Showing papers by "Aaron Kaplan published in 1989"

The 5'-flanking region of the gene encoding the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase is crucial for growth of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 at the level of CO2 in air.

Abstract: Transformation of the high-CO2-requiring mutants (hcr) O221 and E1 derived from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 by a wild-type DNA library restored their ability to grow at the level of CO2 in air. A plasmid (pE12) containing a 10-kilobase DNA insert was rescued from a O221 heterogenote and proved to transform both O221 and E1 to the wild-type phenotype. The capacity of the pE12 subclones to confer the wild-type phenotype to O221 transformants enabled the mapping of the mutation in O221 (designated hcrO221) within a 232-base-pair PstI-BstXI DNA restriction fragment. Sequence analysis revealed two open reading frames (ORFs) at positions -1745 to -1262 (ORFI) and -1218 to -393 (ORFII) upstream of the rbcL gene. A 3-kilobase PstI fragment of O221 was cloned, and hcrO221 was found to be a point mutation within the PstI-BstXI region -1309 nucleotides upstream of the rbcL gene. The significance of this flanking region for adaptation to air levels of CO2 was further demonstrated by the generation of new hcr mutants following insertional inactivation of wild-type DNA in the BstXI site. Electron microscopy revealed aberrant carboxysome structures in growing cells of the hcr mutants, a defect that was possibly related to the mutation, since transformation with pE12 derivatives restored the carboxysome structure to normal.

Nature of the light-induced h efflux and na uptake in cyanobacteria.

Abstract: We investigated the nature of the light-induced, sodium-dependent acidification of the medium and the uptake of sodium by Synechococcus. The rate of acidification (net H(+) efflux) was strongly and specifically stimulated by sodium. The rates of acidification and sodium uptake were strongly affected by the pH of the medium; the optimal pH for both processes being in the alkaline pH range. Net proton efflux was severely inhibited by inhibitors of adenosine triphosphatase activity, energy transfer, and photosynthetic electron transport, but was not affected by the presence of inorganic carbon (C(i)). Light and C(i) stimulated the uptake of sodium, but the stimulation by C(i) was observed only when C(i) was present at the time sodium was provided. Amiloride, a potent inhibitor of Na(+)/H(+) antiport and Na(+) channels, stimulated the rate of acidification but inhibited the rate of sodium uptake. It is suggested that acidification might stem from the activity of a light dependent proton excreting adenosine triphosphatase, while sodium transport seems to be mediated by both Na(+)/H(+) antiport and Na(+) uniport.