Project description:Polyphosphate (polyP) is a ubiquitous and evolutionarily conserved form of phosphorus (P) present in all living organisms, yet its role in cellular and biogeochemical P cycling remains poorly constrained. In P-depleted marine environments, polyP consistently represents a larger fraction of total particulate P (TPP) than in P-replete environments. This P deficiency response is paradoxical under the classical view of polyP as a luxury storage compound, highlighting a longstanding unresolved discrepancy. Whether the elevated polyP:TPP ratio reflects active accumulation under P stress or simply the persistence of this intracellular pool has never been directly tested under steady-state conditions. Using continuous cultures of the globally important marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. WH8102, we address this knowledge gap. While P availability strongly affected growth rates, single-cell C:N:P stoichiometry and the expression of P-stress genes, polyP:TPP increased with decreasing growth rate, reproducing the pattern observed in oligotrophic marine environments. This shift was not driven by polyP accumulation; instead, cellular polyP concentrations remained relatively stable across growth rates (ANOVA, p = 0.16), while other intracellular P pools—including RNA, free Pi, ATP and phospholipids—were preferentially depleted with decreasing P availability (ranging from 2.6- to 11.8-fold, respectively), increasing the relative contribution of polyP to total cellular P. Gene expression analysis revealed little transcription differences between polyP-metabolism associated genes. These results indicate that cellular polyP content is maintained independently of growth rate under steady-state conditions, suggesting that P deficiency responses observed in oligotrophic environments and various microorganisms in batch culture reflect slow-growing physiology (differential pool lability over selective polyP retention), with consequences for interpreting particulate P stoichiometry and export.
Project description:Primary productivity of open ocean environments, such as those inhabited by marine picocyanobacteria Synechococcus sp.WH8102, are often limited by low inorganic phosphate (P). To observe how this organism copes with P starvation, we constructed a full genome microarray and examined differences in gene expression under P-limited and P-replete growth conditions. To determine the temporal nature of the responses, comparisons were made for cells newly entered into P-stress (at a time point corresponding to the induction of extracellular alkaline phosphatase activity) and a later time point (late log phase). In almost all instances the P starvation response was transitory, with 36 genes showing significant upregulation (>log2 fold) while 23 genes were highly downregulated at the early time point; however, these changes in expression were maintained for only five of the upregulated genes. Knockout mutants were constructed for genes SYNW0947 or SYNW0948, comprising a two component regulator hypothesized to play a key role in regulating the response to P-limitation. A high degree of overlap in the sets of genes affected by P-limited conditions and in the knockout mutants supports this hypothesis; however there is some indication that other regulators may play a role in this response in Synechococcus sp. WH8102. Consistent with what has been observed in many other cyanobacteria, the Pho regulon of this strain is comprised largely of genes for alkaline phosphatases, P transport or P metabolism. Interestingly, however, the exact composition and arrangement of the Pho regulon appears highly variable in marine cyanobacteria.