Carboxysome Mispositioning Alters Growth, Morphology, and Rubisco Level of the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

ABSTRACT: Cyanobacteria are the prokaryotic group of phytoplankton responsible for a significant fraction of global CO₂ fixation. Like plants, cyanobacteria use the enzyme ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxidase (Rubisco) to fix CO₂ into organic carbon molecules via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. Unlike plants, cyanobacteria evolved a carbon-concentrating organelle called the carboxysome-a proteinaceous compartment that encapsulates and concentrates Rubisco along with its CO₂ substrate. In the rod-shaped cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, we recently identified the McdAB system responsible for uniformly distributing carboxysomes along the cell length. It remains unknown what role carboxysome positioning plays with respect to cellular physiology.

SUBMITTER: Rillema R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8406218 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature