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
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Soule, T.
Right arrow Articles by Stout, V.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Soule, T.
Right arrow Articles by Stout, V.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2009, p. 4639-4646, Vol. 191, No. 14
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00134-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Gene Expression Patterns Associated with the Biosynthesis of the Sunscreen Scytonemin in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 in Response to UVA Radiation{triangledown}

Tanya Soule,1,2 Ferran Garcia-Pichel,1 and Valerie Stout1*

School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287,1 Environmental Biotechnology, Savannah River National Laboratory, Aiken, South Carolina 298082

Received 30 January 2009/ Accepted 5 May 2009

Under exposure to UV radiation, some cyanobacteria synthesize sunscreen compounds. Scytonemin is a heterocyclic indole-alkaloid sunscreen, the synthesis of which is induced upon exposure to UVA (long-wavelength UV) radiation. We previously identified and characterized an 18-gene cluster associated with scytonemin biosynthesis in the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133; we now report on the expression response of these genes to a step-up shift in UVA exposure. Using quantitative PCR on cDNAs from the N. punctiforme transcriptome and primers targeting each of the 18 genes in the cluster, we followed their differential expression in parallel subcultures incubated with and without UVA. All 18 genes are induced by UVA irradiation, with relative transcription levels that generally peak after 48 h of continuous UVA exposure. A five-gene cluster implicated in the process of scytonemin biosynthesis solely on the basis of comparative genomics was also upregulated. Furthermore, we demonstrate that all of the genes in the18-gene region are cotranscribed as part of a single transcriptional unit.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 874501, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501. Phone: (480) 965-4617. Fax: (480) 965-6899. E-mail: vstout{at}asu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 8 May 2009.

Journal of Bacteriology, July 2009, p. 4639-4646, Vol. 191, No. 14
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00134-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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