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Journal of Bacteriology, June 2007, p. 4465-4472, Vol. 189, No. 12
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01816-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Molecular Genetics and Genomic Analysis of Scytonemin Biosynthesis in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133{triangledown}

Tanya Soule,1 V. Stout,1 W. D. Swingley,1,{dagger} J. C. Meeks,2 and F. Garcia-Pichel1*

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287,1 Section of Microbiology, University of California, Davis, California 956162

Received 3 December 2006/ Accepted 27 February 2007

The indole-alkaloid scytonemin is the most common and widespread sunscreen among cyanobacteria. Previous research has focused on its nature, distribution, ecology, physiology, and biochemistry, but its molecular genetics have not been explored. In this study, a scytonemin-deficient mutant of the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 was obtained by random transposon insertion into open reading frame NpR1273. The absence of scytonemin under conditions of induction by UV irradiation was the single phenotypic difference detected in a comparative analysis of the wild type and the mutant. A cause-effect relationship between the phenotype and the mutation in NpR1273 was demonstrated by constructing a second scytoneminless mutant through directed mutagenesis of that gene. The genomic region flanking the mutation revealed an 18-gene cluster (NpR1276 to NpR1259). Four putative genes in the cluster, NpR1274 to NpR1271, with no previously known functions, are likely to be involved in the assembly of scytonemin. Also in this cluster, there is a redundant set of genes coding for shikimic acid and aromatic amino acid biosynthesis enzymes, leading to the production of tryptophan and tyrosine, which are likely to be biosynthetic precursors of the sunscreen.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501. Phone: (480) 727-7534. Fax: (480) 965-6899. E-mail: ferran{at}asu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 9 March 2007.

{dagger} Present address: Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan.

Journal of Bacteriology, June 2007, p. 4465-4472, Vol. 189, No. 12
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.01816-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Soule, T., Garcia-Pichel, F., Stout, V. (2009). Gene Expression Patterns Associated with the Biosynthesis of the Sunscreen Scytonemin in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 in Response to UVA Radiation. J. Bacteriol. 191: 4639-4646 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Sorrels, C. M., Proteau, P. J., Gerwick, W. H. (2009). Organization, Evolution, and Expression Analysis of the Biosynthetic Gene Cluster for Scytonemin, a Cyanobacterial UV-Absorbing Pigment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 4861-4869 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
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