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Moreno-Cabezuelo JÁ, Del Carmen Muñoz-Marín M, López-Lozano A, Athayde D, Simón-García A, Díez J, Archer M, Issoglio FM, García-Fernández JM. Production, homology modeling and mutagenesis studies on GlcH glucose transporter from Prochlorococcus sp. strain SS120. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. BIOENERGETICS 2023; 1864:148954. [PMID: 36563737 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2022.148954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is one of the main primary producers on Earth, which can take up glucose by using the high affinity, multiphasic transporter GlcH. We report here the overexpression of glcH from Prochlorococcus marinus strain SS120 in Escherichia coli. Modeling studies of GlcH using the homologous MelB melibiose transporter from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium showed high conservation at the overall fold. We observed that an important structural interaction, mediated by a strong hydrogen bond between D8 and R141, is conserved in Prochlorococcus, although the corresponding amino acids in MelB from Salmonella are different. Biased docking studies suggested that when glucose reaches the pocket of the transporter and interacts with D8 and R141, the hydrogen bond network in which these residues are involved could be disrupted, favoring a conformational change with the subsequent translocation of the glucose molecule towards the cytoplasmic region of the pmGlcH structure. Based on these theoretical predictions and on the conservation of N117 and W348 in other MelB structures, D8, N117, R141 and W348 were mutated to glycine residues. Their key role in glucose transport was evaluated by glucose uptake assays. N117G and W348G mutations led to 17 % decrease in glucose uptake, while D8G and R141G decreased the glucose transport by 66 % and 92 % respectively. Overall, our studies provide insights into the Prochlorococcus 3D-structure of GlcH, paving the way for further analysis to understand the features which are involved in the high affinity and multiphasic kinetics of this transporter.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Ángel Moreno-Cabezuelo
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - María Del Carmen Muñoz-Marín
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Antonio López-Lozano
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Diogo Athayde
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB NOVA), 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Ana Simón-García
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Jesús Díez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Margarida Archer
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB NOVA), 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Federico M Issoglio
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa (ITQB NOVA), 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal; CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (IQUIBICEN), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - José Manuel García-Fernández
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
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Tychonema sp. BBK16 Characterisation: Lifestyle, Phylogeny and Related Phages. Viruses 2023; 15:v15020442. [PMID: 36851656 PMCID: PMC9958718 DOI: 10.3390/v15020442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacterial expansion is harmful to the environment, the ecology of Lake Baikal and the economy of nearby regions and can be dangerous to people and animals. Since 2011, the process of colonisation of the lake with potentially toxic cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Tychonema has continued. An understanding of the mechanism of successful expansion of Tychonema requires scrutiny of biological and genomic features. Tychonema sp. BBK16 was isolated from the coastal zone of Lake Baikal. The morphology of BBK16 biofilm was studied with light, scanning electron and confocal microscopy. The biofilm is based on filaments of cyanobacteria, which are intertwined like felt; there are also dense fascicles of rope-like twisted filaments that impart heterogeneity to the surface of the biofilm. Genome sequencing, intergenomic comparisons and phylogenetic analyses indicated that Tychonema sp. BBK16 represent a new species related to planktic cyanobacterium Tychonema bourrellyi, isolated from Alpine lentic freshwater. Genome investigation revealed the genes possibly responsible for the mixotrophic lifestyle. The presence of CRISPR-Cas and restriction modification defence mechanisms allowed to suggest the existence of phages infecting Tychonema sp. BBK16. Analysis of CRISPR spacers and prophage-derived regions allowed to suggest related cyanophages. Genomic analysis supported the assumption that mobile elements and horizontal transfer participate in shaping the Tychonema sp. BBK16 genome. The findings of the current research suggest that the aptitude of Tychonema sp. BBK16 for biofilm formation and, possibly, its mixotrophic lifestyle provide adaptation advantages that lead to the successful expansion of this cyanobacterium in the Baikal's conditions of freshwater lake environments.
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Muñoz-Marín MC, Gómez-Baena G, López-Lozano A, Moreno-Cabezuelo JA, Díez J, García-Fernández JM. Mixotrophy in marine picocyanobacteria: use of organic compounds by Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus. THE ISME JOURNAL 2020; 14:1065-1073. [PMID: 32034281 PMCID: PMC7174365 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-020-0603-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Revised: 01/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Marine picocyanobacteria of the Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus genera have been longtime considered as autotrophic organisms. However, compelling evidence published over the last 15 years shows that these organisms can use different organic compounds containing key elements to survive in oligotrophic oceans, such as N (amino acids, amino sugars), S (dimethylsulfoniopropionate, DMSP), or P (ATP). Furthermore, marine picocyanobacteria can also take up glucose and use it as a source of carbon and energy, despite the fact that this compound is devoid of limiting elements and can also be synthesized by using standard metabolic pathways. This review will outline the main findings suggesting mixotrophy in the marine picocyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, and its ecological relevance for these important primary producers.
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Affiliation(s)
- M C Muñoz-Marín
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, planta 1, ala Este, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - G Gómez-Baena
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, planta 1, ala Este, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - A López-Lozano
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, planta 1, ala Este, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - J A Moreno-Cabezuelo
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, planta 1, ala Este, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - J Díez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, planta 1, ala Este, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
| | - J M García-Fernández
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, planta 1, ala Este, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071, Córdoba, Spain.
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Moreno-Cabezuelo JÁ, López-Lozano A, Díez J, García-Fernández JM. Differential expression of the glucose transporter gene glcH in response to glucose and light in marine picocyanobacteria. PeerJ 2019; 6:e6248. [PMID: 30648008 PMCID: PMC6330958 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6248] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 12/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Our team discovered that Prochlorococcus can take up glucose, in a process that changes the transcriptional pattern of several genes involved in glucose metabolization. We have also shown that glcH encodes a very high affinity glucose transporter, and that glucose is taken up by natural Prochlorococcus populations. We demonstrated that the kinetic parameters of glucose uptake show significant diversity in different Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus strains. Here, we tested whether the transcriptional response of glcH to several glucose concentrations and light conditions was also different depending on the studied strain. Methods Cultures were grown in the light, supplemented with five different glucose concentrations or subjected to darkness, and cells harvested after 24 h of treatment. qRT-PCR was used to determine glcH expression in four Prochlorococcus and two Synechococcus strains. Results In all studied strains glcH was expressed in the absence of glucose, and it increased upon glucose addition to cultures. The changes differed depending on the strain, both in the magnitude and in the way cells responded to the tested glucose concentrations. Unlike the other strains, Synechococcus BL107 showed the maximum glucose uptake at 5 nM glucose. Darkness induced a strong decrease in glcH expression, especially remarkable in Prochlorococcus MIT9313. Discussion Our results suggest that marine picocyanobacteria are actively monitoring the availability of glucose, to upregulate glcH expression in order to exploit the presence of sugars in the environment. The diverse responses observed in different strains suggest that the transcriptional regulation of glucose uptake has been adjusted by evolutive selection. Darkness promotes a strong decrease in glcH expression in all studied strains, which fits with previous results on glucose uptake in Prochlorococcus. Overall, this work reinforces the importance of mixotrophy for marine picocyanobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Ángel Moreno-Cabezuelo
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Antonio López-Lozano
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Jesús Díez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
| | - José Manuel García-Fernández
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
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Muñoz-Marín MDC, Gómez-Baena G, Díez J, Beynon RJ, González-Ballester D, Zubkov MV, García-Fernández JM. Glucose Uptake in Prochlorococcus: Diversity of Kinetics and Effects on the Metabolism. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:327. [PMID: 28337178 PMCID: PMC5340979 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
We have previously shown that Prochlorococcus sp. SS120 strain takes up glucose by using a multiphasic transporter encoded by the Pro1404 gene. Here, we studied the glucose uptake kinetics in multiple Prochlorococcus strains from different ecotypes, observing diverse values for the Ks constants (15–126.60 nM) and the uptake rates (0.48–6.36 pmol min-1 mg prot-1). Multiphasic kinetics was observed in all studied strains, except for TAK9803-2. Pro1404 gene expression studies during the 21st Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise showed positive correlation with glucose concentrations in the ocean. This suggests that the Pro1404 transporter has been subjected to diversification along the Prochlorococcus evolution, in a process probably driven by the glucose availabilities at the different niches it inhabits. The glucose uptake mechanism seems to be a primary transporter. Glucose addition induced detectable transcriptomic and proteomic changes in Prochlorococcus SS120, but photosynthetic efficiency was unaffected. Our studies indicate that glucose is actively taken up by Prochlorococcus, but its uptake does not significantly alter the trophic ways of this cyanobacterium, which continues performing photosynthesis. Therefore Prochlorococcus seems to remain acting as a fundamentally phototrophic organism, capable of using glucose as an extra resource of carbon and energy when available in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Del Carmen Muñoz-Marín
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario, Universidad de Córdoba Córdoba, Spain
| | - Guadalupe Gómez-Baena
- Centre for Proteome Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool Liverpool, UK
| | - Jesús Díez
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario, Universidad de Córdoba Córdoba, Spain
| | - Robert J Beynon
- Centre for Proteome Research, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool Liverpool, UK
| | - David González-Ballester
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario, Universidad de Córdoba Córdoba, Spain
| | | | - José M García-Fernández
- Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario, Universidad de Córdoba Córdoba, Spain
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Zilliges Y, Dau H. Unexpected capacity for organic carbon assimilation by Thermosynechococcus elongatus, a crucial photosynthetic model organism. FEBS Lett 2016; 590:962-70. [PMID: 26935247 DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.12120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Revised: 02/23/2016] [Accepted: 02/24/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Genetic modification of key residues of photosystems is essential to identify functionally crucial processes by spectroscopic and crystallographic investigation; the required protein stability favours use of thermophilic species. The currently unique thermophilic photosynthetic model organism is the cyanobacterial genus Thermosynechococcus. We report the ability of Thermosynechococcus elongatus to assimilate organic carbon, specifically D-fructose. Growth in the presence of a photosynthesis inhibitor opens the door towards crucial amino acid substitutions in photosystems by the rescue of otherwise lethal mutations. Yet depression of batch-culture growth after 7 days implies that additional developments are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yvonne Zilliges
- Institut für Experimentalphysik/Biophysik & Photosynthese, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
| | - Holger Dau
- Institut für Experimentalphysik/Biophysik & Photosynthese, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
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