The stringent response regulates adaptation to darkness in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus

Hood, Rachel D.; Higgins, Sean A.; Flamholz, Avi; Nichols, Robert J.; Savage, David F.

doi:10.1073/pnas.1524915113

Title: The stringent response regulates adaptation to darkness in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus

Journal Article · Tue Aug 02 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1524915113· OSTI ID:1281325

Hood, Rachel D.; Higgins, Sean A.; Flamholz, Avi; Nichols, Robert J.;

The cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus relies upon photosynthesis to drive metabolism and growth. During darkness, Synechococcus stops growing, derives energy from its glycogen stores, and greatly decreases rates of macromolecular synthesis via unknown mechanisms. In this work, we show that the stringent response, a stress response pathway whose genes are conserved across bacteria and plant plastids, contributes to this dark adaptation. Levels of the stringent response alarmone guanosine 3'-diphosphate 5'-diphosphate (ppGpp) rise after a shift from light to dark, indicating that darkness triggers the same response in cyanobacteria as starvation in heterotrophic bacteria. High levels of ppGpp are sufficient to stop growth and dramatically alter many aspects of cellular physiology, including levels of photosynthetic pigments and polyphosphate, DNA content, and the rate of translation. Cells unable to synthesize ppGpp display pronounced growth defects after exposure to darkness. The stringent response regulates expression of a number of genes in Synechococcus, including ribosomal hibernation promoting factor (hpf), which causes ribosomes to dimerize in the dark and may contribute to decreased translation. Although the metabolism of Synechococcus differentiates it from other model bacterial systems, the logic of the stringent response remains remarkably conserved, while at the same time having adapted to the unique stresses of the photosynthetic lifestyle.

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Research Organization:: University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Sloan Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0006394

OSTI ID:: 1281325

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1469295

Journal Information:: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Vol. 113 Journal Issue: 33; ISSN 0027-8424

Publisher:: National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 65 works

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
cyanobacteria
Synechococcus
stringent response
(p)ppGpp
hibernation promoting factor

Title: The stringent response regulates adaptation to darkness in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus

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