Abstract
The composition, abundance and apparent molecular masses of chlorosome polypeptides from Chlorobium tepidum and Chlorobium vibrioforme 8327 were compared. The most abundant, low-molecular-mass chlorosome polypeptides of both strains had similar electrophoretic mobilities and abundances, but several of the larger proteins were different in both apparent mass and abundance. Polyclonal antisera raised against recombinant chlorosome proteins of Cb. tepidum recognized the homologous proteins in Cb. vibrioforme, and a one-to-one correspondence between the chlorosome proteins of the two species was confirmed. As previously shown [Ormerod et al. (1990) J Bacteriol 172: 1352–1360], acetylene strongly suppressed the synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll c in Cb. vibrioforme strain 8327. No correlation was found between the bacteriochlorophyll c content of cells and the cellular content of chlorosome proteins. Nine of ten chlorosome proteins were detected in acetylene-treated cultures, and the chlorosome proteins were generally present in similar amounts in control and acetylene-treated cells. These results suggest that the synthesis of chlorosome proteins and the assembly of the chlorosome envelope is constitutive. It remains possible that the synthesis of bacteriochlorophyll c and its insertion into chlorosomes might be regulated by environmental parameters such as light intensity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blankenship RE, Olson J and Miller M (1995) Antenna complexes from green photosynthetic bacteria. In: Blankenship RE, Madigan MT and Bauer CE (eds) Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria, pp 399–435. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Blum H, Beier H and Gross HJ (1987) Improved silver staining of plant proteins, RNA and DNA in polyacrylamide gels. Electrophoresis 8: 93–99
Bobe FW, Pfennig N, Swanson KL and Smith KM (1990) Red shift of absorption maxima in chlorobiaceae through enzymic methylation of their antenna bacteriochlorophylls. Biochemistry 29: 4340–4348
Borrego CM and Garcia-Gil LJ (1995) Rearrangement of light-harvesting bacteriochlorophyll homologs as a response of green sulfur bacteria to low-light intensities. Photosynth Res 45: 21–30
Borrego CM, Gerola PD, Miller M and Cox RP (1999) Light intensity effects on pigment composition and organization in the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobium tepidum. Photosynth Res 59: 159–166
Broch-Due M, Ormerod JG and Fjerdingen BS (1978) Effect of light intensity on vesicle formation in Chlorobium. Arch Microbiol 116: 269–74
Chung S and Bryant DA (1996a) Characterization of csmB genes, encoding a 7.5-kDa protein of the chlorosome envelope, from the green sulfur bacteria Chlorobium vibrioforme 8327D and Chlorobium tepidum. Arch Microbiol 166: 234–244
Chung S and Bryant DA (1996b) Characterization of the csmD and csmE genes from Chlorobium tepidum. The CsmA, CsmC, CsmD, and CsmE proteins are components of the chlorosome envelope. Photosynth Res 50: 41–59
Chung S, Frank G, Zuber H and Bryant DA (1994) Genes encoding two chlorosome proteins from the green sulfur bacteria Chlorobium vibrioforme strain 8327D and Chlorobium tepidum. Photosynth Res 41: 261–275
Chung S, Shen G, Ormerod JG and Bryant DA (1998) Insertional inactivation studies of the csmA and csmC genes of the green sulfur bacteria Chlorobium vibrioforme 8327: The chlorosome protein CsmA is required for viability but CsmC is dispensable. FEMS Microbiol Lett 164: 353–361
Feick RG and Fuller RC (1984) Topography of the photosynthetic apparatus of Chloroflexus aurantiacus. Biochemistry 23: 3693–3700
Feick RG, Fitzpatrick M and Fuller RC (1982) Isolation and characterization of cytoplasmic membranes and chlorosomes from the green bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. J Bacteriol 150: 905–915
Feick R, Shiozawa JA and Ertlmaier A (1995) Biochemical and spectroscopic properties of the reaction center of the green filamentous bacterium, Chloroflexus aurantiacus. In: Blankenship RE, Madigan MT and Bauer CE (eds) Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria, pp 699–708. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Foidl M, Golecki JR and Oelze J (1994) Bacteriochlorophyll c formation and chlorosome development in Chloroflexus aurantiacus Photosynth Res 41: 145–150
Foidl M, Golecki JR and Oelze J (1998) Chlorosome development in Chloroflexus aurantiacus Photosynth Res 55: 109–114
Fuhrmann S, Overmann J, Pfenning N and Fischer U (1993) Influence of vitamin B12 and light on the formation of chlorosomes in green-and brown-colored Chlorobium species. Arch Microbiol 160: 193–198
Gerola PD, Højrup P, Knudsen J, Roepstroff P and Olson JM (1988) The bacteriochlorophyll c-binding protein from chlorosomes of Chlorobium limicola f. thiosulfatophilum. In: Olson JM, Ormerod JG, Amesz J, Stakebrandt E and Truper HG (eds) Green Photosynthetic Bacteria, pp 43–52. Plenum, New York
Gerola PD and Olson JM (1986) A new bacteriochlorophyll a-protein complex associated with chlorosomes of green sulfur bacteria. Biochim Biophys Acta 848: 69–76
Golecki JR and Oelze J (1987) Quantitative relationship between bacteriochlorophyll content, cytoplasmic membrane structure and chlorosome size in Chloroflexus aurantiacus Arch Microbiol 148: 236–241
Guyoneaud R, Martinez-Planells A, Buitenhuis ET, Borrego CM and Garcia-Gil LJ (1998) Light-dependent morphological and physiological changes in Prostheocochloris aestuarii In: Garab G (ed) Photosynthesis: Mechanisms and Effects, Vol I, pp 177–180. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Højrup P, Gerola PD, Hansen HF, Mikkelsen JM, Shahed AE, Knudsen J, Roepstroff P and Olson JM (1991) The amino acid sequence of a major protein component in the light harvesting complex of the green photosynthetic bacteria Chlorobium limicola f. thiosulfatophilum. Biochim Biophys Acta 1077: 220–224
Holo H, Broch-Due M and Ormerod JG (1985) Glycolipids and the structure of chlorosomes in green bacteria. Arch Microbiol 143: 94–99
Holt SC, Conti SF and Fuller RC (1966a) Photosynthetic apparatus in the green bacterium Chloropseudomonas ethylicum. J Bacteriol 91: 311–323
Holt SC, Conti SF and Fuller RC (1966b) Effect of light intensity on the formation of the photochemical apparatus in the green bacterium Chloropseudomonas ethylicum. J Bacteriol 91: 349–355
Lehmann RP, Brunisholz RA and Zuber H (1994) Structural differences in chlorosomes from Chloroflexus aurantiacus grown under different conditions support the BChlc c-binding function of the 5.7 kDa polypeptide. FEBS Lett 342: 319–24
Niedermeyer G, Shiozawa JA, Lottspeich F and Feick RG (1994) The primary structure of two chlorosome proteins from Chloroflexus aurantiacus. FEBS Lett 342: 61–65
Oelze J and Golecki JR (1995) Membranes and chlorosomes of green bacteria: structure, composition and development In: Blankenshop RE, Madigan MT and Bauer CE (eds) Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria, pp 259–278. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Olson JM (1998) Chlorophyll organization and function in green photosynthetic bacteria. Photochem Photobiol 67: 61–75
Ormerod JG, Nesbakken T and Beale SI (1990) Specific inhibition of antenna bacteriochlorophyll synthesis in Chlorobium vibrioforme by anesthetic gases. J Bacteriol 172: 1352–1360
Schägger H and van Jagow G (1987) Tricine-sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the separation of proteins in the range from 1 to 100 kDa. Anal Biochem 166: 368–379
Schmidt K, Maarzahl M and Mayer F (1980) Development and pigmentation of chlorosomes in Chloroflexus aurantiacus strain Ok-70-fl. Arch Microbiol 127: 87–97
Sprague SG, Staehelin LA and Fuller RC (1981a) Semiaerobic induction of bacteriochlorophyll synthesis in the green bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. J Bacteriol 147: 1032–1039
Sprague SG, Staehelin LA, DiBartolomeis MJ and Fuller RC (1981b) Isolation and development of chlorosomes in the green bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. J Bacteriol 147: 1021–1031
Stanier RY and Smith JHC (1960) The chlorophylls of green bacteria. Biochim Biophys Acta 41: 478–484
Stolz JF, Fuller RC and Redlinger TE (1990) Pigment-protein diversity in chlorosomes of green phototrophic bacteria. Arch Microbiol 154: 422–427
Studier FW, Rosenberg AH, Dunn JJ and Dubendorff JW (1990). Use of T7 RNA polymerase to direct expression of cloned genes. Meth Enzymol 185: 60–89
Theroux SJ, Redlinger TE, Fuller RC and Robinson SJ (1990) Gene encoding the 5.7-kilodalton chlorosome protein of Chloroflexus aurantiacus: regulated message levels and a predicted carboxyl-terminal protein extension. J Bacteriol 172: 4497–4504
Vassilieva EV and Bryant DA (1998) Selective extraction of proteins from Chlorobium tepidum chlorosomes. In: Garab G (ed) Photosynthesis: Mechanisms and Effects, Vol I, pp 105–108. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands
Vassilieva EV, Frigaard N-U and Bryant DA (2000) Chlorosomes: the light-harvesting complexes of the green bacteria. The Spectrum 13: 7–13
Vassilieva EV, Antonkine ML, Zybailov BL Yang F, Jakobs C, Golbeck JH and Bryant DA (2001) Electron transfer may occur in the chlorosome envelope: the CsmI and CsmJ proteins of chlorosomes are 2Fe-2S ferredoxins. Biochemistry 40: 464–473
Vassilieva EV, Stirewalt VL, Jakobs CU, Frigaard N-U, Baker MA, Sotak AM and Bryant DA (2002) Subcellular localization of chlorosome proteins in Chlorobium tepidum and characterization of three new chlorosome proteins: CsmF, CsmH, and CsmX. Biochemistry (in press)
Wagner-Huber R, Fischer U, Brunisholz R, Rumbeli M, Frank G and Zuber H (1990) The primary structure of the presumable BChld-binding polypeptide of Chlorobium vibrioforme f. thiosulfatorium. Z Naturforsch 45c: 818–822
Wahlund TM, Woese CR, Castenholz RW and Madigan MT (1991) A thermophilic green sulfur bacterium from New Zealand hot springs, Chlorobium tepidum sp. nov. Arch Microbiol 156: 81–90
Wechsler TD, Brunisholz RA, Suter F, Fuller RC and Zuber H (1985) The complete amino acid sequence of a bacteriochlorophyll a-binding polypeptide isolated from the cytoplasmic membrane of the green photosynthetic bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. FEBS Lett 191: 34–38
Wechsler TD, Brunisholz RA, Frank G, Suter F and Zuber H (1987) The complete amino acid sequence of the antenna polypeptide B806–866 β from the cytoplasmic membrane of the green bacterium Chloroflexus aurantiacus. FEBS Lett 210: 189–194
Xiong J, Fischer WM, Inoue K, Nakahara M and Bauer CE (2000) Molecular evidence for the early evolution of photosynthesis. Science 289: 1724–1730
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vassilieva, E.V., Ormerod, J.G. & Bryant, D.A. Biosynthesis of chlorosome proteins is not inhibited in acetylene-treated cultures of Chlorobium vibrioforme . Photosynthesis Research 71, 69–81 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014903630687
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014903630687