Influence of respiration on photosynthesis in Synechocystis PCC6803 was studied by measuring the redox transients of cytochrome f (cyt f) upon excitation of the cells with repetitive single turnover flashes. Upon the addition of KCN the flash-induced oxidation of cyt f was increased and the rereduction of cyt f+ was accelerated. Dependence of these effects on the concentration of KCN clearly demonstrated the existence of two cyanide-sensitive oxidases interacting with photosynthesis: cyt aa3, which was sensitive to low concentrations of cyanide, and an alternative oxidase, which could be suppressed by using ≥1 mM KCN. The interaction between the photosynthetic and the respiratory electron transport chains was regulated mainly by the activity of the alternative cyanide-sensitive oxidase. The oxidative pathway involving the alternative cyanide-sensitive oxidase was insensitive to salicyl hydroxamic acid and azide. The close resemblance of the inhibition pattern reported here and that described for chlororespiration in algae and higher plants strongly suggest that an oxidase of the same type as the alternative cyanide-sensitive oxidase of cyanobacteria functions as a terminal oxidase in chloroplasts. and C. Büchel, O. Zsíros, G. Garab.
Redox polymer/protein biophotoelectrochemistry was used to analyse forward electron transfer of isolated PSII complexes with natural PsbA-variants. PsbA1- or PsbA3-PSII was embedded in a redox hydrogel that allows diffusion-free electron transfer to the electrode surface and thus measurement of an immediate photocurrent response. The initial photocurrent density of the electrode is up to ~2-fold higher with PsbA1-PSII under all tested light conditions, the most prominent under high-light [2,300 μmol(photon) m-2 s-1] illumination with 5 μA cm-2 for PsbA3-PSII and 9.5 μA cm-2 for PsbA1-PSII. This indicates more efficient electron transfer in low-light-adapted PsbA1-PSII. In contrast, the photocurrent decays faster in PsbA1-PSII under all tested light conditions, which suggests increased stability of high-light-adapted PsbA3-PSII. These results confirm and extend previous observations that PsbA3-PSII has increased P680+/QA- charge recombination and thus less efficient photon-to-charge conversion, whereas PsbA1-PSII is optimised for efficient electron transfer with limited stability., V. Hartmann, A. Ruff, W. Schuhmann, M. Rögner, M. M. Nowaczyk., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The presence of biocrusts changes water infiltration in the Mu Us Desert. Knowledge of the hydraulic properties of biocrusts and parameterization of soil hydraulic properties are important to improve simulation of infiltration and soil water dynamics in vegetation-soil-water models. In this study, four treatments, including bare land with sporadic cyanobacterial biocrusts (BL), lichen-dominated biocrusts (LB), early-successional moss biocrusts (EMB), and latesuccessional moss biocrusts (LMB), were established to evaluate the effects of biocrust development on soil water infiltration in the Mu Us Desert, northwest of China. Moreover, a combined Wooding inverse approach was used for the estimation of soil hydraulic parameters. The results showed that infiltration rate followed the pattern BL > LB > EMB > LMB. Moreover, the LB, EMB, and LMB treatments had significantly lower infiltration rates than the BL treatment. The saturated soil moisture (θs) and shape parameter (αVG) for the EMB and LMB treatments were higher than that for the BL and LB treatments, although the difference among four treatments was insignificant. Water retention increased with biocrust development at high-pressure heads, whereas the opposite was observed at low-pressure heads. The development of biocrusts influences van Genuchten parameters, subsequently affects the water retention curve, and thereby alters available water in the biocrust layer. The findings regarding the parameterization of soil hydraulic properties have important implications for the simulation of eco-hydrological processes in dryland ecosystems.
Thylakoid membranes (TM) of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus were exposed for 30 min to the influence of 0, 10, 100, and 1 000 mM CdCl2 (= Cd0, Cd10, Cd100, and Cd1000). Cd10 and Cd100 caused some increase in activity of photosystem 2, PS2 (H2O → DCPIP), while distinct inhibition was observed with Cd1000. We also observed a similar effect when measuring oxygen evolution (H2O → PBQ + FeCy). Chloroplasts of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) were incubated for 30 min with 0, 15, 30, and 60 mM CdCl2 (= Cd0, Cd15, Cd30, and Cd60). All concentrations studied inhibited the PS2 activity, the effect being stronger with increasing concentration of Cd2+. The photosynthetic oxygen evolution activity was also influenced most distinctly by the highest concentration employed, i.e. Cd60. Electrophoretic analysis of the protein composition of cyanobacterium TM showed chief changes in the molecular mass regions of Mr 29 000 and 116 000, while with spinach chloroplasts the most distinct differences were observed in the regions of Mr 15 000 and 50 000. Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCO) activity in cyanobacterial spheroplasts still remained on the 40 % level in the case of Cd1000, but it decreased down to approx. 2.5 % in the Cd60 sample of spinach chloroplasts. and M. Nováková, E. Matějová, D. Sofrová.
The diversity of freshwater and inland saline planktic cyanoprokaryote microflora (cyanobacteria, cyanophytes) in Mexico depends on the wide variation of the biotopes in this country. There are no detailed studies, describing the planktic cyanoprokaryotic species from this region. This paper lists 51 planktic morphospecies, which were found in various water bodies in central Mexico during May 1992 and March-September 1993. Four new species (Cyanobacterium lineatum, Cyanotetras aerotopa, Anabaena fallax, Cylindrospermopsis taverae) are described, and important species commented. Various species characteristic for various types of reservoirs (volcanic lakes, lakes and artificial reservoirs with diverse trophic levels, hypertrophic pools, saline coastal lakes) were found. Taxonomic and ecological elaborations of the planktic cyanobacteria of Mexico (from an ecological, geographical as well as sanitary point of view – eutrofication, biomass production, toxicity) are urgently needed.
Efficient degradation of damaged D1 during the repair of PSII is carried out by a set of dedicated FtsH proteases in the thylakoid membrane. Here we investigated whether the evolution of FtsH could hold clues to the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. A phylogenetic analysis of over 6000 FtsH protease sequences revealed that there are three major groups of FtsH proteases originating from gene duplication events in the last common ancestor of bacteria, and that the FtsH proteases involved in PSII repair form a distinct clade branching out before the divergence of FtsH proteases found in all groups of anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria. Furthermore, we showed that the phylogenetic tree of FtsH proteases in phototrophic bacteria is similar to that for Type I and Type II reaction centre proteins. We conclude that the phylogeny of FtsH proteases is consistent with an early origin of photosynthetic water oxidation chemistry., S. Shao, T. Cardona, P. J. Nixon., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
Commercial chambers for in vivo gas exchange are usually designed to measure on vascular plants, but not on cryptogams and other organisms forming biological soil crusts (BSCs). We have therefore designed two versions of a chamber with different volumes for determining CO2 exchange with a portable photosynthesis system, for three main purposes: (1) to measure in situ CO2 exchange on soils covered by BSCs with minimal physical and microenvironmental disturbance; (2) to acquire CO2-exchange measurements comparable with the most widely employed systems and methodologies; and (3) to monitor CO2 exchange over time. Different configurations were tested in the two versions of the chamber and fluxes were compared to those measured by four reference commercial chambers: three attached to two respirometers, and a conifer chamber attached to a portable photosynthesis system. Most comparisons were done on biologically crusted soil samples. When using devices in a closed system, fluxes were higher and the relationships to the reference chambers were weaker. Nevertheless, high correlations between our chamber operating in open system and measurements of commercial respiration and photosynthetic chambers were found in all cases (R2 > 0.9), indicating the suitability of the chamber designed for in situ measurements of CO2 gas exchange on BSCs., M. Ladrón De Guevara, R. Lázaro, J. L. Quero, S. Chamizo, F. Domingo., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Two differently coloured strains of the genus Chroococcus were isolated from a cyanobacterial assemblage collected from the stony littoral of a backwater of the Danube River in southern Slovakia. When grown after isolation, both subcultures were similar morphologically and their growth parameters did not differ substantially, but their pigment content (PC: PE and carotenoid ratios), details in their morphology during their life cycles and slime production were different. Identical and different characters of both morphotypes remained stable during cultivation on both agarized and liquid media, even when the cultivation parameters were changed. Both of the subcultures were studied using electron microscopy and almost their complete 16S rRNA genes were sequenced, which showed that in terms of their genetic relationship there was a 96.4% sequence similarity and certain taxonomic interspecific differences between both subcultures were confirmed. The various chromatic modifications recorded in cyanobacteria and their ecological consequences are discussed. The results yielded further data on the changes that occur during the cyanobacterial differentiation processes and their genetic stabilization.
Cyanobacterial NDH-1 interacts with PSI to form NDH-1-PSI supercomplex. CpcG2, a linker protein for the PSI-specific peripheral antenna CpcG2-phycobilisome, is essential for stabilization of the supercomplex. Green light (GL) increased the expression of CpcG2 but had little effect, if any, on the expression of NDH-1 and PSI, when compared to the abundance of these components under red light (RL). The increased expression of CpcG2 intensified the band of NDH-1-PSI supercomplex after blue-native gel electrophoresis of the thylakoid membrane, possibly by stabilizing the supercomplex. The activity of NDH-1-dependent cyclic electron transport around PSI increased when cells grown under RL were transferred to a low intensity GL but was suppressed when cells were grown under high intensities of GL. The functionality of PSI showed the same trend. We thus conclude that GL increases the expression of CpcG2, thereby increasing the abundance of the NDH-1-PSI supercomplex and its activity at low GL but not at higher GL., F. Gao, T. Ogawa, W. Ma., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
The physiological response of plants to triple foliar biofertilization with cyanobacteria and green algae under the conditions of limited use of chemical fertilizers was investigated. Triple foliar biofertilization with intact cells of Microcystis aeruginosa MKR 0105, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, and Chlorella sp. significantly enhanced physiological performance and growth of plants fertilized with a synthetic fertilizer YaraMila Complex (1.0, 0.5, and 0.0 g per plant). This biofertilization increased the stability of cytomembranes, chlorophyll content, intensity of net photosynthesis, transpiration, stomatal conductance, and decreased intercellular CO2 concentration. Applied monocultures augmented the quantity of N, P, K in plants, the activity of enzymes, such as dehydrogenases, RNase, acid or alkaline phosphatase and nitrate reductase. They also improved the growth of willow plants. This study revealed that the applied nontoxic cyanobacteria and green algae monocultures have a very useful potential to increase production of willow, and needed doses of chemical fertilizers can be reduced., M. Grzesik, Z. Romanowska-Duda, H. M. Kalaji., and Obsahuje bibliografii