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Title: Probing the consequences of antenna modification in cyanobacteria

Journal Article · · Photosynthesis Research
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [2];  [1]
  1. Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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Photosynthetic organisms rely on antenna systems to harvest and deliver energy from light to reaction centers. In fluctuating photic environments, regulation of light harvesting is critical for a photosynthetic organism’s survival. Here, we describe the use of a suite of phycobilisome mutants to probe the consequences of antenna truncation in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Studies using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), hyperspectral confocal fluorescence microscopy (HCFM), small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and an optimized photobioreactor system have unraveled the adaptive strategies that cells employ to compensate for antenna reduction. As the phycobilisome antenna size decreased, changes in thylakoid morphology were more severe and physical segregation of the two photosystems increased. Repeating distances between thylakoid membranes measured by SANS were correlated with TEM data, and corresponded to the degree of phycobilisome truncation. Thylakoid membranes were found to have a high degree of structural flexibility, and changes in the membrane system upon illumination were rapid and reversible. Phycobilisome truncation in Synechocystis 6803 reduced the growth rate and lowered biomass accumulation. Together, these results lend a dynamic perspective to the intracellular membrane organization in cyanobacteria cells and suggest an adaptive mechanism that allows cells to adjust to altered light absorption capabilities, while highlighting the cell-wide implications of antenna truncation.

Research Organization:
Washington Univ., St. Louis, MO (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Photosynthetic Antenna Research Center (PARC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
DOE Contract Number:
SC0001035
OSTI ID:
1097029
Report Number(s):
DE-SC0001035-91
Journal Information:
Photosynthesis Research, Vol. 118, Issue 1-2; ISSN 0166-8595
Publisher:
Springer
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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