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Plant Physiol, May 2001, Vol. 126, pp. 233-243
Nitrogen Starvation-Induced Chlorosis in
Synechococcus PCC 7942. Low-Level Photosynthesis As a
Mechanism of Long-Term Survival1
Jörg
Sauer,
Ulrich
Schreiber,
Roland
Schmid,
Uwe
Völker, and
Karl
Forchhammer*
Institut für Mikrobiologie und Molekularbiologie der
Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32,
35392 Giessen, Germany (J.S., K.F.); Lehrstuhl Botanik I,
Universität Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany (U.S.); Abteilung für Mikrobiologie der
Universität Osnabrück, Barbarastrasse 11, 49069 Osnabrück, Germany (R.S.); and Laboratorium für
Mikrobiologie, Philipps-Universität Marburg and
Max-Planck-Institut für terrestrische Mikrobiologie,
35043 Marburg, Germany (U.V.)
Cells of the non-diazotrophic cyanobacterium
Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 acclimate to nitrogen
deprivation by differentiating into non-pigmented resting cells, which
are able to survive prolonged periods of starvation. In this study, the
physiological properties of the long-term nitrogen-starved cells are
investigated in an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms of maintenance
of viability. Preservation of energetic homeostasis is based on a low
level of residual photosynthesis; activities of photosystem II and
photosystem I were approximately 0.1% of activities of vegetatively
growing cells. The low levels of photosystem I activity were measured by a novel colorimetric assay developed from the activity staining of
ferredoxin:NADP+ oxidoreductase. Photosystem II reaction
centers, as determined by chlorophyll fluorescence measurements,
exhibited normal properties, although the efficiency of light
harvesting was significantly reduced compared with that of control
cells. Long-term chlorotic cells carried out protein synthesis at a
very low, but detectable level, as revealed by in vivo
[35S]methionine labeling and two-dimensional gel
electrophoresis. In conjunction with the very low levels of total
cellular protein contents, this implies a continuous protein turnover
during chlorosis. Synthesis of components of the photosynthetic
apparatus could be detected, whereas factors of the translational
machinery were stringently down-regulated. Beyond the massive loss of
protein during acclimation to nitrogen deprivation, two proteins that were identified as SomA and SomB accumulated due to an induced expression following nitrogen reduction.
1
This work was supported by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant no. Fo195/2-3).
*
Corresponding author; e-mail
Karl.Forchhammer{at}mikro.bio.uni-giessen.de; fax 49-641-9935549.
© 2001 American Society of Plant Physiologists
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