Copper-containing plastocyanin used for electron transport by an oceanic diatom

Graham Peers () and Neil M. Price
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Graham Peers: McGill University
Neil M. Price: McGill University

Nature, 2006, vol. 441, issue 7091, 341-344

Abstract: Trading iron for copper Diatoms are responsible for 40% of ocean production and are strongly limited by the lack of iron salts in the sea. The shortage of this important nutrient may explain a surprising discovery: the oceanic diatom Thalassiosira oceanica uses a copper-containing plastocyanin for electron transport. All other chlorophyll c-containing taxa, including coastal diatoms, use the iron-containing cytochrome c6 instead. The use of these metalloproteins matches the availabilities of copper and iron in the ocean, and this new discovery suggests that copper is a potentially important nutrient in the open sea.

Date: 2006
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04630

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