Low-light-adapted Prochlorococcus species possess specific antennae for each photosystem

T. S. Bibby, I. Mary, J. Nield, F. Partensky and J. Barber ()
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T. S. Bibby: South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London
I. Mary: Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique et Université Paris 6
J. Nield: South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London
F. Partensky: Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique et Université Paris 6
J. Barber: South Kensington Campus, Imperial College London

Nature, 2003, vol. 424, issue 6952, 1051-1054

Abstract: Abstract Prochlorococcus, the most abundant genus of photosynthetic organisms1, owes its remarkably large depth distribution in the oceans to the occurrence of distinct genotypes adapted to either low- or high-light niches2,3. The pcb genes, encoding the major chlorophyll-binding, light-harvesting antenna proteins in this genus4, are present in multiple copies in low-light strains but as a single copy in high-light strains5. The basis of this differentiation, however, has remained obscure. Here we show that the moderate low-light-adapted strain Prochlorococcus sp. MIT 9313 has one iron-stress-induced pcb gene encoding an antenna protein serving photosystem I (PSI)—comparable to isiA genes from cyanobacteria6,7—and a constitutively expressed pcb gene encoding a photosystem II (PSII) antenna protein. By comparison, the very low-light-adapted strain SS120 has seven pcb genes encoding constitutive PSI and PSII antennae, plus one PSI iron-regulated pcb gene, whereas the high-light-adapted strain MED4 has only a constitutive PSII antenna. Thus, it seems that the adaptation of Prochlorococcus to low light environments has triggered a multiplication and specialization of Pcb proteins comparable to that found for Cab proteins in plants and green algae8.

Date: 2003
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DOI: 10.1038/nature01933

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