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Analysis of heterologous regulatory and coding regions in algal chloroplasts

  • Applied genetics and molecular biotechnology
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Abstract

The basic photosynthetic apparatus is highly conserved across all photosynthetic organisms, and this conservation can be seen in both protein composition and amino acid sequence. Conservation of regulatory elements also seems possible in chloroplast genes, as many mRNA untranslated regions (UTRs) appear to have similar structural elements. The D1 protein of Photosystem II (psbA gene) is a highly conserved core reaction center protein that shows very similar regulation from cyanobacteria through higher plants. We engineered full and partial psbA genes from a diverse set of photosynthetic organisms into a psbA deficient strain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Analysis of D1 protein accumulation and photosynthetic growth revealed that coding sequences and promoters are interchangeable even between anciently diverged species. On the other hand functional recognition of 5′ UTRs is limited to closely related organisms. Furthermore transformation of heterologous promoters and 5′ UTRs from the atpA, tufA and psbD genes conferred psbA mRNA accumulation but not translation. Overall, our results show that heterologous D1 proteins can be expressed and complement Photosystem II function in green algae, while RNA regulatory elements appear to be very specific and function only from closely related species. Nonetheless, there is great potential for the expression of heterologous photosynthetic coding sequences for studying and modifying photosynthesis in C. reinhardtii chloroplasts.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Science and Research (AFOSR) grant number: FA9550-10-1-0052. SPM is a founder of Sapphire Energy and has an equity position in the company, but none of the data presented here are associated with Sapphire Energy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0368, USA

    Javier A. Gimpel & Stephen P. Mayfield

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  1. Javier A. Gimpel
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  2. Stephen P. Mayfield
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Correspondence to Stephen P. Mayfield.

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Gimpel, J.A., Mayfield, S.P. Analysis of heterologous regulatory and coding regions in algal chloroplasts. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 4499–4510 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4580-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4580-4

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