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A single sensor controls large variations in zinc quotas in a marine cyanobacterium.

Alevtina Mikhaylina, Amira Z Ksibe, Rachael Wilkinson, Darbi Smith, Eleanor Marks, James P C Coverdale Orcid Logo, Vilmos Fülöp, David J Scanlan Orcid Logo, Claudia A Blindauer Orcid Logo

Nature Chemical Biology, Volume: 18, Pages: 869 - 877

Swansea University Author: Rachael Wilkinson

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DOI (Published version): 10.1038/s41589-022-01051-1

Abstract

Marine cyanobacteria are critical players in global nutrient cycles that crucially depend on trace metals in metalloenzymes, including zinc for CO fixation and phosphorus acquisition. How strains proliferating in the vast oligotrophic ocean gyres thrive at ultra-low zinc concentrations is currently...

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Published in: Nature Chemical Biology
ISSN: 1552-4469
Published: SpringerNature 2022
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60315
Abstract: Marine cyanobacteria are critical players in global nutrient cycles that crucially depend on trace metals in metalloenzymes, including zinc for CO fixation and phosphorus acquisition. How strains proliferating in the vast oligotrophic ocean gyres thrive at ultra-low zinc concentrations is currently unknown. Using Synechococcus sp. WH8102 as a model we show that its zinc-sensor protein Zur differs from all other known bacterial Zur proteins in overall structure and the location of its sensory zinc site. Uniquely, Synechococcus Zur activates metallothionein gene expression, which supports cellular zinc quotas spanning two orders of magnitude. Thus, a single zinc sensor facilitates growth across pico- to micromolar zinc concentrations with the bonus of banking this precious resource. The resultant ability to grow well at both ultra-low and excess zinc, together with overall lower zinc requirements, likely contribute to the broad ecological distribution of Synechococcus across the global oceans. [Abstract copyright: © 2022. The Author(s).]
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Funders: RCUK | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Grant: BB/M003523/1 Grant: BB/M003523/1 RCUK | Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Grant: NE/I00985X/1 Grant: NE/I00985X/1
Start Page: 869
End Page: 877

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