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Journal of Bacteriology, March 2009, p. 1581-1586, Vol. 191, No. 5
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JB.01588-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-okubo, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
Received 10 November 2008/ Accepted 5 December 2008
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In cyanobacteria, the decrease of photosystem (PS) content, as well as phycobilisome content, is typically observed under high-light (HL) conditions, and the main component to be downregulated is not PSII but PSI (14, 22). The physiological significance of the selective repression of PSI content during HL acclimation has been demonstrated by the characterization of the two mutants of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, disruptants of pmgA (sll1968) and sll1961, both of which have defect in keeping their PSI content at low level under HL conditions (9, 14). They grew better than the wild-type cells during a short-term exposure (e.g., 24 h) to HL because a higher amount of PSI accelerated the rate of photosynthetic electron transport (14). Under prolonged HL conditions, however, the growth of the mutants was severely inhibited (9, 14, 30), presumably due to the generation of reactive oxygen species at the acceptor side of PSI. These observations strongly suggest that the repression of PSI content is indispensable for growth under continuous HL conditions.
In Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803, the PSI complex is comprised of 11 subunits and genes encoding these subunits (PSI genes) are dispersed throughout the genome (11, 17). PSI genes are actively transcribed under low-light (LL) conditions, whereas their transcription is coordinately and strictly downregulated upon the shift to HL conditions preceding the decrease in protein level (13, 15, 16, 23, 31). We conducted the deletion analysis of PSI promoters and found that an AT-rich upstream region from –70 to –46, relative to the transcription start site, is involved in upregulation of the promoter activity in every PSI gene (24, 25). The addition of an AT-rich upstream element to the core promoter region stimulated the promoter activity 5- to 100-fold under LL conditions, whereas this positive regulation was suppressed within 1 h after the shift to HL. This change in the activity of the upstream element was well correlated with changes in PSI transcript levels upon the shift from LL to HL conditions, showing that the upstream element is responsible for the coordinated HL response of PSI genes. However, transcriptional factors involved in the regulation have remained unknown.
In the present study, we found that a response regulator RpaB binds to the AT-rich upstream region of PSI genes. Although RpaB has thus far been reported as a repressor for HL-inducible genes (19, 29), our results suggest the activation of PSI genes by RpaB under LL conditions. It is likely that RpaB is active under LL conditions and works for positive regulation of PSI genes and for negative regulation of HL-inducible genes depending on the location of its binding site within target promoters.
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Escherichia coli and DNA manipulation. XL1-Blue MRF' (Stratagene) was the host for all plasmids constructed in the present study. When required, ampicillin (100 µg/ml), chloramphenicol (25 µg/ml), or spectinomycin (20 µg/ml) was added to Terrific broth medium for selection of plasmids in E. coli. The procedures for the growth of E. coli strains and for the manipulation of DNA were as described in Sambrook et al. (28). Sequencing of plasmids was carried out by the dideoxy-chain termination method using a dye terminator cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems).
Overexpression and purification of His-RpaB. The rpaB coding region was PCR amplified using the primers NdeI-rpaBcod-F (5'-AACATATGGTCGATGACGAGGCC-3') and BamHpa-rpaBcod-R (5'- AAGGATCCGTTAACTTACGGTTCTTCCCCCGG-3'), cloned into the pT7Blue T-Vector (Novagen), digested with NdeI and BamHI (the sites are underlined), and subcloned into the same restriction sites in pET28a (Novagen) to create pETrpaB for expression of a fusion protein with an N-terminal His tag. The nucleotide sequence was confirmed by DNA sequencing.
E. coli BL21(DE3) harboring pETrpaB was grown overnight to an OD600 of 10 in 500 ml of 2x yeast extract-tryptone medium containing 20 µg of kanamycin/ml. Cells were harvested by centrifugation, resuspended in 20 ml of buffer S (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 50 mM NaCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol [DTT]), and disrupted by eight rounds of sonication for 30 s each at 4°C. The inclusion body fraction containing the overexpressed protein was pelleted by centrifugation at 12,000 x g for 30 min. The pellet was washed several times with buffer S containing 4% (wt/vol) Triton X-100 and then with distilled water until the supernatant became clarified. The pellet was then solubilized in 8 M urea solution (50 mM Tris-HCl [pH 8.0], 1 mM DTT, 8 M urea) at room temperature for 30 min and centrifuged at 18,000 x g for 30 min to remove insoluble materials. The supernatant was sequentially dialyzed in three steps: first against 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0) containing 1 mM DTT and 4 M urea for 1 h, then against the same buffer containing 2 M urea for 1 h, and finally overnight against 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 0.5 M NaCl and 10 mM imidazole.
After centrifugation at 18,000 x g for 30 min, the supernatant was applied to a HiTrap chelating HP column (GE Healthcare) that was preequilibrated with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 0.5 M NaCl and 10 mM imidazole. After a washing step with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 0.5 M NaCl and 100 mM imidazole, His-RpaB was eluted with 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 0.5 M NaCl and 300 mM imidazole. Purified His-RpaB was desalted by using a HiTrap desalting column (GE Healthcare). Protein composition was examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by staining with Coomassie brilliant blue R-250.
Gel mobility shift assay. Probes and competitor DNA fragments for gel mobility shift assays were obtained by PCR amplification using genomic DNA as a template. psaEsub1 and psaEsub2 fragments were obtained using mutated forward primers: PpsaEsub1-F (5'-TAGAACCACTCCCAGGAGCAGGGACCCCTAAAGAATTGTTTT-3') and PpsaEsub2-F (5'-TAGAACCACTCCCAGGAGCAGGGATATGTAAAGACCCCTTTT-3'), respectively. The 3' end of the DNA fragment for each probe was labeled with digoxigenin (DIG)-ddUTP by the terminal transferase method according to the manufacturer's instructions (DIG gel shift kit; Roche). Assays were performed by using a DIG gel shift kit as previously described (26).
Generation of luxAB reporter strains. All plasmids used for the reporter assay were derivatives of pPT6803-1, which is a recombinational plasmid carrying the promoterless luxAB genes, the neutral site sequence of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 (the downstream region of the ndhB gene) and the spectinomycin resistance cassette (1, 24). Reporter construct E1 containing the region from –70 to + 90 of psaE, E2 containing the region from –45 to +90 of psaE, and A61 containing the region from –69 to +2 of psaA were generated as described in Muramatsu and Hihara (25). The base-substituted constructs, E1sub1 and E1sub2, were generated by using a KOD-Plus mutagenesis kit (Toyobo) according to the manufacturer's instruction. Namely, E1 construct was mutagenized by inverse PCR using the primer set PpsaE-luxSub1 (5'-CGCCCCTAAAGAATTGTTTTGGGAAAG-3') and luxAB-3 (5'-GCTTTCAATTTCCGCTTT-3') to generate E1sub1 and the primer set PpsaE-luxSub2 (5'-CGTATGTAAAGACCCCTTTTGGGAAAGTCGGGGGGA-3') and luxAB-3 to generate E1sub2.
Measurement of bioluminescence from cells harboring luciferase reporter genes. For in vivo bioluminescence measurements of Synechocystis cells, cells grown on solid BG11 medium were suspended in distilled water. An aliquot (200 µl) was transferred to a reaction tube and set immediately in the luminescence counter (Lumi-counter model 2500; Microtech-Nichion). A total of 100 µl of 0.15% n-decanal (vol/vol) was injected into a reaction tube with a syringe, and bioluminescence from the cells was measured during 120 s after the injection of n-decanal. Specific luciferase activities were calculated as relative units/OD730.
Generation of the rpaB-disrupted strain. For generation of the rpaB-disrupted strain, a cosmid clone having insertion of a chloramphenicol resistance cassette into the coding region of rpaB (nucleotide 2014496 according to the numbering in CyanoBase) was selected from the transposon-mutagenized cosmid library of Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 (27) and transformed to the wild-type and A61 reporter strains. Transformants were selected by addition of chloramphenicol (25 µg/ml).
Determination of pigment contents. Cells grown on solid BG11 medium were suspended in distilled water, and in vivo absorption spectra were measured at room temperature by using a spectrophotometer (model 557; Hitachi) with an end-on photomultiplier. Chlorophyll and phycocyanin contents were calculated from the peak heights of absorption spectra using the equations of Arnon et al. (2).
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FIG. 1. (A) Nucleotide sequences of the core promoter and the light-responsive AT-rich upstream element of PSI genes in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. The sequences are aligned according to the major transcription start site noted as +1. Putative –35 and –10 hexamers are boxed. The direct repeat of the HLR1 motif is indicated by arrows. (B) Alignment of the HLR1 sequences found in the upstream region of PSI promoters. Residues identical to the HLR1 consensus sequence (18) are shaded in black. The position relative to the transcription start site and the orientation of HLR1 sequence are shown for each PSI gene.
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FIG. 2. Gel mobility shift assay of various DNA fragments with His-RpaB. DIG-labeled upstream DNA fragments of hliB (–69 to +51), psaAB (+80 to +179), psaK1 (–90 to +63), and psaLI (–90 to +54) were incubated for 30 min with His-RpaB added at the indicated concentrations. Samples were separated on a 6% polyacrylamide gel. For the competition assay of psaK1, unlabeled probe fragment (–90 to +63: self) or nonspecific fragment from the coding region (+61 to +213: non-self) was added at a 150-fold excess of the probe concentration. For the competition assay of psaLI, unlabeled probe fragment (–90 to +54: self) or nonspecific fragment from the coding region (+121 to +264: non-self) was added at a 200-fold excess of the probe concentration.
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FIG. 3. Gel mobility shift assay of the promoter segments of PSI genes with His-RpaB. (A) A DIG-labeled promoter segment of each PSI gene containing the upstream element from –70 to –46 was incubated for 30 min with His-RpaB added at the indicated concentrations. Samples were separated on a 6% polyacrylamide gel. (B) The upstream element was deleted from each probe used in panel A, and a gel mobility shift assay was performed in the same procedure.
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FIG. 4. Effect of base substitution within the HLR1 sequence of the psaE promoter. (A) Gel mobility shift assay of the psaE promoter segments with or without base substitution. DIG-labeled psaE promoter fragments (–97 to +23) with or without base substitution were incubated for 30 min with His-RpaB added at the indicated concentrations. Samples were separated on a 6% polyacrylamide gel. Nucleotide sequences of promoter fragments used for the experiment are shown at the top of the panel. The direct repeat of the HLR1 sequence in the psaE promoter is indicated by arrows, and the sites of base substitution in psaEsub1 and psaEsub2 fragments are shaded in gray. (B) Bioluminescence level from low-light grown Synechocystis cells harboring luxAB reporter genes fused to the psaE promoter with or without base substitution. Error bars represent the standard deviation among three independent measurements. Nucleotide sequence of 5'-terminal region of each reporter fusion is shown at the top of the panel. BsiWI sites included in E1 (–70 to +90) and E2 (–45 to +90) are shown in italics. The sites of base substitution in E1sub1 and E1sub2 are shaded in gray.
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RpaB has thus far been reported as a negative regulator for HL-inducible genes working under LL conditions (19, 29). Here, we reported for the first time that RpaB can work for positive regulation under the same LL conditions. The regulatory role of RpaB is likely to be determined by the location of the HLR1 sequence in the target promoters. In the case of HL-inducible genes, the HLR1 sequence is located within the core promoter region (7, 18) or within the 5' untranslated region (29), and it was proposed that binding of RpaB to the HLR1 sequence prevents the interaction between RNA polymerase and the core promoter sequence. On the other hand, we found that the HLR1 sequence is located upstream of the core promoter region in the case of PSI genes (Fig. 1). In various bacterial species, transcriptional activators, including several response regulators, were reported to bind upstream of the core promoter region. They interact with the C-terminal domain of the
subunit of RNA polymerase (
-CTD), leading to an increase in the rate of transcription initiation (5, 6, 10). It is possible that RpaB interacts with
-CTD at the HLR1 sequence of PSI genes to enhance the promoter activity.
Recently, Hanaoka and Tanaka (12) showed by chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis that binding of RpaB to its target promoters, hliA and rpoD3 in S. elongatus PCC 7942, was promptly lost upon the shift to HL. Thus, it is supposed that the coordinated downregulation of PSI genes, as well as upregulation of HL-inducible genes, is accomplished by release of RpaB from the HLR1 sequence under HL conditions in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803. How then is the change in light intensity transmitted to RpaB? Seki et al. (29) observed that overexpression of the truncated RpaB protein harboring only the phosphoreceiver domain resulted in the derepression of hliA and rpoD3 genes under LL conditions in S. elongatus PCC 7942. This phenomenon could be due to a decrease in the phosphorylation level of the native RpaB protein, and these authors proposed that RpaB is phosphorylated by its cognate histidine kinase under LL to work for negative regulation. The prime candidate for the cognate histidine kinase is thought to be NblS (also known as Hik33 or DspA), since the HLR1 sequence is found in the promoter region of genes regulated by NblS (18, 19). However, phosphorylation of RpaB by NblS/Hik33 under LL conditions is still controversial. Based on their extensive studies using DNA microarray technique, Los et al. (21) concluded that Hik33 is inactive under nonstress conditions and is activated in response to the environmental stress. We observed that the effect of disruption of Hik33 is far smaller than that of RpaB under LL conditions (not shown). The mechanism of the perception of the change in light intensity and the following signal transduction to modulate the RpaB activity remain to be elucidated.
Published ahead of print on 12 December 2008. ![]()
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