In most oxygenic phototrophs, including cyanobacteria, two independent enzymes catalyze the reduction of protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide, which is the penultimate step in chlorophyll (Chl) biosynthesis. One is light-dependent NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (LPOR) and the second type is dark-operative protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (DPOR). To clarify the roles of both enzymes, we assessed synthesis and accumulation of Chl-binding proteins in mutants of cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 that either completely lack LPOR or possess low levels of the active enzyme due to its ectopic regulatable expression. The LPOR-less mutant grew photoautotrophically in moderate light and contained a maximum of 20 % of the wild-type (WT) Chl level. Both Photosystem II (PSII) and Photosystem I (PSI) were reduced to the same degree. Accumulation of PSII was mostly limited by the synthesis of antennae CP43 and especially CP47 as indicated by the accumulation of reaction center assembly complexes. The phenotype of the LPOR-less mutant was comparable to the strain lacking DPOR that also contained <25 % of the wild-type level of PSII and PSI when cultivated under light-activated heterotrophic growth conditions. However, in the latter case, we detected no reaction center assembly complexes, indicating that synthesis was almost completely inhibited for all Chl-proteins, including the D1 and D2 proteins.

Department of Phototrophic Microorganisms Institute of Microbiology Academy of Sciences Opatovický mlýn Třeboň Czech Republic

See more in PubMed

J Biol Chem. 2008 Feb 1;283(5):2684-92 PubMed

Anal Biochem. 1991 Dec;199(2):223-31 PubMed

Methods Enzymol. 1988;167:747-54 PubMed

J Biol Chem. 2008 Aug 15;283(33):22390-9 PubMed

Plant Cell. 1999 Dec;11(12):2365-77 PubMed

Microbiology (Reading). 2009 Mar;155(Pt 3):989-996 PubMed

Plant Physiol. 1998 Aug;117(4):1205-16 PubMed

Plant Mol Biol. 1996 Jan;30(1):15-37 PubMed

Plant Physiol. 2012 Jan;158(1):476-86 PubMed

Plant Physiol. 1994 Mar;104(3):907-16 PubMed

Plant Mol Biol. 1995 Dec;29(5):933-45 PubMed

J Biol Chem. 2008 Sep 19;283(38):25794-802 PubMed

Trends Plant Sci. 2010 Nov;15(11):614-24 PubMed

Photosynth Res. 2008 May;96(2):121-43 PubMed

Plant Cell Physiol. 1998 Feb;39(2):177-85 PubMed

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Aug 1;90(15):7134-8 PubMed

Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680-5 PubMed

Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2007;58:321-46 PubMed

Plant Physiol. 2000 Mar;122(3):731-6 PubMed

Plant Cell Physiol. 1996 Jun;37(4):411-21 PubMed

Nat Struct Biol. 2003 Jun;10(6):491-2 PubMed

Biochim Biophys Acta. 2007 Jun;1767(6):829-37 PubMed

FEBS Lett. 2012 Feb 3;586(3):211-6 PubMed

J Biol Chem. 2004 Nov 19;279(47):48620-9 PubMed

Biotechniques. 2004 Mar;36(3):398-400 PubMed

Eur J Biochem. 1998 Apr 1;253(1):161-72 PubMed

J Bacteriol. 1990 Sep;172(9):5001-10 PubMed

Plant Mol Biol. 2003 Jan;51(2):225-35 PubMed

Trends Biochem Sci. 2005 Nov;30(11):642-9 PubMed

Plant Cell Physiol. 2010 Apr;51(4):650-63 PubMed

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Oct;71(10):5678-84 PubMed

Plant Physiol. 2009 Feb;149(2):1076-86 PubMed

Proteomics. 2008 Oct;8(19):3974-90 PubMed

BMC Mol Biol. 2009 Aug 07;10:79 PubMed

Photosynth Res. 2004;81(1):1-29 PubMed

Plant Physiol. 2006 Nov;142(3):911-22 PubMed

The biogenesis and maintenance of PSII: Recent advances and current challenges

Isolation of plastids and mitochondria from Chromera velia

A Photosynthesis-Specific Rubredoxin-Like Protein Is Required for Efficient Association of the D1 and D2 Proteins during the Initial Steps of Photosystem II Assembly

New Urea Derivatives Are Effective Anti-senescence Compounds Acting Most Likely via a Cytokinin-Independent Mechanism

Ycf48 involved in the biogenesis of the oxygen-evolving photosystem II complex is a seven-bladed beta-propeller protein

Synthesis of Chlorophyll-Binding Proteins in a Fully Segregated Δycf54 Strain of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803

Lack of Phosphatidylglycerol Inhibits Chlorophyll Biosynthesis at Multiple Sites and Limits Chlorophyllide Reutilization in Synechocystis sp. Strain PCC 6803

Discovery of a chlorophyll binding protein complex involved in the early steps of photosystem II assembly in Synechocystis

Making proteins green; biosynthesis of chlorophyll-binding proteins in cyanobacteria