Abstract
The 5′ region and transcription initiation sites of the psbA-2 and psbA-3 genes of Synechocystis 6803 were determined. The otherwise highly homologous genes were shown to diverge significantly in the 5′ noncoding regions. The transcription start site for the psbA-2 gene was mapped to position — 49 upstream of the coding region and for the psbA-3 gene to position — 88, i.e. 38 by upstream of the psbA-2 transcription start point. Both genes exhibit promoter elements, which conform in sequence and position to Escherichia coli consensus motifs. The two genes share identical — 35 sequences but differ in their — 10 sequences. Primer extension analysis demonstrated that the psbA-2 and psbA-3 genes are differentially expressed, with > 90 % of the total psbA transcripts being produced by the psbA-2 gene and the rest by the psbA-3 gene. Inactivation of the psbA-2 gene resulted in an eightfold up-regulation of the psbA-3 gene. The strikingly higher stability of the psbA transcripts in darkness compared to light, and the accumulation of a specific decay intermediate under dark conditions was reported previously. We show here that this dark-stability applies to both the psbA-2 and psbA-3 transcripts. The psbA-3 transcript did not appear to produce the processed intermediate, arguing for the involvement of the 5′ non-coding region as a determinant in psbA transcript degradation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen J (1992) Protein phosphorylation in regulation of photosynthesis. Biochim Biophys Acta 1098:275–335
Andersson B, Styring S (1991) Photosystem II: Molecular organization, function, and acclimation. In: Lee CP (ed) Current topics in bioenergetics. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 2–81
Bouyoub A, Vernotte C, Astier C (1993) Functional analysis of the two homologous psbA gene copies in Synechocystis PCC 6714 and PCC 6803. Plant Mol Biol 21:249–258
Bustos SA, Schaefer MR, Golden SS (1990) Different and rapid responses of four cyanobacterial psbA transcripts to changes in light intensity. J Bacteriol 172:1998–2004
Gingrich JC, Busby JS, Stirewalt VL, Bryant DA (1988) Genetic analysis of two new mutations resulting in herbicide resistance in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Photosynth Res 16:83–99
Golden SS, Brusslan J, Haselkorn R (1986) Expression of a family of psbA genes encoding a photosystem II polypeptide in the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2. EMBO J 5:2789–2798
Goloubinoff P, Brusslan J, Golden SS, Haselkorn R, Edelman M (1988) Characterization of the photosystem II 32 kDa protein in Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Plant Mol Biol 11:441–447
Hughes JE, Link G (1988) Photoregulation of psbA transcript levels in mustard cotyledons: Photosynth Res 17:57–53
Jansson C, Debus R, Osiewacz HD, Gurevitz M, McIntosh L (1987) Construction of an obligate photoheterotrophic mutant of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Plant Physiol 85:1021–1025
Klein RR, Mullet JE (1987) Control of gene expression during higher plant chloroplast biogenesis. J Biol Chem 262:4341–4348
Lill H, Nelson N (1991) The atp1 and atp2 operons of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Plant Mol Biol 17:641–652
Lundberg U, von Gabain A, Melefors O (1990) Cleavages in the 5′ region of the ompA and bla mRNA control stability: studies with an E. coli mutant altering mRNA stability and novel endoribonuclease. EMBO J 9:2731–2741
Malnoë P, Mayfield SP, Rochaix J-D (1988) Comparative analysis of the biogenesis of photosystem II in the wildtype and Y-1 mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. J Cell Biol 106:609–616
Mattoo AK, Marder JB, Edelman M (1989) Dynamics of the photosystem II reaction center. Cell 56:241–246
Metz J, Nixon P, Diner B (1990) Nucleotide sequence of the psbA-3 gene from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Nucleic Acids Res 18:6715
Mohamed A, Jansson C (1989a) Influence of light on accumulation of photosynthesis-specific transcripts in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Plant Mol Biol 13:693–700
Mohamed A, Jansson C (1989b) Transcriptional light regulation of psbA gene expression in Synechocystis 6803. In: Baltscheffsky M (ed) Current research in photosynthesis, vol 3. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 565–568
Mohamed A, Jansson C (1991) Photosynthetic electron transport controls degradation but not production of psbA transcripts in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Plant Mol Biol 16:891–897
Morden CW, Golden SS (1989) psbA genes indicate common ancestry of prochlorophytes and chloroplasts. Nature 337:382–384
Mulligan B, Schulters N, Chen L, Bogorad L (1984) Nucleotide sequence of a multiple-copy gene for the B protein of photosystem II of a cyanobacterium. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 81:2693–2697
Osiewacz H, McIntosh L (1987) Nucleotide sequence of a member of the psbA gene family from the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Nucleic Acids Res 15:10585
Petersen C (1992) Control of functional mRNA stability in bacteria: Multiple mechanisms of nucleolytic and non-nucleolytic inactivation. Mol Microbiol 6:277–282
Ravnikar PD, Debur R, Sevrinck J, Saetaert P, McIntosh L (1989) Nucleotide sequence of a second psbA gene from the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Nucleic Acids Res 17:3991
Régnier P, Grunberg-Manago M (1990) RNase III cleavages in non-coding leaders of Escherichia coli transcripts control mRNA stability and genetic expression. Biochemie 72:825–834
Schaefer MR, Golden SS (1989a) Differential expression of members of a cyanobacterial psbA gene family in response to light. J Bacteriol 171:3973–3981
Schaefer MR, Golden SS (1989b) Light availability influences the ratio of two forms of D1 in cyanobacterial thylakoids. J Biol Chem 264:7412–7417
Smart LB, McIntosh L (1991) Expression of photosynthesis genes in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: psaA-psaB and psbA transcripts accumulate in dark-grown cells. Plant Mol Biol 17:959–971
Steinmüller K (1992) Nucleotide sequence and expression of the ndhH gene of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Plant Mol Biol 18:135–137
Steínmüller K, Ley AC, Steinmetz AA, Sayre RT, Bogorad L (1989) Characterization of the ndhC-psbG-ORF157/159 operon of maize plastid DNA and of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Mol Gen Genet 216:60–69
Svensson B, Vass I, Cedergren E, Styring S (1990) Structure of donor side components in photosystem II predicted by computer modelling. EMBO J 9:2051–2059
Vermaas WFJ, Williams JGK, Arntzen CJ (1987) Sequencing and modification of psbB, the gene encoding the CP-47 protein of photosystem II, in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Plant Mol Biol 8:317–326
Virgin I, Styring S, Andersson B (1988) Photosystem II disorganization and manganese release after photoinhibition of isolated spinach thylakoid membranes. FEBS Lett 233:408–412
Vrba J, Curtis SE (1989) Characterization of a four-member psbA gene family from the cyanobacterium Anabaena 7120. Plant Mol Biol 14:81–92
Williams JGK (1988) Construction of specific mutations in photosystem II photosynthetic reaction centers by genetic engineering methods in Synechocystis 6803. Methods Enzymol 167:766–778
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by H. Böhme
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mohamed, A., Eriksson, J., Osiewacz, H.D. et al. Differential expression of the psbA genes in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Molec. Gen. Genet. 238, 161–168 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279543
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00279543