Probing the Internal pH and Permeability of a Carboxysome Shell.

ABSTRACT: The carboxysome is a protein-based nanoscale organelle in cyanobacteria and many proteobacteria, which encapsulates the key CO₂-fixing enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) and carbonic anhydrase (CA) within a polyhedral protein shell. The intrinsic self-assembly and architectural features of carboxysomes and the semipermeability of the protein shell provide the foundation for the accumulation of CO₂ within carboxysomes and enhanced carboxylation. Here, we develop an approach to determine the interior pH conditions and inorganic carbon accumulation within an α-carboxysome shell derived from a chemoautotrophic proteobacterium Halothiobacillus neapolitanus and evaluate the shell permeability. By incorporating a pH reporter, pHluorin2,

SUBMITTER: Huang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9554877 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature