This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Poliquin, K.
Right arrow Articles by Gantt, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Poliquin, K.
Right arrow Articles by Gantt, E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2004, p. 4685-4693, Vol. 186, No. 14
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.14.4685-4693.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Inactivation of sll1556 in Synechocystis Strain PCC 6803 Impairs Isoprenoid Biosynthesis from Pentose Phosphate Cycle Substrates In Vitro

Kelly Poliquin,1,{dagger} Yuri V. Ershov,2,{dagger} Francis X. Cunningham Jr.,1 Tinsay T. Woreta,1 R. Raymond Gantt,1 and Elisabeth Gantt1*

Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742,1 A. N. Bakh Institute of Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia2

Received 6 February 2004/ Accepted 19 April 2004

In cyanobacteria many compounds, including chlorophylls, carotenoids, and hopanoids, are synthesized from the isoprenoid precursors isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl diphosphate. Isoprenoid biosynthesis in extracts of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis strain PCC 6803 grown under photosynthetic conditions, stimulated by pentose phosphate cycle substrates, does not appear to require methylerythritol phosphate pathway intermediates. The sll1556 gene, distantly related to type 2 IPP isomerase genes, was disrupted by insertion of a Kanr cassette. The mutant was fully viable under photosynthetic conditions although impaired in the utilization of pentose phosphate cycle substrates. Compared to the parental strain the {Delta}sll1556 mutant (i) is deficient in isoprenoid biosynthesis in vitro with substrates including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, fructose-6-phosphate, and glucose-6-phosphate; (ii) has smaller cells (diameter ca. 13% less); (iii) has fewer thylakoids (ca. 30% less); and (iv) has a more extensive fibrous outer wall layer. Isoprenoid biosynthesis is restored with pentose phosphate cycle substrates plus the recombinant Sll1556 protein in the {Delta}sll1556 supernatant fraction. IPP isomerase activity could not be demonstrated for the purified Sll1556 protein under our in vitro conditions. The reduction of thylakoid area and the effect on outer wall layer components are consistent with an impairment of isoprenoid biosynthesis in the mutant, possibly via hopanoid biosynthesis. Our findings are consistent with an alternate metabolic shunt for biosynthesis of isoprenoids.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, Microbiology Building, Campus Dr., University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. Phone: (301) 405-1649. Fax: (301) 314-9489. E-mail: eg37{at}umail.umd.edu.

{dagger} K.P. and Y.V.E. contributed equally to this work.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2004, p. 4685-4693, Vol. 186, No. 14
0021-9193/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.186.14.4685-4693.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Cassera, M. B., Gozzo, F. C., D'Alexandri, F. L., Merino, E. F., del Portillo, H. A., Peres, V. J., Almeida, I. C., Eberlin, M. N., Wunderlich, G., Wiesner, J., Jomaa, H., Kimura, E. A., Katzin, A. M. (2004). The Methylerythritol Phosphate Pathway Is Functionally Active in All Intraerythrocytic Stages of Plasmodium falciparum. J. Biol. Chem. 279: 51749-51759 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barkley, S. J., Desai, S. B., Poulter, C. D. (2004). Type II Isopentenyl Diphosphate Isomerase from Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803. J. Bacteriol. 186: 8156-8158 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»