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Regulating photoprotection improves photosynthetic growth and biomass production in QC-site mutant cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

  • Published:
Photosynthetica

Abstract

We characterized the photosynthetic growth of wild-type (WT) and QC-site mutant cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 grown in a photobioreactor under medium-intensity [~70 μmol(photon) m–2 s–1] and high-intensity [~200 μmol(photon) m–2 s–1] light conditions. Photosynthetic growth rate (the exponential phase) increased about 1.1–1.2 fold for the A16FJ, S28Aβ, and V32Fβ mutant compared with WT cells under medium-intensity light and about 1.2–1.3 fold under high-intensity light. Biomass production increased about 17–20% for A16FJ and S28Aβ mutant cells as compared with WT cells under medium-intensity light and about 14–17% for A16FJ and V32Fβ mutant cells under high-intensity light. The greater photosynthetic growth rate and biomass production of these QC-site mutant cells could be attributed to the increased photosynthesis efficiency and decreased dissipation of wasteful energy from phycobilisomes in mutants vs. WT cells. Our results support that manipulation of photoprotection may improve photosynthesis and biomass production of photosynthetic organisms.

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Abbreviations

Chl:

chlorophyll

Cyt:

cytochrome

Fm :

the maximal fluorescence yield

Fm,dark :

the maximal fluorescence yield in the dark

F0 :

the dark fluorescence yield

HP:

high- potential form

IP:

intermedium potential form

LP:

low-potential form

NPQ:

nonphotochemical fluorescence quenching

OCP:

orange carotenoid proteins

PQ:

plastoquinone

WT:

wild-type control Synechocystis strain constructed in the same manner as site-directed mutants but with no mutation

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan

    J.-Y. Huang, N.-T. Hung, K.-M. Lin, Y.-F. Chiu & H.-A. Chu

Authors
  1. J.-Y. Huang
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  2. N.-T. Hung
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  3. K.-M. Lin
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  4. Y.-F. Chiu
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  5. H.-A. Chu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to H.-A. Chu.

Additional information

Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST 105-2311-B-001-053) and Academia Sinica (to H.A. Chu).

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Huang, JY., Hung, NT., Lin, KM. et al. Regulating photoprotection improves photosynthetic growth and biomass production in QC-site mutant cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Photosynthetica 56, 192–199 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-018-0765-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-018-0765-0

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