Discovery of a small protein factor involved in the coordinated degradation of phycobilisomes in cyanobacteria.

ABSTRACT: Phycobilisomes are the major pigment-protein antenna complexes that perform photosynthetic light harvesting in cyanobacteria, rhodophyte, and glaucophyte algae. Up to 50% of the cellular nitrogen can be stored in their giant structures. Accordingly, upon nitrogen depletion, phycobilisomes are rapidly degraded following an intricate genetic program. Here, we describe the role of NblD, a cysteine-rich, small protein in this process in cyanobacteria. Deletion of the nblD gene in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 prevented the degradation of phycobilisomes, leading to a nonbleaching (nbl) phenotype, which could be complemented by a plasmid-localized gene copy. Competitive growth experiments between the ΔnblD and the wild-type strain provided direct evide

SUBMITTER: Krauspe V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7865187 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature