HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Palinska, K. A. Articles by Tandeau de Marsac, N. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Palinska, K. A. Articles by Tandeau de Marsac, N. Agricola Articles by Palinska, K. A. Articles by Tandeau de Marsac, N.

The signal transducer P_II and bicarbonate acquisition in Prochlorococcus marinus PCC 9511, a marine cyanobacterium naturally deficient in nitrate and nitrite assimilation^a

Unité; des Cyanobacté;ries, CNRS URA 2172, Département de Microbiologie Fondamentale et Mé;dicale, Institut Pasteur, 28 Rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris Cedex 15, France¹
Laboratoire de Chimie Bacté;rienne, CNRS, 31 chemin Joseph Aiguier, BP71 13277, Marseille Cedex 9, France²
Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS UMR 1931, 29682 Roscoff Cedex, France³

Author for correspondence: Nicole Tandeau de Marsac. Tel: +33 1 45 68 8415. Fax: +33 1 40 61 3042. e-mail: ntmarsac{at}pasteur.fr

The amino acid sequence of the signal transducer P_II (GlnB) of the oceanic photosynthetic prokaryote Prochlorococcus marinus strain PCC 9511 displays a typical cyanobacterial signature and is phylogenetically related to all known cyanobacterial glnB genes, but forms a distinct subclade with two other marine cyanobacteria. P_II of P. marinus was not phosphorylated under the conditions tested, despite its highly conserved primary amino acid sequence, including the seryl residue at position 49, the site for the phosphorylation of the protein in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus PCC 7942. Moreover, P. marinus lacks nitrate and nitrite reductase activities and does not take up nitrate and nitrite. This strain, however, expresses a low- and a high-affinity transport system for inorganic carbon (C_i; K_m,app 240 and 4 µM, respectively), a result consistent with the unphosphorylated form of P_II acting as a sensor for the control of C_i acquisition, as proposed for the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803. The present data are discussed in relation to the genetic information provided by the P. marinus MED4 genome sequence.

Keywords: Prochlorales, glnB and glnK genes, lack of P_II phosphorylation, inorganic carbon uptake, Prochlorococcus marinus MED4

Abbreviations: C_i, inorganic carbon; MSX, L-methionine-D,L-sulfoximine

^a The GenBank accession number for the glnB gene sequence reported in this paper is AJ271089.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. D. Price, M. R. Badger, F. J. Woodger, and B. M. Long Advances in understanding the cyanobacterial CO2-concentrating-mechanism (CCM): functional components, Ci transporters, diversity, genetic regulation and prospects for engineering into plants J. Exp. Bot., May 1, 2008; 59(7): 1441 - 1461. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Zhang, H. Pu, Q. Wang, S. Cheng, W. Zhao, Y. Zhang, and J. Zhao PII Is Important in Regulation of Nitrogen Metabolism but Not Required for Heterocyst Formation in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 J. Biol. Chem., November 16, 2007; 282(46): 33641 - 33648. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Heinrich, K. Woyda, K. Brauburger, G. Meiss, C. Detsch, J. Stulke, and K. Forchhammer Interaction of the Membrane-bound GlnK-AmtB Complex with the Master Regulator of Nitrogen Metabolism TnrA in Bacillus subtilis J. Biol. Chem., November 17, 2006; 281(46): 34909 - 34917. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Maheswaran, C. Urbanke, and K. Forchhammer Complex Formation and Catalytic Activation by the PII Signaling Protein of N-Acetyl-L-glutamate Kinase from Synechococcus elongatus Strain PCC 7942 J. Biol. Chem., December 31, 2004; 279(53): 55202 - 55210. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Garcia-Fernandez, N. T. de Marsac, and J. Diez Streamlined Regulation and Gene Loss as Adaptive Mechanisms in Prochlorococcus for Optimized Nitrogen Utilization in Oligotrophic Environments Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev., December 1, 2004; 68(4): 630 - 638. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Burillo, I. Luque, I. Fuentes, and A. Contreras Interactions between the Nitrogen Signal Transduction Protein PII and N-Acetyl Glutamate Kinase in Organisms That Perform Oxygenic Photosynthesis J. Bacteriol., June 1, 2004; 186(11): 3346 - 3354. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. B.G. Moorhead and C. S. Smith Interpreting the Plastid Carbon, Nitrogen, and Energy Status. A Role for PII? Plant Physiology, October 1, 2003; 133(2): 492 - 498. [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Vogel, I. M. Axmann, H. Herzel, and W. R. Hess Experimental and computational analysis of transcriptional start sites in the cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus MED4 Nucleic Acids Res., June 1, 2003; 31(11): 2890 - 2899. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]