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Volume 156, Issue 12

DevT (Alr4674), resembling a Ser/Thr protein phosphatase, is essential for heterocyst function in the cyanobacterium sp. PCC 7120 Free

Abstract

Heterocyst-forming cyanobacteria are able to perform oxygenic photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation simultaneously in the same filament, by restricting the highly O-sensitive nitrogenase to specialized cells, the heterocysts. A remarkable change in morphology and metabolism accompanies the differentiation of heterocysts, which only occurs when no source of combined nitrogen is available. In this study, we characterized DevT (Alr4674), a putative protein phosphatase from PCC 7120. Mutants defective in are able to form morphologically mature heterocysts, which however cannot fix N, and the mutant cannot survive without a source of combined nitrogen. DevT shows homology to phosphatases of the PPP family and displays a Mn-dependent phosphatase activity that can be inhibited by phosphatase inhibitors and oxidizing conditions. DevT is constitutively expressed in both vegetative cells and heterocysts, and is not regulated by NtcA. The heterocyst regulator HetR may exert a certain inhibition on the expression of . Under diazotrophic growth conditions, DevT protein accumulates specifically in mature heterocysts. Therefore DevT plays a still unknown role in a late essential step of heterocyst differentiation.

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Keyword(s): DAB, diaminobenzidine , pNPP, p-nitrophenyl phosphate and TTC, 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride
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2010-12-01
2024-04-18
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DevT (Alr4674), resembling a Ser/Thr protein phosphatase, is essential for heterocyst function in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120
Microbiology 156, 3544 (2010); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.043398-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.043398-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.043398-0
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