Strains of the Harmful Cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa Differ in Gene Expression and Activity of Inorganic Carbon Uptake Systems at Elevated CO2Levels
ABSTRACTCyanobacteria are generally assumed to be effective competitors at low CO2levels because of their efficient CO2-concentrating mechanism (CCM), and yet how bloom-forming cyanobacteria respond to rising CO2concentrations is less clear. Here, we investigate changes in CCM gene expression at ambient CO2(400 ppm) and elevated CO2(1,100 ppm) in six strains of the harmful cyanobacteriumMicrocystis. All strains downregulatedcmpAencoding the high-affinity bicarbonate uptake system BCT1, whereas both the low- and high-affinity CO2uptake genes were expressed constitutively. Four strains downregulated the bicarbonate uptake genesbicAand/orsbtA, whereas two strains showed constitutive expression of thebicA-sbtAoperon. In one of the latter strains, a transposon insert inbicAcaused lowbicAandsbtAtranscript levels, which made this strain solely dependent on BCT1 for bicarbonate uptake. Activity measurements of the inorganic carbon (Ci) uptake systems confirmed the CCM gene expression results. Interestingly, genes encoding the RuBisCO enzyme, structural carboxysome components, and carbonic anhydrases were not regulated. Hence,Microcystismainly regulates the initial uptake of inorganic carbon, which might be an effective strategy for a species experiencing strongly fluctuating Ciconcentrations. Our results show that CCM gene regulation ofMicrocystisvaries among strains. The observed genetic and phenotypic variation in CCM responses may offer an important template for natural selection, leading to major changes in the genetic composition of harmful cyanobacterial blooms at elevated CO2.