Genes encoding ferredoxins from Anabaena sp. PCC 7937 and Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942: structure and regulation

Abstract

The gene encoding ferredoxin I (petF1) from the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7937 (Anabaena variabilis ATCC 29413) was cloned by low stringency hybridization with the ferredoxin cDNA from the higher plant Silene pratensis. The petF1 gene from the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 (Anacystis nidulans R2) was cloned by low stringency hybridization with the petF1 gene from Anabaena sp. PCC 7937. One copy of the petF genes was detected in both organisms, and a single transcript of about 630 b was found for Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Both the Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 and the Anabaena sp. PCC 7937 petF1 genes contain a 297 bp open reading frame coding for a small acidic protein, consisting of 98 amino-acid residues, with a molecular mass of about 10.5 kDa.The ferredoxin content of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 is strongly reduced under ironlimited growth conditions. The slight decrease in the amount of ferredoxin transcript found under iron limitation does not account for the more severe reduction in ferredoxin protein observed. The main regulation of the ferredoxin content probably is effected at the level of translation and/or degradation. Although ferredoxin expression can be strongly reduced by iron stress, the ferredoxin function seems to be indispensable, as Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 appeared refractory to yield mutants lacking the petF1 gene.