title: Photophysiological and photosynthetic complex changes during iron starvation in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.
abstract: Iron is an essential component in many protein complexes involved in photosynthesis, but environmental iron availability is often low as oxidized forms of iron are insoluble in water. To adjust to low environmental iron levels, cyanobacteria undergo numerous changes to balance their iron budget and mitigate the physiological effects of iron depletion. We investigated changes in key protein abundances and photophysiological parameters in the model cyanobacteria Synechococcus PCC 7942 and Synechocystis PCC 6803 over a 120 hour time course of iron deprivation. The iron stress induced protein (IsiA) accumulated to high levels within 48 h of the onset of iron deprivation, reaching a molar ratio of ~42 IsiA : Photosystem I in Synechococcus PCC 7942 and ~12 IsiA : Photosystem I in Synechocystis PCC 6803. Concomitantly the iron-rich complexes Cytochrome b6f and Photosystem I declined in abundance, leading to a decrease in the Photosystem I : Photosystem II ratio. Chlorophyll fluorescence analyses showed a drop in electron transport per Photosystem II in Synechococcus, but not in Synechocystis after iron depletion. We found no evidence that the accumulated IsiA contributes to light capture by Photosystem II complexes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.
authors.forename: Jared M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fraser
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Tulk
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jeans
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Thomas S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Bibby
authors.forename: Amanda M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cockshutt
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D004579:Electron Transport / Q000502:physiology; D005453:Fluorescence; D005470:Fluorometry; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D000090463:Iron Deficiencies; D010788:Photosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; D046939:Synechocystis / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; D002734:Chlorophyll