title: The importance of flavodoxin for environmental stress tolerance in photosynthetic microorganisms and transgenic plants. Mechanism, evolution and biotechnological potential.
abstract: Ferredoxins are electron shuttles harboring iron-sulfur clusters which participate in oxido-reductive pathways in organisms displaying very different lifestyles. Ferredoxin levels decline in plants and cyanobacteria exposed to environmental stress and iron starvation. Flavodoxin is an isofunctional flavoprotein present in cyanobacteria and algae (not plants) which is induced and replaces ferredoxin under stress. Expression of a chloroplast-targeted flavodoxin in plants confers tolerance to multiple stresses and iron deficit. We discuss herein the bases for functional equivalence between the two proteins, the reasons for ferredoxin conservation despite its susceptibility to aerobic stress and for the loss of flavodoxin as an adaptive trait in higher eukaryotes. We also propose a mechanism to explain the tolerance conferred by flavodoxin when expressed in plants.
authors: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR-CONICET), Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas, Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Suipacha 531, S2002LRK Rosario, Argentina.
authors: Anabella F
authors: AF
authors: Lodeyro
authors: Romina D
authors: RD
authors: Ceccoli
authors: Juan J
authors: JJ
authors: Pierella Karlusich
authors: Néstor
authors: N
authors: Carrillo
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001709:Biotechnology; D005418:Flavodoxin / Q000378:metabolism*; D010788:Photosynthesis; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified
chemical_list: D005418:Flavodoxin