Involvement of a Primary Electrogenic Pump in the Mechanism for HCO(3) Uptake by the Cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis

On the cradle of CCM research: discovery, development, and challenges ahead

Herein, 40 years after its discovery, I briefly and critically survey the development of ideas that propelled research on CO2-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs; a term proposed by Dean Price) of phytoplankton, mainly focusing on cyanobacteria. This is not a comprehensive review on CCM research, but a personal view on the past developments and challenges that lie ahead.

Haloalkaliphilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in soda lakes

The existence of chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) capable of growth in an extremely alkaline and saline environment has not been recognized until recently. Extensive studies of saline, alkaline (soda) lakes located in Central Asia, Africa and North America have now revealed the presence, at relatively high numbers, of a new branch of obligately autotrophic SOB in these doubly extreme environments. Overall more than 100 strains were isolated in pure culture. All of them have the potential to grow optimally at around pH 10 in media strongly buffered with sodium carbonate/bicarbonate and cannot grow at pH<7.5 and Na(+) concentration <0.2 M. The majority of the isolates fell into two distinct groups with differing phylogeny and physiology, that have been described as two new genera in the Gammaproteobacteria; Thioalkalimicrobium and Thioalkalivibrio. The third genus, Thioalkalispira, contains a single obligate microaerophilic species T. microaerophila. The Thioalkalimicrobium group represents a typical opportunistic strategy, including highly specialized, relatively fast-growing and low salt-tolerant bacteria, dominating in hyposaline steppe soda lakes of Central Asia. The genus Thioalkalivibrio includes mostly slowly growing species better adapted to life in hypersaline conditions and with a more versatile metabolism. It includes denitrifying, thiocyanate-utilizing and facultatively alkaliphilic species.

Growth physiology and competitive interaction of obligately chemolithoautotrophic, haloalkaliphilic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria from soda lakes

Two different groups of haloalkaliphilic, obligately autotrophic, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria belonging to the genera Thioalkalimicrobium and Thioalkalivibrio have recently been discovered in highly alkaline and saline soda lakes. To understand response to their extreme environment and different occurrence in soda lakes, the growth kinetics and competitive behavior of several representatives have been characterized in detail using batch and pH-controlled continuous cultivation. The bacteria belong to the true alkaliphiles, growing within the pH range 7.5-10.6 with maximum growth rate and maximum growth yield at pH 9.5-10. On the basis of their response to salt content, three groups can be identified. All the Thioalkalimicrobium strains and some of the Thioalkalivibrio strains belonged to the moderate halophiles. Some of the Thioalkalivibrio strains from hypersaline soda lakes were extremely salt-tolerant and capable of growth in saturated soda brines. The Thioalkalimicrobium strains demonstrated relatively high specific growth rates, low growth yield, high maintenance, and extremely high rates of thiosulfate and sulfide oxidation. In contrast, the Thioalkalivibrio strains, in general, were slow-growing, high-yield organisms with lower maintenance and much lower rates of oxidation of sulfide and thiosulfate. Moreover, the latter survived starvation much better than Thioalkalimicrobium. Different growth characteristics and salt resistance appear to determine the outcome of the enrichment cultures from different soda lakes: Thioalkalimicrobium dominated in the enrichments with freshly obtained samples from diluted soda lakes at low-medium salinity, while Thioalkalivibrio was the predominant organism in enrichments from aged samples and at hypersaline conditions. In mixed thiosulfate-limited chemostat cultures at low salinity, Thioalkalimicrobium strains (mu(max)=0.33 h(-1)) out-competed Thioalkalivibrio strains (mu(max)=0.15 h(-1)) at D>0.02 h(-1). The overall results suggest that Thioalkalimicrobium and Thioalkalivibrio represent two different ecological strategies.

Mechanisms of carbon acquisition for endosymbiont photosynthesis in Anthozoa

In contrast to free-living photoautotrophs, endosymbiontic dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium must absorb their inorganic carbon from the cytoplasm of their host anthozoan cell rather then from seawater. The purpose of this paper is to review the present knowledge on the source of dissolved inorganic carbon supply for endosymbiont photosynthesis and the transport mechanisms involved. Symbiodinium spp., generally known as zooxanthellae, live within the endodermal cells of their hosts, corals and sea anemones. They are separated from the surrounding seawater by the host tissues (oral ectodermal cell layer, collagenous basal membrane, endodermal cell, and perisymbiotic vesicles). The symbiotic association is therefore faced with the problem of delivering dissolved inorganic carbon to an endodermal site of consumption from an, essentially, ectodermal site of availability. Studies using original methods demonstrated that neither the internal medium (coelenteric fluid) nor paracellular diffusion could supply enough dissolved inorganic carbon for endosymbiont photosynthesis. A transepithelial active mechanism must be present in the host tissues to maintain the photosynthetic rate under saturating irradiance. A pharmacological approach led to propose a working model of dissolved inorganic carbon transport from seawater to zooxanthellae. This vectorial transport generates a pH gradient across the epithelium. The role of this gradient as well as the physiological adaptation of Symbiodinium spp. to symbiotic life are discussed.Key words: carbon concentrating mechanism, anthozoan, dinoflagellates, anion transport, symbiosis, transepithelial transport.

Ethoxyzolamide Inhibition of CO(2) Uptake in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC7942 without Apparent Inhibition of Internal Carbonic Anhydrase Activity

In high inorganic carbon grown (1% CO(2) [volume/volume]) cells of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC7942, the carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitor, ethoxyzolamide (EZ), was found to inhibit the rate of CO(2) uptake and to reduce the final internal inorganic carbon (C(i)) pool size reached. The relationship between CO(2) fixation rate and internal C(i) concentration in high C(i) grown cells was little affected by EZ. This suggests that in intact cells internal CA activity was unaffected by EZ. High C(i) grown cells readily took up CO(2) but had little or no capacity for HCO(3) (-) uptake. These cells appear to possess a CO(2) utilizing C(i) pump that has a CA-like function associated with the transport step such that HCO(3) (-) is the species delivered to the cell interior. This CA-like step may be the site of inhibition by EZ. Low C(i) grown cells possess both CO(2) uptake and HCO(3) (-) uptake activities and EZ inhibited both activities to a similar degree, suggesting that a common step in CO(2) and HCO(3) (-) uptake (such as the C(i) pump) may have been affected. The inhibitor had no apparent effect on internal CO(2)/HCO(3) (-) equilibria (internal CA function) in low C(i) grown cells.

Uptake and utilization of inorganic carbon by cyanobacteria

In the cyanobacteria, mechanisms exist that allow photosynthetic CO2 reduction to proceed efficiently even at very low levels of inorganic carbon. These inducible, active transport mechanisms enable the cyanobacteria to accumulate large internal concentrations of inorganic carbon that may be up to 1000-fold higher than the external concentration. As a result, the external concentration of inorganic carbon required to saturate cyanobacterial photosynthesis in vivo is orders of magnitude lower than that required to saturate the principal enzyme (ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase) involved in the fixation reactions. Since CO2 is the substrate for carbon fixation, the cyanobacteria somehow perform the neat trick of concentrating this small, membrane permeable molecule at the site of CO2 fixation. In this review, we will describe the biochemical and physiological experiments that have outlined the phenomenon of inorganic carbon accumulation, relate more recent genetic and molecular biological observations that attempt to define the constituents involved in this process, and discuss a speculative theory that suggests a unified view of inorganic carbon utilization by the cyanobacteria.

Light-Induced Proton Release by the Cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis: Dependence on CO(2) and Na

Light-induced acidification by the cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis is biphasic (a fast phase I and slow phase II) and shown to be sodium-dependent with an optimum concentration of 40 to 60 millimolar Na(+). Cells grown under low CO(2) concentrations at pH 9 (i.e. mainly HCO(3) (-) present in the medium) exhibited the slow phase II of proton efflux only, while cells grown under low CO(2) concentrations at pH 6.3 (i.e. CO(2) and HCO(3) (-) present) exhibited both phases. Light-induced proton release of phase I was dependent on inorganic carbon available in the bathing medium with an apparent K(m) for CO(2) of 20 to 70 micromolar. As was concluded from the CO(2) dependence of acidification measured at different pH of the bathing medium, bicarbonate inhibited phase-I acidification noncompetetively. Acidification was inhibited by acetazolamide, an inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase. Apparently, acidification of phase I is due to a light-dependent uptake of CO(2) being converted to HCO(3) (-) by a carbonic anhydrase-like function of the HCO(3) (-)-transport system (M Volokita, D Zenvirth, A Kaplan, L Reinhold 1984 Plant Physiol 76: 599-602) before or during entering the cell, thus releasing one proton per CO(2) converted to HCO(3) (-).

Role of intracellular carbonic anhydrase in inorganic-carbon assimilation by Porphyridium purpureum

Air-grown cells of Porphyridium purpurem contain appreciable carbonic-anhydrase activity, comparable to that in air-grown Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, but activity is repressed in CO2-grown cells. Assay of carbonic-anhydrase activity in intact cells and cell extracts shows all activity to be intracellular in Porphyridium. Measurement of inorganic-carbon-dependent photosynthetic O2 evolution shows that sodium ions increase the affinity of Porphyridium cells for HCO 3 (-) . Acetazolamide and ethoxyzolamide were potent inhibitors of carbonic anhydrase in cell extracts but at pH 5.0 both acetazolamide and ethoxyzolamide had little effect upon the concentration of inorganic carbon required for the half-maximal rate of photosynthetic O2 evolution (K0.5[CO2]). At pH 8.0, where HCO 3 (-) is the predominant species of inorganic carbon, the K0.5 (CO2) was increased from 50 μM to 950 μM in the presence of ethoxyzolamide. It is concluded that in air-grown cells of Porphyridium. HCO 3 (-) is transported across the plasmalemma and intracellular carbonic anhydrase increases the steady-state flux of CO2 from inside the plasmalemma to ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase by catalysing the interconversion of HCO 3 (-) and CO2 within the cell.

Carbonic Anhydrase and the Uptake of Inorganic Carbon by Synechococcus sp. (UTEX-2380)

We report the changes in the concentrations and (18)O contents of extracellular CO(2) and HCO(3) (-) in suspensions of Synechococcus sp. (UTEX 2380) using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. This marine cyanobacterium is known to have an active uptake mechanism for inorganic carbon. Measuring (18)O exchange between CO(2) and water, we have found the intracellular carbonic anhydrase activity to be equivalent to 20 times the uncatalyzed CO(2) hydration rate in different samples of cells that were grown on bubbled air (low-CO(2) conditions). This activity was only weakly inhibited by ethoxzolamide with an I(50) near 7 to 10 micromolar in lysed cell suspensions. We have shown that even with CO(2)-starved cells there is considerable generation of CO(2) from intracellular stores, a factor that can cause errors in measurement of net CO(2) uptake unless accounted for. It was demonstrated that use of (13)C-labeled inorganic carbon outside the cell can correct for such errors in mass spectrometric measurement. Oxygen-18 depletion experiments show that in the light, CO(2) readily passes across the cell membrane to the sites of intracellular carbonic anhydrase. Although HCO(3) (-) was readily taken up by the cells, these experiments shown that there is no significant efflux of HCO(3) (-) from Synechococcus.

Energization and activation of inorganic carbon uptake by light in cyanobacteria

The requirement of the inorganic carbon (C(i)) transport system for light in cyanobacteria was investigated in Anabaena variabilis by the filtering centrifugation technique and in a mutant (E(1)) isolated from Anacystis nidulans using a gas exchange system. C(i) transport capability increased with time of preillumination and decreased following darkening. Full activity could not be obtained by operating either photosystem II (PSII) or photosystem I alone. 3(3,4 Dichlorophenyl)-1,1 dimethylurea strongly inhibited C(i) uptake. Very low activity of PSII was sufficient to activate C(i) uptake. However, in the presence of dithiothreitol PSII activity was not required. We conclude that light may be required to activate as well as to energize C(i) uptake in cyanobacteria.

Evidence for Na-Independent HCO(3) Uptake by the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus leopoliensis

At low levels of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and alkaline pH the rate of photosynthesis by air-grown cells of Synechococcus leopoliensis (UTEX 625) was enhanced 7- to 10-fold by 20 millimolar Na(+). The rate of photosynthesis greatly exceeded the CO(2) supply rate and indicated that HCO(3) (-) was taken up by a Na(+)-dependent mechanism. In contrast, photosynthesis by Synechococcus grown in standing culture proceeded rapidly in the absence of Na(+) and exceeded the CO(2) supply rate by 8 to 45 times. The apparent photosynthetic affinity (K((1/2))) for DIC was high (6-40 micromolar) and was not markedly affected by Na(+) concentration, whereas with air-grown cells K((1/2)) (DIC) decreased by more than an order of magnitude in the presence of Na(+). Lithium, which inhibited Na(+)-dependent HCO(3) (-) uptake in air-grown cells, had little effect on Na(+)-independent HCO(3) (-) uptake by standing culture cells. A component of total HCO(3) (-) uptake in standing culture cells was also Na(+)-dependent with a K((1/2)) (Na(+)) of 4.8 millimolar and was inhibited by lithium. Analysis of (14)C-fixation during isotopic disequilibrium indicated that standing culture cells also possessed a Na(+)-independent CO(2) transport system. The conversion from Na(+)-independent to Na(+)-dependent HCO(3) (-) uptake was readily accomplished by transferring cells grown in standing to growth in cultures bubbled with air. These results demonstrated that the conditions experienced during growth influenced the mode by which Ssynechococcus acquired HCO(3) (-) for subsequent photosynthetic fixation.

Oxygen-18 Exchange as a Measure of Accessibility of CO(2) and HCO(3) to Carbonic Anhydrase in Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX 263)

We have measured the exchange of (18)O between CO(2) and H(2)O in stirred suspensions of Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX 263) using a membrane inlet to a mass spectrometer. The depletion of (18)O from CO(2) in the fluid outside the cells provides a method to study CO(2) and HCO(3) (-) kinetics in suspensions of algae that contain carbonic anhydrase since (18)O loss to H(2)O is catalyzed inside the cells but not in the external fluid. Low-CO(2) cells of Chlorella vulgaris (grown with air) were added to a solution containing (18)O enriched CO(2) and HCO(3) (-) with 2 to 15 millimolar total inorganic carbon. The observed depletion of (18)O from CO(2) was biphasic and the resulting (18)C content of CO(2) was much less than the (18)O content of HCO(3) (-) in the external solution. Analysis of the slopes showed that the Fick's law rate constant for entry of HCO(3) (-) into the cell was experimentally indistinguishable from zero (bicarbonate impermeable) with an upper limit of 3 x 10(-4) s(-1) due to our experimental errors. The Fick's law rate constant for entry of CO(2) to the sites of intracellular carbonic anhydrase was large, 0.013 per second, but not as great as calculated for no membrane barrier to CO(2) flux (6 per second). The experimental value may be explained by a nonhomogeneous distribution of carbonic anhydrase in the cell (such as membrane-bound enzyme) or by a membrane barrier to CO(2) entry into the cell or both. The CO(2) hydration activity inside the cells was 160 times the uncatalyzed CO(2) hydration rate.

Regulation of carbonic-anhydrase activity, inorganic-carbon uptake and photosynthetic biomass yield inChlamydomonas reinhardtii

The regulation of carbonic anhydrase by environmental conditions was determined forChlamydomonas reinhardtii. The depression of carbonic anhydrase in air-grown cells was pH-dependent. Growth of cells on air at acid pH, corresponding to 10 μm CO2 in solution, resulted in complete repression of carbonic-anhydrase activity. At pH 6.9, increasing the CO2 concentration to 0.15% (v/v) in the gas phase, corresponding to 11 μM in solution, was sufficient to completely repress carbonic-anhydrase activity. Photosynthesis and intracellular inorganic carbon were measured in air-grown and high-CO2-grown cells using a silicone-oil centrifugation technique. With carbonic anhydrase repressed cells limited inorganic-carbon accumulation resulted from non-specific binding of CO2. With air-grown cells, inorganic-carbon uptake at acid pH, i.e. 5.5, was linear up to 0.5 mM external inorganic-carbon concentration whereas at alkaline pH, i.e. 7.5, the accumulation ratio decreased with increase in external inorganic-carbon concentration. It is suggested that in air-grown cells at acid pH, CO2 is the inorganic carbon species that crosses the plasmalemma. The conversion of CO2 to HCO 3 (-) by carbonic anhydrase in the cytosol results in inorganic-carbon accumulation and maintains the diffusion gradient for carbon dioxide across the cell boundary. However, this mechanism will not account for energy-dependent accumulation of inorganic carbon when there is little difference in pH between the exterior and cytosol.

Biosynthesis of a 42-kD Polypeptide in the Cytoplasmic Membrane of the Cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans Strain R2 during Adaptation to Low CO(2) Concentration

When cells of Anacystis nidulans strain R2 grown under high CO(2) conditions (3%) were transferred to low CO(2) conditions (0.05%), their ability to accumulate inorganic carbon (C(i)) increased up to 8 times. Cytoplasmic membranes (plasmalemma) isolated at various stages of low CO(2) adaptation were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. There was a marked increase of a 42-kilodalton polypeptide in the cytoplasmic membrane during adaptation; a linear relationship existed between the amount of this polypeptide and the C(i)-accumulating capability of the cells. No significant changes were observed during this process in the amount of other polypeptides in the cytoplasmic membranes or in the polypeptide profiles of the thylakoid membranes, cell walls, and soluble fractions. Spectinomycin, an inhibitor of protein biosynthesis, inhibited both the increase of the 42-kilodalton polypeptide and the induction of high C(i)-accumulating capability. The incorporation of [(35)S]sulfate into membrane proteins was greatly reduced during low CO(2) adaptation. Radioautograms of the (35)S-labeled membrane proteins revealed that synthesis of the 42-kilodalton polypeptide in the cytoplasmic membrane was specifically activated during the adaptation, while that of most other proteins was greatly suppressed. These results suggested that the 42-kilodalton polypeptide in the cytoplasmic membrane is involved in the active C(i) transport by A. nidulans strain R2 and its synthesis under low CO(2) conditions leads to high C(i)-transporting activity.

CO2 exchange characteristics during dark-light transitions in wild-type and mutant Chlamydomonas reinhardii cells

A burst of net CO2 uptake was observed during the first 3-4 min after the onset of illumination in both wild-type Chlamydomonas reinhardii in which carbonic anhydrase was chemically inhibited with ethoxyzolamide and in a mutant of C. reinhardii (ca-1-12-1C) deficient in carbonic anhydrase activity. The burst was followed by a rapid decrease in the CO2 uptake rate so that net evolution often occurred. After a 2-3 min period of CO2 evolution, net CO2 uptake again increased and ultimately reached a steady-state, positive rate. From [(14)CO2]-tracer studies it was determined that CO2 fixation proceeded at a nearly linear rate throughout the period of illumination. Thus, prior to reaching a steady state, there was a rapid accumulation of inorganic carbon inside the cells which apparently reached a supercritical concentration and the excess was excreted, causing a subsequent efflux of CO2. A post illumination burst of net CO2 efflux was also observed in ethoxyzolamide-inhibited wild type and ca-1 mutant cells, but not in the unihibited wild type. [(14)CO2]-tracer experiments revealed that this burst was the result of a collapse of a large internal inorganic carbon pool at the onset of darkness rather than a photorespiratory post-illumination burst. These results indicate that upon illumination, chemical or genetic inhibition of carbonic anhydrase initially causes an accumulation of excess inroganic carbon in C. reinhardii cells, and that unknown regulatory mechanisms correct for this imbalance by first excreting the excess inorganic carbon and then, after several dampened oscillations, achieving an equilibrium between bicarbonate uptake, bicarbonate dehydration, and CO2 fixation.

Changes in Membrane Potential as a Demonstration of Selective Pore Formation in the Plasmalemma by Poly-l-Lysine Treatment

A technique which allows determination of solute pool concentrations in the cytosol was developed exploiting the interaction between a polycation and the anionic sites of the plasmalemma. It was shown that treatment of Nicotiana tabacum, cv Xanthi, cells in suspension culture with an appropriate concentration of poly-l-lysine induced pore formation selectively in the plasmalemma. The data presented in this paper shows that the plasmalemma of all the cells was affected while the tonoplast remained undamaged. This conclusion is based on the facts that treatment of the cells with the minimum amount of poly-l-lysine which just abolishes the electrogenic potential (similarly to carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluormethoxyphenylhydrazone and NaN(3)) induces the leakage of only a small fraction of the K(+) present in the cells. These effects of poly-l-lysine differ from the effects of polymyxin B which induces total leakage of low molecular weight solutes (R. Weimberg, H. R. Lerner, A. Poljakoff-Mayber 1983 J Exp Bot 34: 1333-1346) and therefore affects also the tonoplast.Membrane potential was determined using the partition of the lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium. The electrogenic component of the membrane potential was estimated using carbonyl cyanide-p-trifluormethoxyphenylhydrazone and azide. Poly-l-lysine treatment was used to measure K(+) compartmentation in Nicotiana cells grown in a NaCl-containing medium.

Continuous Measurements of the Free Dissolved CO(2) Concentration during Photosynthesis of Marine Plants: Evidence for HCO(3) Use in Chondrus crispus

An experimental system consisting of a gas exchange column linked to an assimilation chamber has been developed to record continuously the free dissolved CO(2) concentration in seawater containing marine plants. From experiments performed on the red macroalga Chondrus crispus (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales), this measurement is in agreement with the free CO(2) concentration calculated from the resistance to CO(2) exchanges in a biphasic system (gas and liquid) as earlier reported. The response time of this apparatus is short enough to detect, in conditions of constant pH, a photosynthesis-caused gradient between free CO(2) and HCO(3) (-) pools which half-equilibrates in 25 seconds. Abolished by carbonic anhydrase, the magnitude of this gradient increases with decreasing time of seawater transit from the chamber to the column apparatus. But its maximum magnitude (0.35 micromolar CO(2)) is negligible compared to the difference between air and free CO(2) (11.4 micromolar CO(2)). This illustrates the extent of the physical limiting-step occurring at the air-water interface when inorganic carbon consumption in seawater is balanced by dissolving gaseous CO(2). The direction of this small free CO(2)/HCO(3) (-) gradient indicates that HCO(3) (-) is consumed during photosynthesis.

A Model for HCO(3) Accumulation and Photosynthesis in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp: Theoretical Predictions and Experimental Observations

A simple model based on HCO(3) (-) transport has been developed to relate photosynthesis and inorganic carbon fluxes for the marine cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. Nägeli (strain RRIMP N1). Predicted relationships between inorganic carbon transport, CO(2) fixation, internal carbonic anhydrase activity, and leakage of CO(2) out of the cell, allow comparisons to be made with experimentally obtained data. Measurements of inorganic carbon fluxes and internal inorganic carbon pool sizes in these cells were made by monitoring time-courses of CO(2) changes (using a mass spectrometer) during light/dark transients. At just saturating CO(2) conditions, total inorganic carbon transport did not exceed net CO(2) fixation by more than 30%. This indicates CO(2) leakage similar to that estimated for C(4) plants.For this leakage rate, the model predicts the cell would need a conductance to CO(2) of around 10(-5) centimeters per second. This is similar to estimates made for the same cells using inorganic carbon pool sizes and CO(2) efflux measurements. The model predicts that carbonic anhydrase is necessary internally to allow a sufficiently fast rate of CO(2) production to prevent a large accumulation of HCO(3) (-). Intact cells show light stimulated carbonic anhydrase activity when assayed using (18)O-labeled CO(2) techniques. This is also supported by low but detectable levels of carbonic anhydrase activity in cell extracts, sufficient to meet the requirements of the model.

Photosynthesis and Inorganic Carbon Accumulation in the Acidophilic Alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae

The intracellular pH and membrane potential were determined in the acidophilic algae Cyanidoschyzon merolae as a function of extracellular pH. The alga appear to be capable of maintaining the intracellular pH at the range of 6.35 to 7.1 over the extracellular pH range of 1.5 to 7.5. The membrane potential increase from -12 millivolts (negative inside) to -71 millivolts and thus DeltamuH(+) decreased from -300 to -47 millivolts over the same range of extracellular pH. It is suggested that the DeltamuH(+) may set the upper and lower limits of pH for growth. Photosynthetic performance was also determined as a function of pH. The cells appeared to utilize CO(2) from the medium as the apparent K(m(co(2))) was 2 to 3 micromolar CO(2) over the pH range of 1.5 to 7.5 C. merolae appear to possess a ;CO(2) concentrating' mechanism.

Is HCO(3) Transport in Anabaena a Na Symport?

Na(+) strongly promoted HCO(3) (-) transport in Anabaena variabilis. The effect was highly specific to this cation. Kinetic analysis indicated a progressive decrease in the K(m) (HCO(3) (-)) of the transport system with increasing Na(+) concentration. V(max) was also affected. We raise the possibility that the transport is a Na(+)-HCO(3) (-) symport; alternatively, that a Na(+)-H(+) antiport (or Na(+)-OH(+) symport) system mediates the efflux of the OH(-) ions derived from the entering HCO(3) (-) ions, and that this antiport can rate-limit HCO(3) (-) influx.

Nature of the Inorganic Carbon Species Actively Taken Up by the Cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis

The nature of the inorganic carbon (C(i)) species actively taken up by cyanobacteria CO(2) or HCO(3) (-) has been investigated. The kinetics of CO(2) uptake, as well as that of HCO(3) (-) uptake, indicated the involvement of a saturable process. The apparent affinity of the uptake mechanism for CO(2) was higher than that for HCO(3) (-). Though the calculated V(max) was the same in both cases, the maximum rate of uptake actually observed was higher when HCO(3) (-) was supplied. C(i) uptake was far more sensitive to the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor ethoxyzolamide when CO(2) was the species supplied. Observations of photosynthetic rate as a function of intracellular C(i) level (following supply of CO(2) or HCO(3) (-) for 5 seconds) led to the inference that HCO(3) (-) is the species which arrives at the inner membrane surface, regardless of the species supplied. When the two species were supplied simultaneously, mutual inhibition of uptake was observed.On the basis of these and other results, a model is proposed postulating that a carboic anhydrase-like subunit of the C(i) transport apparatus binds CO(2) and releases HCO(3) (-) at or near a membrane porter. The latter transports HCO(3) (-) ions to the cell interior.

Chemical properties, distribution, and physiology of plant and algal carbonic anhydrases

Plant carbonic anhydrases (CAs) have a range of molecular weights (MW). Among flowering plants, dicotyledons with C3 photosynthesis have two isoenzymes of 140-250K each with 6 subunits, while monocotyledons have two isoenzymes of 42-45K. Plant and animal CAs have a similar amino acid content, subunit size and zinc content, suggesting they are homologous proteins, although the higher plant CAs have no esterase activity and are not strongly inhibited by sulfonamides. Algal CAs vary widely in MW and some are highly sensitive to sulfonamides like the animal enzymes. The two plant isoenzymes, from the chloroplast and cytosol, can be separated by gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subsequently visualized by enzymic H+ ion production. In plants, CAs probably facilitate diffusion of CO2 to the site of photosynthetic fixation; they may also have a role in pH regulation, in the use of bicarbonate by aquatic plants and in concentrating inorganic carbon within the chloroplast.

Photochemical Apparatus Organization in Anacystis nidulans (Cyanophyceae) : Effect of CO(2) Concentration during Cell Growth

Anacystis nidulans cells grown under high (3%) CO(2) partial pressure have greater phycocyanin to chlorophyll ratio (Phc/Chl) relative to cells grown under low (0.2%) CO(2) tension (Eley (1971) Plant Cell Physiol 12: 311-316). Absorbance difference spectrophotometry of A. nidulans thylakoid membranes in the ultraviolet (DeltaA(320)) and red (DeltaA(700)) regions of the spectrum reveal photosystem II/photosystem I (PSII/PSI) reaction center ratio (RCII/RCI) changes that parallel those of Phc/Chl. For cells growing under 3% CO(2), the Phc/Chl ratio was 0.48 and RCII/RCI = 0.40. At 0.2% CO(2), Phc/Chl = 0.38 and RCII/RCI = 0.24. Excitation of intact cells at 620 nm sensitized RCII at a rate approximately 20 times faster than that of RCI, suggesting that Phc excitation is delivered to RCII only. In the presence of DCMU, excitation at 620 nm induced single exponential RCII photoconversion kinetics, suggesting a one-to-one structural-functional correspondance between phycobilisome and PSII complex in the thylakoid membrane. Therefore, phycobilisomes may serve as microscopic markers for the presence of PSII in the photosynthetic membrane of A. nidulans. Neither the size of individual phycobilisomes nor the Chl light-harvesting antenna of PSI changed under the two different CO(2) tensions during cell growth. Our results are compatible with the hypothesis that, at low CO(2) concentrations, the greater relative amounts of PSI present may facilitate greater rates of ATP synthesis via cyclic electron flow. The additional ATP may be required for the active uptake of CO(2) under such conditions.

Genetic and physiological analysis of the CO2-concentrating system of Chlamydomonas reinhardii

When grown photoautotrophically at air levels of CO2, Chlamydomonas reinhardii possesses a system involving active transport of inorganic carbon which increases the intracellular CO2 concentration considerably above ambient, thereby stimulating photosynthetic CO2 assimilation. In previous investigations, two mutant strains of this unicellular green alga deficient in some component of this CO2-concentrating system were recovered as strains requiring high levels of CO2 to support photoautotrophic growth. One of the mutants, ca-1-12-1C, is a leaky (nonstringent) CO2-requiring strain deficient in carbonic anhydrase (EC 4.2.1.1) activity, while the other, pmp-1-16-5K, is a stringent CO2-requiring strain deficient in inorganic carbon transport. In the present study a double mutant (ca pmp) was constructed to investigate the physiological and biochemical interaction of the two mutations. The two mutations are unlinked and inherited in a Mendelian fashion. The double mutant was found to have a leaky CO2-requiring phenotype, indicating that the mutation ca-1 overcomes the stringent CO2-requirement conferred by the mutation pmp-1. Several physiological characteristics of the double mutant were very similar to the carbonic-anhydrase-deficient mutant, including high CO2 compensation concentration, photosynthetic CO2 response curve, and deficiency of carbonic-anhydrase activity. However, the labeling pattern of metabolites during photosynthesis in (14)CO2 was more like that of the bicarbonatetransport-deficient mutant, and accumulation of internal inorganic carbon was intermediate between that of the two original mutants. These data indicate a previously unsuspected complexity in the Chlamydomonas CO2-concentrating system.

Ethoxyzolamide repression of the low photorespiration state in two submersed angiosperms

Net photosynthesis in the submersed angiosperms Myriophyllum spicatum L. and Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royal was inhibited by 21% O2, but the degree of inhibition was greater for plants in the high than in the low photorespiratory state. Increasing the CO2 concentration from 50 through 2,500 μl l(-1) decreased the O2 inhibition of the high-photorespiration plants in a competitive manner, but it had no effect on the O2 inhibition of plants in the low photorespiratory state. Carbonic-anhydrase activity increased by almost threefold with the induction of the low photorespiratory state. Ethoxyzolamide, an inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, reduced the net photosynthesis of low-photorespiration Myriophyllum and Hydrilla plants by 40%, but their dark respiration was unaffected. This ethoxyzolamide inhibition of net photosynthesis exhibited a competitive response to CO2 concentration, resulting in a decrease in the apparent affinity of photosynthesis for CO2. The net photosynthesis of plants in the high photorespiratory state was inhibited only slightly by ethoxyzolamide, and this inhibition was independent of the CO2 level. Ethoxyzolamide treatment caused an increase in the O2 inhibition of net photosynthesis of plants in the low photorespiratory state. Ethoxyzolamide increased the low CO2 compensation points of low-photorespiration Myriophyllum and Hydrilla, but the values for the high-photorespiration plants were unchanged. In comparison, the CO2 compensation points of the terrestrial plants Sorghum bicolor (C4), Moricandia arvensis (C3-C4 intermediate) and Nicotiana tabacum (C3) were unaltered by ethoxyzolamide treatment. These data indicate that the low photorespiratory state in Myriophyllum and Hydrilla is repressed by ethoxyzolamide treatment, thus implicating carbonic anhydrase as a component of the photorespiration-reducing mechanism in these plants. The competitive interaction of CO2 with ethoxyzolamide provides evidence that the low photorespiratory state in submersed angiosperms is the result of some type or types of CO2 concentrating mechanism. In Myriophyllum it may be via bicarbonate utilization, but in Hydrilla it probably takes the form of an inducible C4-type system.

Intracellular inorganic carbon exists as protein carbamate in photosynthesizing Euglena gracilis z

The form of inorganic carbon accumulated in Euglena gracilis cells was determined. Euglena cell protein bound 0.96 nmol CO2/mg protein. The binding of CO2 was by the formation of protein carbamate as indicated by acid lability of the protein-CO2 complex, stimulation of complex formation by high ionic strength and the carbamate resonance in 13C-NMR spectrum. The protein carbamate could also be isolated from photosynthesizing Euglena. The formation of the carbamate required light energy fixed photosynthetically.

Adaptation of the Cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis to Low CO(2) Concentration in Their Environment

The rate of adaptation of high CO(2) (5% v/v CO(2) in air)-grown Anabaena to a low level of CO(2) (0.05% v/v in air) was determined as a function of O(2) concentration. Exposure of cells to low (2.6%) O(2) concentration resulted in an extended lag in the adaptation to low CO(2) concentration. The rate of adaptation following the lag was not affected by the concentration of O(2). The length of the lag period is markedly affected by the O(2)/CO(2) concentration ratio, indicating that the signal for adaptation to low CO(2) may be related to the relative rate of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activities, rather than to CO(2) concentration proper. This suggestion is supported by the observed accumulation of phosphoglycolate following transfer of cells from high to low CO(2) concentration.