Atomic structure of a nitrate-binding protein crucial for photosynthetic productivity.

ABSTRACT: Cyanobacteria, blue-green algae, are the most abundant autotrophs in aquatic environments and form the base of all aquatic food chains by fixing carbon and nitrogen into cellular biomass. The single most important nutrient for photosynthesis and growth is nitrate, which is severely limiting in many aquatic environments particularly the open ocean. It is therefore not surprising that NrtA, the solute-binding component of the high-affinity nitrate ABC transporter, is the single-most abundant protein in the plasma membrane of these bacteria. Here, we describe the structure of a nitrate-specific receptor, NrtA from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, complexed with nitrate and determined to a resolution of 1.5 A. NrtA is significantly larger than other oxyanion-binding proteins, representing a previou

SUBMITTER: Koropatkin NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1502537 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature