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Zhao F, Lin X, Cai K, Jiang Y, Ni T, Chen Y, Feng J, Dang S, Zhou CZ, Zeng Q. Biochemical and structural characterization of the cyanophage-encoded phosphate binding protein: implications for enhanced phosphate uptake of infected cyanobacteria. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:3037-3050. [PMID: 35590460 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
To acquire phosphorus, cyanobacteria use the typical bacterial ABC-type phosphate transporter, which is composed of a periplasmic high-affinity phosphate-binding protein PstS and a channel formed by two transmembrane proteins PstC and PstA. A putative pstS gene was identified in the genomes of cyanophages that infect the unicellular marine cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. However, it has not been determined whether the cyanophage PstS protein is functional during infection to enhance the phosphate uptake rate of host cells. Here we showed that the cyanophage P-SSM2 PstS protein was abundant in the infected Prochlorococcus NATL2A cells and the host phosphate uptake rate was enhanced after infection. This is consistent with our biochemical and structural analyses showing that the phage PstS protein is indeed a high-affinity phosphate-binding protein. We further modeled the complex structure of phage PstS with host PstCA and revealed three putative interfaces that may facilitate the formation of a chimeric ABC transporter. Our results provide insights into the molecular mechanism by which cyanophages enhance the phosphate uptake rate of cyanobacteria. Phosphate acquisition by infected bacteria can increase the phosphorus contents of released cellular debris and virus particles, which together constitute a significant proportion of the marine dissolved organic phosphorus pool. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangxin Zhao
- Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China.,Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
| | - Xingqin Lin
- Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China.,Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, China
| | - Kun Cai
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China.,School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China
| | - YongLiang Jiang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China.,School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China
| | - Tianchi Ni
- Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Yue Chen
- Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Jianrong Feng
- Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shangyu Dang
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China.,Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China.,Center of Systems Biology and Human Health, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Cong-Zhao Zhou
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China.,School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230027, China
| | - Qinglu Zeng
- Department of Ocean Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China.,Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China.,Division of Life Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China.,Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, China.,HKUST Shenzhen-Hong Kong Collaborative Innovation Research Institute, Futian, Shenzhen, China
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Qin X, Shi X, Gao Y, Dai X, Ou L, Guan W, Lu S, Cen J, Qi Y. Alkaline phosphatase activity during a phosphate replete dinoflagellate bloom caused by Prorocentrum obtusidens. HARMFUL ALGAE 2021; 103:101979. [PMID: 33980429 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2021.101979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Prorocentrum obtusidens Schiller (formerly P. donghaiense Lu), a harmful algal species common in the East China Sea (ECS), often thrives with the depletion of phosphate. Three cruises in the spring of 2013 sampled an entire P. obtusidens bloom process to investigate the dynamics of alkaline phosphatase activity (APA) and phosphorus (P) status of the bloom species using both bulk and cell-specific assays. Unlike previous studies, the bloom of P. obtusidens occurred in a phosphate replete environment. Very high APA, with an average of 76.62 ± 90.24 nmol L-1 h-1, was observed during the early-bloom phase, a value comparable to that in low phosphate environments. The alkaline phosphatase (AP) hydrolytic kinetics also suggested a more efficient AP system with a lower half-saturation constant (Ks), but higher maximum potential hydrolytic velocity (Vmax) in this period. The APA decreased significantly with an average of 24.98 ± 30.98 nmol L-1 h-1 when the bloom reached its peak. The lack of a correlation between dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) or dissolved organic phosphate (DOP) concentration and APA suggested that the APA was regulated by the internal P growth demand, rather than the external P availability during the phosphate replete P. obtusidens bloom. These findings facilitate an understanding of the P. obtusidens acclimation strategy with respect to P variations in terms of AP expression during blooms in the ECS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianling Qin
- School of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Xiaoyong Shi
- College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China; National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service, Beijing, China
| | - Yahui Gao
- School of Life Sciences, and State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Xinfeng Dai
- Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
| | - Linjian Ou
- Research Center of Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, and Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Weibing Guan
- Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
| | - Songhui Lu
- Research Center of Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, and Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Jingyi Cen
- Research Center of Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, and Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuzao Qi
- Research Center of Harmful Algae and Marine Biology, and Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
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Accumulation of ambient phosphate into the periplasm of marine bacteria is proton motive force dependent. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2642. [PMID: 32457313 PMCID: PMC7250820 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16428-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacteria acquire phosphate (Pi) by maintaining a periplasmic concentration below environmental levels. We recently described an extracellular Pi buffer which appears to counteract the gradient required for Pi diffusion. Here, we demonstrate that various treatments to outer membrane (OM) constituents do not affect the buffered Pi because bacteria accumulate Pi in the periplasm, from which it can be removed hypo-osmotically. The periplasmic Pi can be gradually imported into the cytoplasm by ATP-powered transport, however, the proton motive force (PMF) is not required to keep Pi in the periplasm. In contrast, the accumulation of Pi into the periplasm across the OM is PMF-dependent and can be enhanced by light energy. Because the conventional mechanism of Pi-specific transport cannot explain Pi accumulation in the periplasm we propose that periplasmic Pi anions pair with chemiosmotic cations of the PMF and millions of accumulated Pi pairs could influence the periplasmic osmolarity of marine bacteria. The ubiquitous oceanic bacteria harbour an external phosphate buffer for modulating phosphate (Pi) uptake. Here, using both oceanic SAR11, Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus strains as a model, the authors show that the Pi buffer accumulation in the periplasm is proton motive force-dependent and can be enhanced by light energy.
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Adaptive Evolution of Phosphorus Metabolism in Prochlorococcus. mSystems 2016; 1:mSystems00065-16. [PMID: 27868089 PMCID: PMC5111396 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00065-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2016] [Accepted: 10/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbes are known to employ three basic strategies to compete for limiting elemental resources: (i) cell quotas may be adjusted by alterations to cell physiology or by substitution of a more plentiful resource, (ii) stressed cells may synthesize high-affinity transporters, and (iii) cells may access more costly sources from internal stores, by degradation, or by petitioning other microbes. In the case of phosphorus, a limiting resource in vast oceanic regions, the cosmopolitan cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus thrives by adopting all three strategies and a fourth, previously unknown strategy. By generating a detailed model of its metabolism, we found that strain MED4 has evolved a way to reduce its dependence on phosphate by minimizing the number of enzymes involved in phosphate transformations, despite the stringency of nearly half of its metabolic genes being essential for survival. Relieving phosphorus limitation, both physiologically and throughout intermediate metabolism, substantially improves phosphorus-specific growth rates. Inorganic phosphorus is scarce in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where the high-light-adapted ecotype HLI of the marine picocyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus thrives. Physiological and regulatory control of phosphorus acquisition and partitioning has been observed in HLI both in culture and in the field; however, the optimization of phosphorus metabolism and associated gains for its phosphorus-limited-growth (PLG) phenotype have not been studied. Here, we reconstructed a genome-scale metabolic network of the HLI axenic strain MED4 (iJC568), consisting of 568 metabolic genes in relation to 794 reactions involving 680 metabolites distributed in 6 subcellular locations. iJC568 was used to quantify metabolic fluxes under PLG conditions, and we observed a close correspondence between experimental and computed fluxes. We found that MED4 has minimized its dependence on intracellular phosphate, not only through drastic depletion of phosphorus-containing biomass components but also through network-wide reductions in phosphate-reaction participation and the loss of a key enzyme, succinate dehydrogenase. These alterations occur despite the stringency of having relatively few pathway redundancies and an extremely high proportion of essential metabolic genes (47%; defined as the percentage of lethal in silico gene knockouts). These strategies are examples of nutrient-controlled adaptive evolution and confer a dramatic growth rate advantage to MED4 in phosphorus-limited regions. IMPORTANCE Microbes are known to employ three basic strategies to compete for limiting elemental resources: (i) cell quotas may be adjusted by alterations to cell physiology or by substitution of a more plentiful resource, (ii) stressed cells may synthesize high-affinity transporters, and (iii) cells may access more costly sources from internal stores, by degradation, or by petitioning other microbes. In the case of phosphorus, a limiting resource in vast oceanic regions, the cosmopolitan cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus marinus thrives by adopting all three strategies and a fourth, previously unknown strategy. By generating a detailed model of its metabolism, we found that strain MED4 has evolved a way to reduce its dependence on phosphate by minimizing the number of enzymes involved in phosphate transformations, despite the stringency of nearly half of its metabolic genes being essential for survival. Relieving phosphorus limitation, both physiologically and throughout intermediate metabolism, substantially improves phosphorus-specific growth rates.
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D'Agostino PM, Song X, Neilan BA, Moffitt MC. Proteogenomics of a saxitoxin-producing and non-toxic strain ofAnabaena circinalis(cyanobacteria) in response to extracellular NaCl and phosphate depletion. Environ Microbiol 2016; 18:461-76. [DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.13131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2015] [Revised: 11/10/2015] [Accepted: 11/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paul M. D'Agostino
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences; University of New South Wales; NSW 2052 Australia
- School of Science and Health; Western Sydney University; Campbelltown NSW 2560 Australia
| | - Xiaomin Song
- Australian Proteomics Analysis Facility; Macquarie University; Macquarie Park NSW 2109 Australia
| | - Brett A. Neilan
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences; University of New South Wales; NSW 2052 Australia
| | - Michelle C. Moffitt
- School of Science and Health; Western Sydney University; Campbelltown NSW 2560 Australia
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Fuszard MA, Ow SY, Gan CS, Noirel J, Ternan NG, McMullan G, Biggs CA, Reardon KF, Wright PC. The quantitative proteomic response of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 to phosphate acclimation. AQUATIC BIOSYSTEMS 2013; 9:5. [PMID: 23442353 PMCID: PMC3600050 DOI: 10.1186/2046-9063-9-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2012] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is a critical nutrient for all life and is periodically limiting in marine and freshwater provinces, yet little is understood how organisms acclimate to fluctuations in Pi within their environment. To investigate whole cell adaptation, we grew Synechocystis sp. PCC6803, a model freshwater cyanobacterium, in 3%, and 0.3% inorganic phosphate (Pi) media. The cells were allowed to acclimate over 60 days, and cells were harvested for quantitative high throughput mass spectrometry-based proteomics using the iTRAQ™ labelling technology. RESULTS In total, 120 proteins were identified, and 52 proteins were considered differentially abundant compared to the control. Alkaline phosphatase (APase) activities correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with observed relative PhoA abundances. PstS1 and PstS2 were both observed, yet PstS1 was not differentially more abundant than the control. Phycobilisome protein abundances appeared to be coordinated, and are significantly less abundant in 0.3% Pi than 3% Pi cultures. Also, the central metabolic cell function appears to have shifted towards the production of (NADPH) reducing energy and nucleotide sugars. CONCLUSIONS This acclimation response bears strong similarity to the previously reported response to nitrogen deprivation within Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. However, it also demonstrates some characteristics of desiccation stress, such as the regulation of fatty acids and increased abundance of rehydrin in the 3% Pi culture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Fuszard
- BSRC Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Department of Chemistry, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Saw Yen Ow
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | | | - Josseilin Noirel
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | - Nigel G Ternan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK
| | - Geoff McMullan
- School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, County Londonderry, BT52 1SA, UK
| | - Catherine A Biggs
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | - Kenneth F Reardon
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1370, USA
| | - Phillip C Wright
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
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Krumhardt KM, Callnan K, Roache-Johnson K, Swett T, Robinson D, Reistetter EN, Saunders JK, Rocap G, Moore LR. Effects of phosphorus starvation versus limitation on the marine cyanobacteriumProchlorococcus MED4 I: uptake physiology. Environ Microbiol 2013; 15:2114-28. [DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2012] [Revised: 12/16/2012] [Accepted: 12/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kristen M. Krumhardt
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Southern Maine; Portland; ME; 04104; USA
| | - Kate Callnan
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Southern Maine; Portland; ME; 04104; USA
| | - Kathryn Roache-Johnson
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Southern Maine; Portland; ME; 04104; USA
| | - Tammy Swett
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Southern Maine; Portland; ME; 04104; USA
| | - Daniela Robinson
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Southern Maine; Portland; ME; 04104; USA
| | - Emily Nahas Reistetter
- Center for Environmental Genomics & School of Oceanography; University of Washington; Seattle; WA; 98195; USA
| | - Jaclyn K. Saunders
- Center for Environmental Genomics & School of Oceanography; University of Washington; Seattle; WA; 98195; USA
| | - Gabrielle Rocap
- Center for Environmental Genomics & School of Oceanography; University of Washington; Seattle; WA; 98195; USA
| | - Lisa R. Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of Southern Maine; Portland; ME; 04104; USA
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Fuszard MA, Wright PC, Biggs CA. Comparative quantitative proteomics of prochlorococcus ecotypes to a decrease in environmental phosphate concentrations. AQUATIC BIOSYSTEMS 2012; 8:7. [PMID: 22480396 PMCID: PMC3349580 DOI: 10.1186/2046-9063-8-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2011] [Accepted: 03/19/2012] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The well-lit surface waters of oligotrophic gyres significantly contribute to global primary production. Marine cyanobacteria of the genus Prochlorococcus are a major fraction of photosynthetic organisms within these areas. Labile phosphate is considered a limiting nutrient in some oligotrophic regions such as the Caribbean Sea, and as such it is crucial to understand the physiological response of primary producers such as Prochlorococcus to fluctuations in the availability of this critical nutrient. RESULTS Prochlorococcus strains representing both high light (HL) (MIT9312) and low light (LL) (NATL2A and SS120) ecotypes were grown identically in phosphate depleted media (10 μM Pi). The three strains displayed marked differences in cellular protein expression, as determined by high throughput large scale quantitative proteomic analysis. The only strain to demonstrate a significantly different growth rate under reduced phosphate conditions was MIT9312. Additionally, there was a significant increase in phosphate-related proteins such as PhoE (> 15 fold increase) and a depression of the Rubisco protein RbcL abundance in this strain, whereas there appeared to be no significant change within the LL strain SS120. CONCLUSIONS This differential response between ecotypes highlights the relative importance of phosphate availability to each strain and from these results we draw the conclusion that the expression of phosphate acquisition mechanisms are activated at strain specific phosphate concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Fuszard
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
| | - Phillip C Wright
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
| | - Catherine A Biggs
- ChELSI Institute, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
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