Phycourobilin in trichromatic phycocyanin from oceanic cyanobacteria is formed post-translationally by a phycoerythrobilin lyase-isomerase.

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 s

SUBMITTER: Blot N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2666581 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature