ABSTRACT
Synechococcus elongatus strain PCC 7942 is an alkaliphilic cyanobacterium that tolerates a relatively high salt concentration as a freshwater microorganism. Its genome sequence revealed seven genes, nha1 to nha7 (syn_pcc79420811, syn_pcc79421264, syn_pcc7942359, syn_pcc79420546, syn_pcc79420307, syn_pcc79422394, and syn_pcc79422186), and the deduced amino acid sequences encoded by these genes are similar to those of Na+/H+ antiporters. The present work focused on molecular and functional characterization of these nha genes encoding Na+/H+ antiporters. Our results show that of the nha genes expressed in Escherichia coli, only nha3 complemented the deficient Na+/H+ antiporter activity of the Na+-sensitive TO114 recipient strain. Moreover, two of the cyanobacterial strains with separate disruptions in the nha genes (Δnha1, Δnha2, Δnha3, Δnha4, Δnha5, and Δnha7) had a phenotype different from that of the wild type. In particular, ΔnhA3 cells showed a high-salt- and alkaline-pH-sensitive phenotype, while Δnha2 cells showed low salt and alkaline pH sensitivity. Finally, the transcriptional profile of the nha1 to nha7 genes, monitored using the real-time PCR technique, revealed that the nha6 gene is upregulated and the nha1 gene is downregulated under certain environmental conditions.
Expression, purification and characterization of an active C491G variant of ferredoxin sulfite reductase from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942
