Homologous overexpression of NpDps2 and NpDps5 increases the tolerance for oxidative stress in the multicellular cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme

The filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme has several oxidative stress-managing systems, including Dps proteins. Dps proteins belong to the ferritin superfamily and are involved in abiotic stress management in prokaryotes. Previously we found that one of the five Dps proteins in N. punctifor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFEMS microbiology letters Vol. 365; no. 18; pp. 1 - 8
Main Authors Li, Xin, Mustila, Henna, Magnuson, Ann, Stensjo, Karin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 15.09.2018
Subjects
Analysis
Binding proteins
Cyanobacteria
Gene expression
Genetic aspects
Identification and classification
Oxidative stress
Properties
Sweden
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Summary:The filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme has several oxidative stress-managing systems, including Dps proteins. Dps proteins belong to the ferritin superfamily and are involved in abiotic stress management in prokaryotes. Previously we found that one of the five Dps proteins in N. punctiforme, NpDps2, was critical for [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] tolerance. Stress induced by high light intensities is aggravated in N. punctiforme strains deficient of either NpDps2, or the bacterioferritin-like NpDps5. Here, we have investigated the capacity of NpDps2 and NpDps5 to enhance stress tolerance by homologous overexpression of these two proteins in N. punctiforme. Both overexpression strains were found to tolerate twice as high concentrations of added [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] as the control strain, indicating that overexpression of either NpDps2 or NpDps5 will enhance the capacity for [H.sub.2][O.sub.2] tolerance. Under high light intensities, the overexpression of the two NpDps did not enhance the tolerance against general light-induced stress. However, overexpression of the heterocyst-specific NpDps5 in all cells of the filament led to a higher amount of chlorophyll-binding proteins per cell during diazotrophic growth. The OENpDps5 strain also showed an increased tolerance to ammonium-induced oxidative stress. Our results provide information of how Dps proteins may be utilised for engineering of cyanobacteria with enhanced stress tolerance.
ISSN:0378-1097
1574-6968
DOI:10.1093/femsle/fnyl98