonstrated that recombinant CpeY attaches phycoerythrobilin to as much as 72% of CpeA, making it one of the most efficient phycoerythrin lyases characterized to date. Phycobilisomes from a cpeY- mutant showed a near native bilin composition in all light conditions except for a slight replacement of phycoerythrobilin by phycourobilin at CpeA cysteine 82. This demonstrates that CpeY is not involved in any chromatic acclimation-driven chromophore changes and suggests that the chromophore attached at cysteine 82 of CpeA in the cpeY- mutant is ligated by an alternative phycoerythrobilin lyase. Although loss of CpeY does not greatly inhibit native phycobilisome assembly in vivo, the highly active recombinant CpeY can be used to generate large amounts of fluorescent CpeA for biotechnological uses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsay A Carrigee
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Rania M Mahmoud
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Fayoum, Fayoum, Egypt
| | | | - Jacob P Frick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Johann A Strnat
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Jonathan A Karty
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Bo Chen
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - David M Kehoe
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA.
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13
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Chen H, Zheng C, Jiang P, Ji G. Biosynthesis of a Phycocyanin Beta Subunit with Two Noncognate Chromophores in Escherichia coli. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2019; 191:763-771. [PMID: 31853878 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-019-03219-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Recombinant phycobiliprotein can be used as fluorescent label in immunofluorescence assay. In this study, pathway for phycocyanin beta subunit (CpcB) carrying noncognate chromophore phycoerythrobilin (PEB) and phycourobilin (PUB) was constructed in Escherichia coli. Lyase CpcS and CpcT could catalyze attachment of PEB to Cys84-CpcB and Cys155-CpcB, respectively. However, PEB was attached only to Cys84-CpcB when both CpcS and CpcT were present in E. coli. A dual plasmid expression system was used to control the expression of lyases and the attachment order of PEB to CpcB. The production of PEB-Cys155-CpcB was achieved by L-arabinose-induced expression of CpcS, CpcB, Ho1, and PebS, and then the attachment of PEB to Cys84-CpcB was achieved by IPTG-induced expression of CpcS. The doubly chromophorylated CpcB absorbed light maximally at 497.5 nm and 557.0 nm and fluoresced maximally at 507.5 nm and 566.5 nm. An amount of light energy absorbed by PUB-Cys155-CpcB is transferred to PEB-Cys84-CpcB in doubly chromophorylated CpcB, conferring a large stokes shift of 69 nm for this fluorescent protein. There are interactions between chromophores of CpcB which possibly together with the help of lyases lead to isomerization of PEB-Cys155-CpcB to PUB-Cys155-CpcB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China. .,Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China. .,Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.
| | - Caiyun Zheng
- College of Biotechnology Sericultural Research Institute, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Jiangsu, China
| | - Peng Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.,Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China.,Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
| | - Gengsheng Ji
- College of Biotechnology Sericultural Research Institute, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Jiangsu, China
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14
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Mancini JA, Sheehan M, Kodali G, Chow BY, Bryant DA, Dutton PL, Moser CC. De novo synthetic biliprotein design, assembly and excitation energy transfer. J R Soc Interface 2019; 15:rsif.2018.0021. [PMID: 29618529 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2018.0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Bilins are linear tetrapyrrole chromophores with a wide range of visible and near-visible light absorption and emission properties. These properties are tuned upon binding to natural proteins and exploited in photosynthetic light-harvesting and non-photosynthetic light-sensitive signalling. These pigmented proteins are now being manipulated to develop fluorescent experimental tools. To engineer the optical properties of bound bilins for specific applications more flexibly, we have used first principles of protein folding to design novel, stable and highly adaptable bilin-binding four-α-helix bundle protein frames, called maquettes, and explored the minimal requirements underlying covalent bilin ligation and conformational restriction responsible for the strong and variable absorption, fluorescence and excitation energy transfer of these proteins. Biliverdin, phycocyanobilin and phycoerythrobilin bind covalently to maquette Cys in vitro A blue-shifted tripyrrole formed from maquette-bound phycocyanobilin displays a quantum yield of 26%. Although unrelated in fold and sequence to natural phycobiliproteins, bilin lyases nevertheless interact with maquettes during co-expression in Escherichia coli to improve the efficiency of bilin binding and influence bilin structure. Bilins bind in vitro and in vivo to Cys residues placed in loops, towards the amino end or in the middle of helices but bind poorly at the carboxyl end of helices. Bilin-binding efficiency and fluorescence yield are improved by Arg and Asp residues adjacent to the ligating Cys on the same helix and by His residues on adjacent helices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua A Mancini
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Molly Sheehan
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Goutham Kodali
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian Y Chow
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Donald A Bryant
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - P Leslie Dutton
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Christopher C Moser
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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15
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Kronfel CM, Biswas A, Frick JP, Gutu A, Blensdorf T, Karty JA, Kehoe DM, Schluchter WM. The roles of the chaperone-like protein CpeZ and the phycoerythrobilin lyase CpeY in phycoerythrin biogenesis. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2019; 1860:549-561. [PMID: 31173730 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2019.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Phycoerythrin (PE) present in the distal ends of light-harvesting phycobilisome rods in Fremyella diplosiphon (Tolypothrix sp. PCC 7601) contains five phycoerythrobilin (PEB) chromophores attached to six cysteine residues for efficient green light capture for photosynthesis. Chromophore ligation on PE subunits occurs through bilin lyase catalyzed reactions, but the characterization of the roles of all bilin lyases for phycoerythrin is not yet complete. To gain a more complete understanding about the individual functions of CpeZ and CpeY in PE biogenesis in cyanobacteria, we examined PE and phycobilisomes purified from wild type F. diplosiphon, cpeZ and cpeY knockout mutants. We find that the cpeZ and cpeY mutants accumulate less PE than wild type cells. We show that in the cpeZ mutant, chromophorylation of both PE subunits is affected, especially the Cys-80 and Cys-48/Cys-59 sites of CpeB, the beta-subunit of PE. The cpeY mutant showed reduced chromophorylation at Cys-82 of CpeA. We also show that, in vitro, CpeZ stabilizes PE subunits and assists in refolding of CpeB after denaturation. Taken together, we conclude that CpeZ acts as a chaperone-like protein, assisting in the folding/stability of PE subunits, allowing bilin lyases such as CpeY and CpeS to attach PEB to their PE subunit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M Kronfel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Avijit Biswas
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Jacob P Frick
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA
| | - Andrian Gutu
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Tyler Blensdorf
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Jonathan A Karty
- Department of Chemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - David M Kehoe
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA.
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16
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Chen H, Jiang P. Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli for efficient biosynthesis of fluorescent phycobiliprotein. Microb Cell Fact 2019; 18:58. [PMID: 30894191 PMCID: PMC6425641 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-019-1100-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Phycobiliproteins (PBPs) are light-harvesting protein found in cyanobacteria, red algae and the cryptomonads. They have been widely used as fluorescent labels in cytometry and immunofluorescence analysis. A number of PBPs has been produced in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. However, the recombinant PBPs are incompletely chromophorylated, and the underlying mechanisms are not clear. Results and discussion In this work, a pathway for SLA-PEB [a fusion protein of streptavidin and allophycocyanin that covalently binds phycoerythrobilin (PEB)] biosynthesis in E. coli was constructed using a single-expression plasmid strategy. Compared with a previous E. coli strain transformed with dual plasmids, the E. coli strain transformed with a single plasmid showed increased plasmid stability and produced SLA-PEB with a higher chromophorylation ratio. To achieve full chromophorylation of SLA-PEB, directed evolution was employed to improve the catalytic performance of lyase CpcS. In addition, the catalytic abilities of heme oxygenases from different cyanobacteria were investigated based on biliverdin IXα and PEB accumulation. Upregulation of the heme biosynthetic pathway genes was also carried out to increase heme availability and PEB biosynthesis in E. coli. Fed-batch fermentation was conducted for the strain V5ALD, which produced recombinant SLA-PEB with a chromophorylation ratio of 96.7%. Conclusion In addition to reporting the highest chromophorylation ratio of recombinant PBPs to date, this work demonstrated strategies for improving the chromophorylation of recombinant protein, especially biliprotein with heme, or its derivatives as a prosthetic group. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-019-1100-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China. .,Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China. .,Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.
| | - Peng Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China.,Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266071, China.,Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China
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17
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Interplay between differentially expressed enzymes contributes to light color acclimation in marine Synechococcus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:6457-6462. [PMID: 30846551 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810491116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine Synechococcus, a globally important group of cyanobacteria, thrives in various light niches in part due to its varied photosynthetic light-harvesting pigments. Many Synechococcus strains use a process known as chromatic acclimation to optimize the ratio of two chromophores, green-light-absorbing phycoerythrobilin (PEB) and blue-light-absorbing phycourobilin (PUB), within their light-harvesting complexes. A full mechanistic understanding of how Synechococcus cells tune their PEB to PUB ratio during chromatic acclimation has not yet been obtained. Here, we show that interplay between two enzymes named MpeY and MpeZ controls differential PEB and PUB covalent attachment to the same cysteine residue. MpeY attaches PEB to the light-harvesting protein MpeA in green light, while MpeZ attaches PUB to MpeA in blue light. We demonstrate that the ratio of mpeY to mpeZ mRNA determines if PEB or PUB is attached. Additionally, strains encoding only MpeY or MpeZ do not acclimate. Examination of strains of Synechococcus isolated from across the globe indicates that the interplay between MpeY and MpeZ uncovered here is a critical feature of chromatic acclimation for marine Synechococcus worldwide.
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18
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Phycobiliproteins: Molecular structure, production, applications, and prospects. Biotechnol Adv 2019; 37:340-353. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2019.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Revised: 01/18/2019] [Accepted: 01/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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19
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Kronfel CM, Hernandez CV, Frick JP, Hernandez LS, Gutu A, Karty JA, Boutaghou MN, Kehoe DM, Cole RB, Schluchter WM. CpeF is the bilin lyase that ligates the doubly linked phycoerythrobilin on β-phycoerythrin in the cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon. J Biol Chem 2019; 294:3987-3999. [PMID: 30670589 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra118.007221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 01/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Phycoerythrin (PE) is a green light-absorbing protein present in the light-harvesting complex of cyanobacteria and red algae. The spectral characteristics of PE are due to its prosthetic groups, or phycoerythrobilins (PEBs), that are covalently attached to the protein chain by specific bilin lyases. Only two PE lyases have been identified and characterized so far, and the other bilin lyases are unknown. Here, using in silico analyses, markerless deletion, biochemical assays with purified and recombinant proteins, and site-directed mutagenesis, we examined the role of a putative lyase-encoding gene, cpeF, in the cyanobacterium Fremyella diplosiphon. Analyzing the phenotype of the cpeF deletion, we found that cpeF is required for proper PE biogenesis, specifically for ligation of the doubly linked PEB to Cys-48/Cys-59 residues of the CpeB subunit of PE. We also show that in a heterologous host, CpeF can attach PEB to Cys-48/Cys-59 of CpeB, but only in the presence of the chaperone-like protein CpeZ. Additionally, we report that CpeF likely ligates the A ring of PEB to Cys-48 prior to the attachment of the D ring to Cys-59. We conclude that CpeF is the bilin lyase responsible for attachment of the doubly ligated PEB to Cys-48/Cys-59 of CpeB and together with other specific bilin lyases contributes to the post-translational modification and assembly of PE into mature light-harvesting complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Richard B Cole
- Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148.,Sorbonne Universités-Paris 06, 75252 Paris, France
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20
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Chen H, Jiang P. Combinational biosynthesis and characterization of fusion proteins with tandem repeats of allophycocyanin holo-α subunits, and their application as bright fluorescent labels for immunofluorescence assay. J Biosci Bioeng 2018; 126:778-782. [PMID: 30401453 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2018.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Revised: 05/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Fusion protein of streptavidin and allophycocyanin holo-α subunit (ApcA) is fluorescent and is able to bind biotin. This fusion protein (SLA) can be used as fluorescent label in immunofluorescence assay. In this study, one or two repeats of ApcA were fused to the protein SLA, with the aim to improve its brightness. The fusion proteins SLA2 (two repeats of ApcA) and SLA3 (three repeats of ApcA), together with lyase (cpcS) and phycoerythrobilin synthesizing enzymes (Ho1 and PebS), were co-expressed in Escherichia coli. These fusion proteins were purified by affinity chromatography. While SLA2 and SLA3 shared similar absorbance spectra, fluorescence spectra and biotin-binding activities with SLA, their brightness were much higher than that of SLA. When used as fluorescent labels in immunofluorescence assay, SLA2 and SLA3 showed higher detection sensitivity than SLA. These results suggested that SLA2 and SLA3 were the preferable fluorescent labels in immunofluorescence assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
| | - Peng Jiang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
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21
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A novel species of the marine cyanobacterium Acaryochloris with a unique pigment content and lifestyle. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9142. [PMID: 29904088 PMCID: PMC6002478 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27542-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
All characterized members of the ubiquitous genus Acaryochloris share the unique property of containing large amounts of chlorophyll (Chl) d, a pigment exhibiting a red absorption maximum strongly shifted towards infrared compared to Chl a. Chl d is the major pigment in these organisms and is notably bound to antenna proteins structurally similar to those of Prochloron, Prochlorothrix and Prochlorococcus, the only three cyanobacteria known so far to contain mono- or divinyl-Chl a and b as major pigments and to lack phycobilisomes. Here, we describe RCC1774, a strain isolated from the foreshore near Roscoff (France). It is phylogenetically related to members of the Acaryochloris genus but completely lacks Chl d. Instead, it possesses monovinyl-Chl a and b at a b/a molar ratio of 0.16, similar to that in Prochloron and Prochlorothrix. It differs from the latter by the presence of phycocyanin and a vestigial allophycocyanin energetically coupled to photosystems. Genome sequencing confirmed the presence of phycobiliprotein and Chl b synthesis genes. Based on its phylogeny, ultrastructural characteristics and unique pigment suite, we describe RCC1774 as a novel species that we name Acaryochloris thomasi. Its very unusual pigment content compared to other Acaryochloris spp. is likely related to its specific lifestyle.
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Levi M, Sendersky E, Schwarz R. Decomposition of cyanobacterial light harvesting complexes: NblA-dependent role of the bilin lyase homolog NblB. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 94:813-821. [PMID: 29575252 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.13896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Phycobilisomes, the macromolecular light harvesting complexes of cyanobacteria are degraded under nutrient-limiting conditions. This crucial response is required to adjust light excitation to the metabolic status and avoid damage by excess excitation. Phycobilisomes are comprised of phycobiliproteins, apo-proteins that covalently bind bilin chromophores. In the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus, the phycobiliproteins allophycocyanin and phycocyanin comprise the core and the rods of the phycobilisome, respectively. Previously, NblB was identified as an essential component required for phycocyanin degradation under nutrient starvation. This protein is homologous to bilin-lyases, enzymes that catalyze the covalent attachment of bilins to apo-proteins. However, the nblB-inactivated strain is not impaired in phycobiliprotein synthesis, but rather is characterized by aberrant phycocyanin degradation. Here, using a phycocyanin-deficient strain, we demonstrate that NblB is required for degradation of the core pigment, allophycocyanin. Furthermore, we show that the protein NblB is expressed under nutrient sufficient conditions, but during nitrogen starvation its level decreases about two-fold. This finding is in contrast to an additional component essential for degradation, NblA, the expression of which is highly induced under starvation. We further identified NblB residues required for phycocyanin degradation in vivo. Finally, we demonstrate phycocyanin degradation in a cell-free system, thereby providing support for the suggestion that NblB directly mediates pigment degradation by chromophore detachment. The dependence of NblB function on NblA revealed using this system, together with the results indicating presence of NblB under nutrient sufficient conditions, suggests a rapid mechanism for induction of pigment degradation, which requires only the expression of NblA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mali Levi
- The Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Eleonora Sendersky
- The Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Rakefet Schwarz
- The Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
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Structures and enzymatic mechanisms of phycobiliprotein lyases CpcE/F and PecE/F. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:13170-13175. [PMID: 29180420 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1715495114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The light-harvesting phycobilisome in cyanobacteria and red algae requires the lyase-catalyzed chromophorylation of phycobiliproteins. There are three functionally distinct lyase families known. The heterodimeric E/F type is specific for attaching bilins covalently to α-subunits of phycocyanins and phycoerythrins. Unlike other lyases, the lyase also has chromophore-detaching activity. A subclass of the E/F-type lyases is, furthermore, capable of chemically modifying the chromophore. Although these enzymes were characterized >25 y ago, their structures remained unknown. We determined the crystal structure of the heterodimer of CpcE/F from Nostoc sp. PCC7120 at 1.89-Å resolution. Both subunits are twisted, crescent-shaped α-solenoid structures. CpcE has 15 and CpcF 10 helices. The inner (concave) layer of CpcE (helices h2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14) and the outer (convex) layer of CpcF (h16, 18, 20, 22, and 24) form a cavity into which the phycocyanobilin chromophore can be modeled. This location of the chromophore is supported by mutations at the interface between the subunits and within the cavity. The structure of a structurally related, isomerizing lyase, PecE/F, that converts phycocyanobilin into phycoviolobilin, was modeled using the CpcE/F structure as template. A H87C88 motif critical for the isomerase activity of PecE/F is located at the loop between h20 and h21, supporting the proposal that the nucleophilic addition of Cys-88 to C10 of phycocyanobilin induces the isomerization of phycocyanobilin into phycoviolobilin. Also, the structure of NblB, involved in phycobilisome degradation could be modeled using CpcE as template. Combined with CpcF, NblB shows a low chromophore-detaching activity.
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Wu J, Chen H, Zhao J, Jiang P. Fusion proteins of streptavidin and allophycocyanin alpha subunit for immunofluorescence assay. Biochem Eng J 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2017.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Mahmoud RM, Sanfilippo JE, Nguyen AA, Strnat JA, Partensky F, Garczarek L, Abo El Kassem N, Kehoe DM, Schluchter WM. Adaptation to Blue Light in Marine Synechococcus Requires MpeU, an Enzyme with Similarity to Phycoerythrobilin Lyase Isomerases. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:243. [PMID: 28270800 PMCID: PMC5318389 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine Synechococcus has successfully adapted to environments with different light colors, which likely contributes to this genus being the second most abundant group of microorganisms worldwide. Populations of Synechococcus that grow in deep, blue ocean waters contain large amounts of the blue-light absorbing chromophore phycourobilin (PUB) in their light harvesting complexes (phycobilisomes). Here, we show that all Synechococcus strains adapted to blue light possess a gene called mpeU. MpeU is structurally similar to phycobilin lyases, enzymes that ligate chromophores to phycobiliproteins. Interruption of mpeU caused a reduction in PUB content, impaired phycobilisome assembly and reduced growth rate more strongly in blue than green light. When mpeU was reintroduced in the mpeU mutant background, the mpeU-less phenotype was complemented in terms of PUB content and phycobilisome content. Fluorescence spectra of mpeU mutant cells and purified phycobilisomes revealed red-shifted phycoerythrin emission peaks, likely indicating a defect in chromophore ligation to phycoerythrin-I (PE-I) or phycoerythrin-II (PE-II). Our results suggest that MpeU is a lyase-isomerase that attaches a phycoerythrobilin to a PEI or PEII subunit and isomerizes it to PUB. MpeU is therefore an important determinant in adaptation of Synechococcus spp. to capture photons in blue light environments throughout the world’s oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rania M Mahmoud
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, BloomingtonIN, USA; Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of FayoumFayoum, Egypt
| | | | - Adam A Nguyen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New OrleansLA, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New OrleansLA, USA
| | - Johann A Strnat
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington IN, USA
| | - Frédéric Partensky
- CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie University Paris 06, UMR 7144 Roscoff, France
| | - Laurence Garczarek
- CNRS, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie University Paris 06, UMR 7144 Roscoff, France
| | - Nabil Abo El Kassem
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Fayoum Fayoum, Egypt
| | - David M Kehoe
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, BloomingtonIN, USA; Indiana Molecular Biology Institute, Indiana University, BloomingtonIN, USA
| | - Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New OrleansLA, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New OrleansLA, USA
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Chen H, Liu Q, Zhao J, Jiang P. Biosynthesis, spectral properties and thermostability of cyanobacterial allophycocyanin holo-α subunits. Int J Biol Macromol 2016; 88:88-92. [PMID: 27018231 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2016.03.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2015] [Revised: 03/21/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Allophycocyanin (APC) is generally used as fluorescent labels. In this study, apcA genes from a mesophilic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and a thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 were cloned into expression vectors to construct pathway for biosynthesis of allophycocyanin holo-α subunits (named as holo-ApcAS for Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and holo-ApcAT for T. elongatus BP-1) in Escherichia coli. The two holo-ApcAs were successfully reconstituted in E. coli and purified by metal affinity chromatography. Spectral analysis showed that the two proteins have similar spectroscopic properties, with absorbance maximum both at 614nm and emission maximum at 639nm for holo-ApcAS and 638nm for holo-ApcAT. At high temperature, the recombinant holo-ApcAT was much more stable than the recombinant holo-ApcAS. Holo-ApcAS was most fluorescent at pH 8.5 and stable in pH range of 6.0-9.0 while holo-ApcAT was most fluorescent at pH 6.0 and stable in pH range of 5.0-7.0, with residual fluorescence intensity no less than 90% of the maximum fluorescence. These findings will pave the way for further protein engineering to achieve high stable APC from extremophiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
| | - Qiuzi Liu
- Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China
| | - Jin Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China
| | - Peng Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.
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Liu B, Chen S, Zhang L. Functional studies of the gene slr2049 from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and its site-directed mutation. Gene 2015; 563:196-202. [PMID: 25791490 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2015.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Revised: 03/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Phycobiliprotein is a homologous family of light-harvesting chromoproteins existing in cyanobacteria, red algae and cryptophytes. Phycobiliprotein is made up of phycobilin and its corresponding apophycobiliprotein, and they are covalently linked by the thioether bond with the bilin lyase. Using the software BLAST, we have found gene slr2049 in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 homologous to the biliprotein lyase gene cpeS. This paper investigates the protein expressed by gene slr2049 to find the enzymatic activity characteristics. We cloned slr2049 and its related genes cpcB, ho1, and pcyA which are linked with the synthesis of phycocyanin. Special amino acid mutagenesis was performed on slr2049 to construct eight mutants slr2049 (H21S), slr2049 (L23S), slr2049 (A24S), slr2049 (F25S), slr2049 (W72L), slr2049 (G84S), slr2049 (R107S) and slr2049 (Y124S). These mutants were ligated with vectors pEDFDuet-1 and pET-23a to construct pCDF-cpcB-slr2049 wild-type, pCDF-cpcB-slr2049 mutants and pET-ho1-pcyA, for the purpose of protein expression and analysis. The results showed that the wild-type and mutants slr2049 (H21S), slr2049 (L23S), slr2049 (F25S), slr2049 (W72L), slr2049 (G84S), and slr2049 (Y124S) can catalyze CpcB to couple on PCB correctly and the products have unique spectral characteristics. However mutants slr2049 (A24S) and slr2049 (R107S) have no spectral characteristics. Thus, it is suggested that alanine at position 24 and arginine at position 107 are the active sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingjun Liu
- College of Life Science, South-central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Sili Chen
- College of Life Science, South-central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China.
| | - Lei Zhang
- College of Life Science, South-central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China
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Zhou W, Ding WL, Zeng XL, Dong LL, Zhao B, Zhou M, Scheer H, Zhao KH, Yang X. Structure and mechanism of the phycobiliprotein lyase CpcT. J Biol Chem 2014; 289:26677-26689. [PMID: 25074932 PMCID: PMC4175310 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.586743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2014] [Revised: 07/24/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Pigmentation of light-harvesting phycobiliproteins of cyanobacteria requires covalent attachment of open-chain tetrapyrroles, bilins, to the apoproteins. Thioether formation via addition of a cysteine residue to the 3-ethylidene substituent of bilins is mediated by lyases. T-type lyases are responsible for attachment to Cys-155 of phycobiliprotein β-subunits. We present crystal structures of CpcT (All5339) from Nostoc (Anabaena) sp. PCC 7120 and its complex with phycocyanobilin at 1.95 and 2.50 Å resolution, respectively. CpcT forms a dimer and adopts a calyx-shaped β-barrel fold. Although the overall structure of CpcT is largely retained upon chromophore binding, arginine residues at the opening of the binding pocket undergo major rotameric rearrangements anchoring the propionate groups of phycocyanobilin. Based on the structure and mutational analysis, a reaction mechanism is proposed that accounts for chromophore stabilization and regio- and stereospecificity of the addition reaction. At the dimer interface, a loop extending from one subunit partially shields the opening of the phycocyanobilin binding pocket in the other subunit. Deletion of the loop or disruptions of the dimer interface significantly reduce CpcT lyase activity, suggesting functional relevance of the dimer. Dimerization is further enhanced by chromophore binding. The chromophore is largely buried in the dimer, but in the monomer, the 3-ethylidene group is accessible for the apophycobiliprotein, preferentially from the chromophore α-side. Asp-163 and Tyr-65 at the β- and α-face near the E-configured ethylidene group, respectively, support the acid-catalyzed nucleophilic Michael addition of cysteine 155 of the apoprotein to an N-acylimmonium intermediate proposed by Grubmayr and Wagner (Grubmayr, K., and Wagner, U. G. (1988) Monatsh. Chem. 119, 965-983).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Wen-Long Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xiao-Li Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Liang-Liang Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Bin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Ming Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Hugo Scheer
- Department of Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Str. 67, D-80638 München, Germany
| | - Kai-Hong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China,.
| | - Xiaojing Yang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, and; Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60607.
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Chen H, Jiang P, Li F, Wu H. Improving production of thermostable and fluorescent holo-β-allophycocyanin by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli using response surface methodology. Prep Biochem Biotechnol 2014; 45:730-41. [PMID: 25181561 DOI: 10.1080/10826068.2014.943374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
A stable fluorescent holo-β-allophycocyanin (holo-ApcB) was produced by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. The E. coli cells harbored two plasmids for expression of five genes that were involved in the holo-ApcB production. Response surface methodology was employed to investigate the individual and interactive effects of four variables, i.e., initial pH of culture medium, IPTG concentration, post-induction temperature, and induction start time, on holo-ApcB production by E. coli. The experimental results showed that the IPTG concentration, postinduction temperature, and induction start time had significant individual effects on holo-ApcB production. A significant interactive effect was also found between the initial pH of culture and induction start time. The maximum holo-ApcB production of 45.3 mg/L was predicted under the following optimized culture conditions: a postinduction temperature of 28.4°C, initial pH of culture of 7.3, IPTG concentration of 1.1 mM, and postinduction time of 66 min. Holo-ApcB production under the optimized culture conditions increased 5.8-fold, compared with that under the nonoptimized conditions. Response surface methodology proved to be a valuable tool for optimization of holo-ApcB production by metabolically engineered E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- a Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Qingdao , China
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30
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Zhang P, Frankel LK, Bricker TM. Integration of apo-α-phycocyanin into phycobilisomes and its association with FNRL in the absence of the phycocyanin α-subunit lyase (CpcF) in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. PLoS One 2014; 9:e105952. [PMID: 25153076 PMCID: PMC4143364 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0105952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Accepted: 07/29/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Phycocyanin is an important component of the phycobilisome, which is the principal light-harvesting complex in cyanobacteria. The covalent attachment of the phycocyanobilin chromophore to phycocyanin is catalyzed by the enzyme phycocyanin lyase. The photosynthetic properties and phycobilisome assembly state were characterized in wild type and two mutants which lack holo-α-phycocyanin. Insertional inactivation of the phycocyanin α-subunit lyase (ΔcpcF mutant) prevents the ligation of phycocyanobilin to α-phycocyanin (CpcA), while disruption of the cpcB/A/C2/C1 operon in the CK mutant prevents synthesis of both apo-α-phycocyanin (apo-CpcA) and apo-β-phycocyanin (apo-CpcB). Both mutants exhibited similar light saturation curves under white actinic light illumination conditions, indicating the phycobilisomes in the ΔcpcF mutant are not fully functional in excitation energy transfer. Under red actinic light illumination, wild type and both phycocyanin mutant strains exhibited similar light saturation characteristics. This indicates that all three strains contain functional allophycocyanin cores associated with their phycobilisomes. Analysis of the phycobilisome content of these strains indicated that, as expected, wild type exhibited normal phycobilisome assembly and the CK mutant assembled only the allophycocyanin core. However, the ΔcpcF mutant assembled phycobilisomes which, while much larger than the allophycocyanin core observed in the CK mutant, were significantly smaller than phycobilisomes observed in wild type. Interestingly, the phycobilisomes from the ΔcpcF mutant contained holo-CpcB and apo-CpcA. Additionally, we found that the large form of FNR (FNRL) accumulated to normal levels in wild type and the ΔcpcF mutant. In the CK mutant, however, significantly less FNRL accumulated. FNRL has been reported to associate with the phycocyanin rods in phycobilisomes via its N-terminal domain, which shares sequence homology with a phycocyanin linker polypeptide. We suggest that the assembly of apo-CpcA in the phycobilisomes of ΔcpcF can stabilize FNRL and modulate its function. These phycobilisomes, however, inefficiently transfer excitation energy to Photosystem II.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengpeng Zhang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Laurie K. Frankel
- Department of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
| | - Terry M. Bricker
- Department of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Division, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Overkamp KE, Gasper R, Kock K, Herrmann C, Hofmann E, Frankenberg-Dinkel N. Insights into the biosynthesis and assembly of cryptophycean phycobiliproteins. J Biol Chem 2014; 289:26691-26707. [PMID: 25096577 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.591131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Phycobiliproteins are employed by cyanobacteria, red algae, glaucophytes, and cryptophytes for light-harvesting and consist of apoproteins covalently associated with open-chain tetrapyrrole chromophores. Although the majority of organisms assemble the individual phycobiliproteins into larger aggregates called phycobilisomes, members of the cryptophytes use a single type of phycobiliprotein that is localized in the thylakoid lumen. The cryptophyte Guillardia theta (Gt) uses phycoerythrin PE545 utilizing the uncommon chromophore 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin (DHBV) in addition to phycoerythrobilin (PEB). Both the biosynthesis and the attachment of chromophores to the apophycobiliprotein have not yet been investigated for cryptophytes. In this study, we identified and characterized enzymes involved in PEB biosynthesis. In addition, we present the first in-depth biochemical characterization of a eukaryotic phycobiliprotein lyase (GtCPES). Plastid-encoded HO (GtHo) was shown to convert heme into biliverdin IXα providing the substrate with a putative nucleus-encoded DHBV:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (GtPEBA). A PEB:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (GtPEBB) was found to convert DHBV to PEB, which is the substrate for the phycobiliprotein lyase GtCPES. The x-ray structure of GtCPES was solved at 2.0 Å revealing a 10-stranded β-barrel with a modified lipocalin fold. GtCPES is an S-type lyase specific for binding of phycobilins with reduced C15=C16 double bonds (DHBV and PEB). Site-directed mutagenesis identified residues Glu-136 and Arg-146 involved in phycobilin binding. Based on the crystal structure, a model for the interaction of GtCPES with the apophycobiliprotein CpeB is proposed and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina E Overkamp
- Physiology of Microorganisms, Faculty for Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Raphael Gasper
- Protein Crystallography, Faculty for Biology and Biotechnology, and Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Klaus Kock
- Physical Chemistry I, Protein Interactions, Faculty for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Christian Herrmann
- Physical Chemistry I, Protein Interactions, Faculty for Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Eckhard Hofmann
- Protein Crystallography, Faculty for Biology and Biotechnology, and Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany
| | - Nicole Frankenberg-Dinkel
- Physiology of Microorganisms, Faculty for Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr University Bochum, 44780 Bochum, Germany.
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Kronfel CM, Kuzin AP, Forouhar F, Biswas A, Su M, Lew S, Seetharaman J, Xiao R, Everett JK, Ma LC, Acton TB, Montelione GT, Hunt JF, Paul CEC, Dragomani TM, Boutaghou MN, Cole RB, Riml C, Alvey RM, Bryant DA, Schluchter WM. Structural and biochemical characterization of the bilin lyase CpcS from Thermosynechococcus elongatus. Biochemistry 2013; 52:8663-76. [PMID: 24215428 DOI: 10.1021/bi401192z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacterial phycobiliproteins have evolved to capture light energy over most of the visible spectrum due to their bilin chromophores, which are linear tetrapyrroles that have been covalently attached by enzymes called bilin lyases. We report here the crystal structure of a bilin lyase of the CpcS family from Thermosynechococcus elongatus (TeCpcS-III). TeCpcS-III is a 10-stranded β barrel with two alpha helices and belongs to the lipocalin structural family. TeCpcS-III catalyzes both cognate as well as noncognate bilin attachment to a variety of phycobiliprotein subunits. TeCpcS-III ligates phycocyanobilin, phycoerythrobilin, and phytochromobilin to the alpha and beta subunits of allophycocyanin and to the beta subunit of phycocyanin at the Cys82-equivalent position in all cases. The active form of TeCpcS-III is a dimer, which is consistent with the structure observed in the crystal. With the use of the UnaG protein and its association with bilirubin as a guide, a model for the association between the native substrate, phycocyanobilin, and TeCpcS was produced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina M Kronfel
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans , New Orleans, LA 70148, United States
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Wu XJ, Chang K, Luo J, Zhou M, Scheer H, Zhao KH. Modular generation of fluorescent phycobiliproteins. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2013; 12:1036-40. [DOI: 10.1039/c3pp25383j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Chen H, Lin H, Li F, Jiang P, Qin S. Biosynthesis of a stable allophycocyanin beta subunit in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. J Biosci Bioeng 2012; 115:485-9. [PMID: 23266116 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2012.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2012] [Revised: 11/02/2012] [Accepted: 11/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Allophycocyanin (APC) is widely used as a fluorescent tag for fluorescence detection techniques. In this study, the apcB gene from a thermophilic cyanobacterium strain was cloned and ligated into an expression vector to construct a pathway for the biosynthesis of an allophycocyanin beta subunit (holo-apcBT) in Escherichia coli. Isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside induction successfully reconstituted holo-apcBT in E. coli. The recombinant holo-apcB showed spectroscopic properties similar to native APC. The stability and spectroscopic properties of this protein were then compared with another recombinant allophycocyanin beta subunit (holo-apcBM) whose apcB gene was cloned from mesophilic cyanobacterium. At high temperatures and during the course of storage, holo-apcBT was significantly more stable than holo-apcBM. In addition, holo-apcBT had an unexpectedly higher extinction coefficient and fluorescence quantum yield than holo-apcBM, suggesting that holo-apcBT would be a promising fluorescent tag and serve as a substitute for native APC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huaxin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
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Bretaudeau A, Coste F, Humily F, Garczarek L, Le Corguillé G, Six C, Ratin M, Collin O, Schluchter WM, Partensky F. CyanoLyase: a database of phycobilin lyase sequences, motifs and functions. Nucleic Acids Res 2012; 41:D396-401. [PMID: 23175607 PMCID: PMC3531064 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gks1091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
CyanoLyase (http://cyanolyase.genouest.org/) is a manually curated sequence and motif database of phycobilin lyases and related proteins. These enzymes catalyze the covalent ligation of chromophores (phycobilins) to specific binding sites of phycobiliproteins (PBPs). The latter constitute the building bricks of phycobilisomes, the major light-harvesting systems of cyanobacteria and red algae. Phycobilin lyases sequences are poorly annotated in public databases. Sequences included in CyanoLyase were retrieved from all available genomes of these organisms and a few others by similarity searches using biochemically characterized enzyme sequences and then classified into 3 clans and 32 families. Amino acid motifs were computed for each family using Protomata learner. CyanoLyase also includes BLAST and a novel pattern matching tool (Protomatch) that allow users to rapidly retrieve and annotate lyases from any new genome. In addition, it provides phylogenetic analyses of all phycobilin lyases families, describes their function, their presence/absence in all genomes of the database (phyletic profiles) and predicts the chromophorylation of PBPs in each strain. The site also includes a thorough bibliography about phycobilin lyases and genomes included in the database. This resource should be useful to scientists and companies interested in natural or artificial PBPs, which have a number of biotechnological applications, notably as fluorescent markers.
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Zhang J, Sun YF, Zhao KH, Zhou M. Identification of amino acid residues essential to the activity of lyase CpcT1 from Nostoc sp. PCC7120. Gene 2012; 511:88-95. [PMID: 22982227 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2012.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2012] [Revised: 08/23/2012] [Accepted: 09/01/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The phycocyanin lyase CpcT1 (encoded by gene all5339) and lyase CpcS1 (encoded by gene alr0617) are capable of catalyzing the phycocyanobilin (PCB) covalently bound to the different sites of phycocyanin's and phycoerythrocyanin's β subunits, respectively. Lyase CpcS1, whose catalytic mechanism had been researched clearly, participates in the covalent coupling of phycobilin and apoprotein in the form of chaperone, and its important amino acids have been confirmed. In order to identify the functional amino acid residues of CpcT1, chemical modification was conducted to arginine, histidine, tryptophan, lysine and amino acid carboxyl of CpcT1. The results indicated that the catalytic activity of the CpcT1 was changed. After the modification of arginine, tryptophan and histidine, site-directed mutations were performed to those highly conserved amino acids which were selected by means of homologous comparison. The mutated lyase, apoprotein and the enzymes that synthesize the phycobilins were recombined in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and in vitro, yielding chromoproteins, which were detected by fluorescence and UV absorption spectrometry. The spectra were compared with that of the chromoprotein catalyzed by wild type lyase CpcT1, achieving relative specific activities of the various mutants. Meanwhile, the mutants were expressed in E. coli, and then circular dichroism structure of near-UV region was determined. The results demonstrated that H33F, W175S, R97A, C137S and C116S influence the catalytic activity of CpcT1. Being different from wild CpcT1, a great deal of α helix was involved in the structure of circular dichroism of R97A and W13S. CpcT1 or its mutants and the enzymes that synthesize the phycobilins, were reconstituted in E. coli and detected by spectra to check the bounding of lyases and PCB. The results of spectra and SDS-PAGE confirm that CpcT1 and its mutants cannot bind phycobilin, differing from the catalytic mechanism of CpcS1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
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Biswas A, Boutaghou MN, Alvey RM, Kronfel CM, Cole RB, Bryant DA, Schluchter WM. Characterization of the activities of the CpeY, CpeZ, and CpeS bilin lyases in phycoerythrin biosynthesis in Fremyella diplosiphon strain UTEX 481. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:35509-35521. [PMID: 21865169 PMCID: PMC3195565 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.284281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2011] [Revised: 08/21/2011] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
When grown in green light, Fremyella diplosiphon strain UTEX 481 produces the red-colored protein phycoerythrin (PE) to maximize photosynthetic light harvesting. PE is composed of two subunits, CpeA and CpeB, which carry two and three phycoerythrobilin (PEB) chromophores, respectively, that are attached to specific Cys residues via thioether linkages. Specific bilin lyases are hypothesized to catalyze each PEB ligation. Using a heterologous, coexpression system in Escherichia coli, the PEB ligation activities of putative lyase subunits CpeY, CpeZ, and CpeS were tested on the CpeA and CpeB subunits from F. diplosiphon. Purified His(6)-tagged CpeA, obtained by coexpressing cpeA, cpeYZ, and the genes for PEB synthesis, had absorbance and fluorescence emission maxima at 566 and 574 nm, respectively. CpeY alone, but not CpeZ, could ligate PEB to CpeA, but the yield of CpeA-PEB was lower than achieved with CpeY and CpeZ together. Studies with site-specific variants of CpeA(C82S and C139S), together with mass spectrometric analysis of trypsin-digested CpeA-PEB, revealed that CpeY/CpeZ attached PEB at Cys(82) of CpeA. The CpeS bilin lyase ligated PEB at both Cys(82) and Cys(139) of CpeA but very inefficiently; the yield of PEB ligated at Cys(82) was much lower than observed with CpeY or CpeY/CpeZ. However, CpeS efficiently attached PEB to Cys(80) of CpeB but neither CpeY, CpeZ, nor CpeY/CpeZ could ligate PEB to CpeB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avijit Biswas
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148
| | - M Nazim Boutaghou
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148
| | - Richard M Alvey
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Christina M Kronfel
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148
| | - Richard B Cole
- Department of Chemistry, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148
| | - Donald A Bryant
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana 59717
| | - Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148.
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Alvey RM, Biswas A, Schluchter WM, Bryant DA. Attachment of noncognate chromophores to CpcA of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 by heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. Biochemistry 2011; 50:4890-902. [PMID: 21553904 DOI: 10.1021/bi200307s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Many cyanobacteria use brilliantly pigmented, multisubunit macromolecular structures known as phycobilisomes as antenna to enhance light harvesting for photosynthesis. Recent studies have defined the enzymes that synthesize phycobilin chromophores as well as many of the phycobilin lyase enzymes that attach these chromophores to their cognate apoproteins. The ability of the phycocyanin α-subunit (CpcA) to bind alternative linear tetrapyrrole chromophores was examined through the use of a heterologous expression system in Escherichia coli. E. coli strains produced phycocyanobilin, phytochromobilin, or phycoerythrobilin when they expressed 3Z-phycocyanobilin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PcyA), 3Z-phytochromobilin:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (HY2) from Arabidopsis thaliana, or phycoerythrobilin synthase (PebS) from the myovirus P-SSM4, respectively. CpcA from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 or Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 was coexpressed in these strains with the phycocyanin α-subunit phycocyanobilin lyase, CpcE/CpcF, or the phycoerythrocyanin α-subunit phycocyanobilin isomerizing lyase, PecE/PecF, from Noctoc sp. PCC 7120. Both lyases were capable of attaching three different linear tetrapyrrole chromophores to CpcA; thus, up to six different CpcA variants, each with a unique chromophore, could be produced with this system. One of these chromophores, denoted phytoviolobilin, has not yet been observed naturally. The recombinant proteins had unexpected and potentially useful properties, which included very high fluorescence quantum yields and photochemical activity. Chimeric lyases PecE/CpcF and CpcE/PecF were used to show that the isomerizing activity that converts phycocyanobilin to phycoviolobilin resides with PecF and not PecE. Finally, spectroscopic properties of recombinant phycocyanin R-PCIII, in which the CpcA subunits carry a phycoerythrobilin chromophore, are described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard M Alvey
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA
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Effects of modified Phycobilin biosynthesis in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7002. J Bacteriol 2011; 193:1663-71. [PMID: 21296968 DOI: 10.1128/jb.01392-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The pathway for phycocyanobilin biosynthesis in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 comprises two enzymes: heme oxygenase and phycocyanobilin synthase (PcyA). The phycobilin content of cells can be modified by overexpressing genes encoding alternative enzymes for biliverdin reduction. Overexpression of the pebAB and HY2 genes, encoding alternative ferredoxin-dependent biliverdin reductases, caused unique effects due to the overproduction of phycoerythrobilin and phytochromobilin, respectively. Colonies overexpressing pebAB became reddish brown and visually resembled strains that naturally produce phycoerythrin. This was almost exclusively due to the replacement of phycocyanobilin by phycoerythrobilin on the phycocyanin α-subunit. This phenotype was unstable, and such strains rapidly reverted to the wild-type appearance, presumably due to strong selective pressure to inactivate pebAB expression. Overproduction of phytochromobilin, synthesized by the Arabidopsis thaliana HY2 product, was tolerated much better. Cells overexpressing HY2 were only slightly less pigmented and blue-green than the wild type. Although the pcyA gene could not be inactivated in the wild type, pcyA was easily inactivated when cells expressed HY2. These results indicate that phytochromobilin can functionally substitute for phycocyanobilin in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. Although functional phycobilisomes were assembled in this strain, the overall phycobiliprotein content of cells was lower, the efficiency of energy transfer by these phycobilisomes was lower than for wild-type phycobilisomes, and the absorption cross-section of the cells was reduced relative to that of the wild type because of an increased spectral overlap of the modified phycobiliproteins with chlorophyll a. As a result, the strain producing phycobiliproteins carrying phytochromobilin grew much more slowly at low light intensity.
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Wiethaus J, Busch AWU, Kock K, Leichert LI, Herrmann C, Frankenberg-Dinkel N. CpeS is a lyase specific for attachment of 3Z-PEB to Cys82 of {beta}-phycoerythrin from Prochlorococcus marinus MED4. J Biol Chem 2010; 285:37561-9. [PMID: 20876568 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.172619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to the majority of cyanobacteria, the unicellular marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus MED4 uses an intrinsic divinyl-chlorophyll-dependent light-harvesting system for photosynthesis. Despite the absence of phycobilisomes, this high-light adapted strain possesses β-phycoerythrin (CpeB), an S-type lyase (CpeS), and enzymes for the biosynthesis of phycoerythrobilin (PEB) and phycocyanobilin. Of all linear tetrapyrroles synthesized by Prochlorococcus including their 3Z- and 3E-isomers, CpeS binds both isomers of PEB and its biosynthetic precursor 15,16-dihydrobiliverdin (DHBV). However, dimerization of CpeS is independent of bilins, which are tightly bound in a complex at a ratio of 1:1. Although bilin binding by CpeS is fast, transfer to CpeB is rather slow. CpeS is able to attach 3E-PEB and 3Z-PEB to dimeric CpeB but not DHBV. CpeS transfer of 3Z-PEB exclusively yields correctly bound βCys(82)-PEB, whereas βCys(82)-DHBV is a side product of 3E-PEB transfer. Spontaneous 3E- and 3Z-PEB addition to CpeB is faulty, and products are in both cases βCys(82)-DHBV and likely a PEB bound at βCys(82) in a non-native configuration. Our data indicate that CpeS is specific for 3Z-PEB transfer to βCys(82) of phycoerythrin and essential for the correct configuration of the attachment product.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Wiethaus
- Department of Physiology of Microorganisms, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitaetsstrasse 150, 44780 Bochum, Germany
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Liu S, Chen Y, Lu Y, Chen H, Li F, Qin S. Biosynthesis of fluorescent cyanobacterial allophycocyanin trimer in Escherichia coli. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESEARCH 2010; 105:135-142. [PMID: 20607408 DOI: 10.1007/s11120-010-9574-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2009] [Accepted: 06/14/2010] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Allophycocyanin (APC), a cyanobacterial photosynthetic phycobiliprotein, functions in energy transfer as a light-harvesting protein. One of the prominent spectroscopic characteristics of APC is a strong red-shift in the absorption and emission maxima when monomers are assembled into a trimer. Previously, holo-APC alpha and beta subunits (holo-ApcA and ApcB) were successfully synthesized in Escherichia coli. In this study, both holo-subunits from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 were co-expressed in E. coli, and found to self-assemble into trimers. The recombinant APC trimer was purified by metal affinity and size-exclusion chromatography, and had a native structure identical to native APC, as determined by characteristic spectroscopic measurements, fluorescence quantum yield, tryptic digestion analysis, and molecular weight measurements. Combined with results from a study in which only the monomer was formed, our results indicate that bilin synthesis and the subsequent attachment to apo-subunits are important for the successful assembly of APC trimers. This is the first study to report on the assembly of recombinant ApcA and ApcB into a trimer with native structure. Our study provides a promising method for producing better fluorescent tags, as well as a method to facilitate the genetic analysis of APC trimer assembly and biological function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaofang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 266071 Qingdao, People's Republic of China.
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42
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Biswas A, Vasquez YM, Dragomani TM, Kronfel ML, Williams SR, Alvey RM, Bryant DA, Schluchter WM. Biosynthesis of cyanobacterial phycobiliproteins in Escherichia coli: chromophorylation efficiency and specificity of all bilin lyases from Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. Appl Environ Microbiol 2010; 76:2729-39. [PMID: 20228104 PMCID: PMC2863458 DOI: 10.1128/aem.03100-09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2009] [Accepted: 03/01/2010] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Phycobiliproteins are water-soluble, light-harvesting proteins that are highly fluorescent due to linear tetrapyrrole chromophores, which makes them valuable as probes. Enzymes called bilin lyases usually attach these bilin chromophores to specific cysteine residues within the alpha and beta subunits via thioether linkages. A multiplasmid coexpression system was used to recreate the biosynthetic pathway for phycobiliproteins from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 in Escherichia coli. This system efficiently produced chromophorylated allophycocyanin (ApcA/ApcB) and alpha-phycocyanin with holoprotein yields ranging from 3 to 12 mg liter(-1) of culture. This heterologous expression system was used to demonstrate that the CpcS-I and CpcU proteins are both required to attach phycocyanobilin (PCB) to allophycocyanin subunits ApcD (alpha(AP-B)) and ApcF (beta(18)). The N-terminal, allophycocyanin-like domain of ApcE (L(CM)(99)) was produced in soluble form and was shown to have intrinsic bilin lyase activity. Lastly, this in vivo system was used to evaluate the efficiency of the bilin lyases for production of beta-phycocyanin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avijit Biswas
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Yasmin M. Vasquez
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Tierna M. Dragomani
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Monica L. Kronfel
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Shervonda R. Williams
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Richard M. Alvey
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Donald A. Bryant
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - Wendy M. Schluchter
- Department of Biological Science, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
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43
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Schluchter WM, Shen G, Alvey RM, Biswas A, Saunée NA, Williams SR, Mille CA, Bryant DA. Phycobiliprotein biosynthesis in cyanobacteria: structure and function of enzymes involved in post-translational modification. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2010; 675:211-28. [PMID: 20532743 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-1528-3_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Cyanobacterial phycobiliproteins are brilliantly colored due to the presence of covalently attached chromophores called bilins, linear tetrapyrroles derived from heme. For most phycobiliproteins, these post-translational modifications are catalyzed by enzymes called bilin lyases; these enzymes ensure that the appropriate bilins are attached to the correct cysteine residues with the proper stereochemistry on each phycobiliprotein subunit. Phycobiliproteins also contain a unique, post-translational modification, the methylation of a conserved asparagine (Asn) present at beta-72, which occurs on the beta-subunits of all phycobiliproteins. We have identified and characterized several new families of bilin lyases, which are responsible for attaching PCB to phycobiliproteins as well as the Asn methyl transferase for beta-subunits in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. All of the enzymes responsible for synthesis of holo-phycobiliproteins are now known for this cyanobacterium, and a brief discussion of each enzyme family and its role in the biosynthesis of phycobiliproteins is presented here. In addition, the first structure of a bilin lyase has recently been solved (PDB ID: 3BDR). This structure shows that the bilin lyases are most similar to the lipocalin protein structural family, which also includes the bilin-binding protein found in some butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy M Schluchter
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA 70148, USA.
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44
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Kupka M, Zhang J, Fu WL, Tu JM, Böhm S, Su P, Chen Y, Zhou M, Scheer H, Zhao KH. Catalytic mechanism of S-type phycobiliprotein lyase: chaperone-like action and functional amino acid residues. J Biol Chem 2009; 284:36405-36414. [PMID: 19864423 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m109.056382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The phycobilin:cysteine 84-phycobiliprotein lyase, CpcS1, catalyzes phycocyanobilin (PCB) and phycoerythrobilin (PEB) attachment at nearly all cysteine 82 binding sites (consensus numbering) of phycoerythrin, phycoerythrocyanin, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin (Zhao, K. H., Su, P., Tu, J. M., Wang, X., Liu, H., Plöscher, M., Eichacker, L., Yang, B., Zhou, M., and Scheer, H. (2007) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104, 14300-14305). We now show that CpcS1 binds PCB and PEB rapidly with bi-exponential kinetics (38/119 and 12/8300 ms, respectively). Chromophore binding to the lyase is reversible and much faster than the spontaneous, but low fidelity chromophore addition to the apo-protein in the absence of the lyase. This indicates kinetic control by the enzyme, which then transfers the chromophore to the apo-protein in a slow (tens of minutes) but stereo- and regioselectively corrects the reaction. This mode of action is reminiscent of chaperones but does not require ATP. The amino acid residues Arg-18 and Arg-149 of the lyase are essential for chromophore attachment in vitro and in Escherichia coli, mutations of His-21, His-22, Trp-75, Trp-140, and Arg-147 result in reduced activity (<30% of wild type in vitro). Mutants R147Q and W69M were active but had reduced capacity for PCB binding; additionally, with W69M there was loss of fidelity in chromophore attachment. Imidazole is a non-competitive inhibitor, supporting a bilin-binding function of histidine. Evidence was obtained that CpcS1 also catalyzes exchange of C-beta84-bound PCB in biliproteins by PEB.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Kupka
- Department Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 München, Germany
| | - Juan Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Wei-Lei Fu
- College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jun-Ming Tu
- Department Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 München, Germany; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Life Sciences, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi 435002, Hubei, China
| | - Stephan Böhm
- Department Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 München, Germany
| | - Ping Su
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Life Sciences, Hubei Normal University, Huangshi 435002, Hubei, China
| | - Yu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Ming Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Hugo Scheer
- Department Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 München, Germany
| | - Kai-Hong Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
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Blot N, Wu XJ, Thomas JC, Zhang J, Garczarek L, Böhm S, Tu JM, Zhou M, Plöscher M, Eichacker L, Partensky F, Scheer H, Zhao KH. Phycourobilin in trichromatic phycocyanin from oceanic cyanobacteria is formed post-translationally by a phycoerythrobilin lyase-isomerase. J Biol Chem 2009; 284:9290-8. [PMID: 19182270 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m809784200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Most cyanobacteria harvest light with large antenna complexes called phycobilisomes. The diversity of their constituting phycobiliproteins contributes to optimize the photosynthetic capacity of these microorganisms. Phycobiliprotein biosynthesis, which involves several post-translational modifications including covalent attachment of the linear tetrapyrrole chromophores (phycobilins) to apoproteins, begins to be well understood. However, the biosynthetic pathway to the blue-green-absorbing phycourobilin (lambda(max) approximately 495 nm) remained unknown, although it is the major phycobilin of cyanobacteria living in oceanic areas where blue light penetrates deeply into the water column. We describe a unique trichromatic phycocyanin, R-PC V, extracted from phycobilisomes of Synechococcus sp. strain WH8102. It is evolutionarily remarkable as the only chromoprotein known so far that absorbs the whole wavelength range between 450 and 650 nm. R-PC V carries a phycourobilin chromophore on its alpha-subunit, and this can be considered an extreme case of adaptation to blue-green light. We also discovered the enzyme, RpcG, responsible for its biosynthesis. This monomeric enzyme catalyzes binding of the green-absorbing phycoerythrobilin at cysteine 84 with concomitant isomerization to phycourobilin. This reaction is analogous to formation of the orange-absorbing phycoviolobilin from the red-absorbing phycocyanobilin that is catalyzed by the lyase-isomerase PecE/F in some freshwater cyanobacteria. The fusion protein, RpcG, and the heterodimeric PecE/F are mutually interchangeable in a heterologous expression system in Escherichia coli. The novel R-PC V likely optimizes rod-core energy transfer in phycobilisomes and thereby adaptation of a major phytoplankton group to the blue-green light prevailing in oceanic waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Blot
- UPMC-Université Paris 06, Station Biologique, 29682 Roscoff, France, CNRS, UMR 7144, Groupe Plancton Océanique, 29682 Roscoff, France
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46
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Abstract
AbstractComplementary chromatic adaptation (CCA) is a light-dependent acclimation process that occurs in cyanobacteria and likely is related to increased fitness of these organisms in natural environments. Although CCA has been studied for over 40 years, significant advances in our understanding of the molecular foundations of CCA are still emerging. In this minireview, I explore recently reported developments that include novel insights into the molecular mechanisms utilized in the photoregulation of pigmentation and the molecular basis of light-dependent changes in cellular morphology, which are central elements of the process of CCA. I also discuss future avenues of study that are expected to lead to additional progress in our understanding of CCA and our general appreciation of light sensing and photomorphogenesis in cyanobacteria.
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47
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Derks AK, Vasiliev S, Bruce D. Under Light Limiting Growth, CpcB Lyase Null Mutants of the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 Are Capable of Producing Pigmented β Phycocyanin but with Altered Chromophore Function. Biochemistry 2008; 47:11877-84. [DOI: 10.1021/bi702143a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Allen K. Derks
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Serguei Vasiliev
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Doug Bruce
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada
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48
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Miller CA, Leonard HS, Pinsky IG, Turner BM, Williams SR, Harrison L, Fletcher AF, Shen G, Bryant DA, Schluchter WM. Biogenesis of phycobiliproteins. III. CpcM is the asparagine methyltransferase for phycobiliprotein beta-subunits in cyanobacteria. J Biol Chem 2008; 283:19293-300. [PMID: 18482977 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m802734200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
All phycobiliproteins contain a conserved, post-translational modification on asparagine 72 of their beta-subunits. Methylation of this Asn to produce gamma-N-methylasparagine has been shown to increase energy transfer efficiency within the phycobilisome and to prevent photoinhibition. We report here the biochemical characterization of the product of sll0487, which we have named cpcM, from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Recombinant apo-phycocyanin and apo-allophycocyanin subunits were used as the substrates for assays with [methyl-3H]S-adenosylmethionine and recombinant CpcM. CpcM methylated the beta-subunits of phycobiliproteins (CpcB, ApcB, and ApcF) and did not methylate the corresponding alpha-subunits (CpcA, ApcA, and ApcD), although they are similar in primary and tertiary structure. CpcM preferentially methylated its CpcB substrate after chromophorylation had occurred at Cys82. CpcM exhibited lower activity on trimeric phycocyanin after complete chromophorylation and oligomerization had occurred. Based upon these in vitro studies, we conclude that this post-translational modification probably occurs after chromophorylation but before trimer assembly in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crystal A Miller
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana 70148, USA
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CpcM posttranslationally methylates asparagine-71/72 of phycobiliprotein beta subunits in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 and Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. J Bacteriol 2008; 190:4808-17. [PMID: 18469097 DOI: 10.1128/jb.00436-08] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria produce phycobilisomes, which are macromolecular light-harvesting complexes mostly assembled from phycobiliproteins. Phycobiliprotein beta subunits contain a highly conserved gamma-N-methylasparagine residue, which results from the posttranslational modification of Asn71/72. Through comparative genomic analyses, we identified a gene, denoted cpcM, that (i) encodes a protein with sequence similarity to other S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases, (ii) is found in all sequenced cyanobacterial genomes, and (iii) often occurs near genes encoding phycobiliproteins in cyanobacterial genomes. The cpcM genes of Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 and Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 were insertionally inactivated. Mass spectrometric analyses of phycobiliproteins isolated from the mutants confirmed that the CpcB, ApcB, and ApcF were 14 Da lighter than their wild-type counterparts. Trypsin digestion and mass analyses of phycobiliproteins isolated from the mutants showed that tryptic peptides from phycocyanin that included Asn72 were also 14 Da lighter than the equivalent peptides from wild-type strains. Thus, CpcM is the methyltransferase that modifies the amide nitrogen of Asn71/72 of CpcB, ApcB, and ApcF. When cells were grown at low light intensity, the cpcM mutants were phenotypically similar to the wild-type strains. However, the mutants were sensitive to high-light stress, and the cpcM mutant of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 was unable to grow at moderately high light intensities. Fluorescence emission measurements showed that the ability to perform state transitions was impaired in the cpcM mutants and suggested that energy transfer from phycobiliproteins to the photosystems was also less efficient. The possible functions of asparagine N methylation of phycobiliproteins are discussed.
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Abstract
Biliproteins are a widespread group of brilliantly coloured photoreceptors characterized by linear tetrapyrrolic chromophores, bilins, which are covalently bound to the apoproteins via relatively stable thioether bonds. Covalent binding stabilizes the chromoproteins and is mandatory for phycobilisome assembly; and, it is also important in biliprotein applications such as fluorescence labelling. Covalent binding has, on the other hand, also considerably hindered biliprotein research because autocatalytic chromophore additions are rare, and information on enzymatic addition by lyases was limited to a single example, an EF-type lyase attaching phycocyanobilin to cysteine-alpha84 of C-phycocyanin. The discovery of new activities for the latter lyases, and of new types of lyases, have reinvigorated research activities in the subject. So far, work has mainly concentrated on cyanobacterial phycobiliproteins. Methodological advances in the process, however, as well as the finding of often large numbers of homologues, opens new possibilities for research on the subsequent assembly/disassembly of the phycobilisome in cyanobacteria and red algae, on the assembly and organization of the cryptophyte light-harvesting system, on applications in basic research such as protein folding, and on the use of phycobiliproteins for labelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Scheer
- Department Biologie I, Universität München, Menzinger Strasse 67, D-80638 München, Germany
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