Dataset Information

Diversity of the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase form I gene (rbcL) in natural phytoplankton communities.

ABSTRACT: The phytoplankton of the world's oceans play an integral part in global carbon cycling and food webs by conversion of carbon dioxide into organic carbon. They accomplish this task through the action of the Calvin cycle enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). Here we have investigated the phylogenetic diversity in the form I rbcL locus in natural phytoplankton communities of the open ocean and representative clones of marine autotrophic picoplankton by mRNA or DNA amplification and sequencing of a 480 to 483 bp internal fragment of this gene. Five gene sequences were recovered from nucleic acids of natural phytoplankton communities of the Gulf of Mexico. The rbcL genes of two Prochlorococcus isolates and one Synechococcus strain (WH8007) were also sequenced. Sequences were aligned with the database of rbcL genes and subjected to both neighbor-joining and parsimony analyses. The five sequences from the natural phytoplankton community spanned nearly the entire diversity of characterized form I rbcL genes, with some sequences closely related to isolates such as Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus (forms IA and I) and prymnesiophyte algae (form ID), while other sequences were deeply rooted. Unexpectedly, the deep euphotic zone contained an organism that possesses a transcriptionally active rbcL gene closely related to that of a recently characterized manganese-oxidizing bacterium, suggesting that such chemoautotrophs may contribute to the diversity of carbon-fixing organisms in the marine euphotic zone.

SUBMITTER: Pichard SL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC168667 | biostudies-other | 1997 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Diversity of the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase form I gene (rbcL) in natural phytoplankton communities.

Pichard S L SL Campbell L L Paul J H JH

Applied and environmental microbiology 19970901 9

The phytoplankton of the world's oceans play an integral part in global carbon cycling and food webs by conversion of carbon dioxide into organic carbon. They accomplish this task through the action of the Calvin cycle enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). Here we have investigated the phylogenetic diversity in the form I rbcL locus in natural phytoplankton communities of the open ocean and representative clones of marine autotrophic picoplankton by mRNA or DNA amplif ...[more]

PMID: 9293012

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Project description:Carbon dioxide fixation is carried out primarily through the Calvin-Benson-Bassham reductive pentose phosphate cycle, in which ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) is the key enzyme. The primary structure of the large subunit of form I RubisCO is well conserved; however, four distinct types, A, B, C, and D, may be distinguished, with types A and B and types C and D more closely related to one another. To better understand the environmental regulation of RubisCO in Lake Erie phytoplanktonic microorganisms, we have isolated total RNA and DNA from four Lake Erie sampling sites. Probes prepared from RubisCO large-subunit genes (rbcL) of the freshwater cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC6301 (representative of type IB) and the diatom Cylindrotheca sp. strain N1 (representative of type ID) were hybridized to the isolated RNA and DNA. To quantitate rbcL gene expression for each sample, the amount of gene expression per gene dose (i.e., the amount of mRNA divided by the amount of target DNA) was determined. With a limited number of sampling sites, it appeared that type ID (diatom) rbcL gene expression per gene dose decreased as the sampling sites shifted toward open water. By contrast, a similar trend was not observed for cyanobacterial (type IB) rbcL gene expression per gene dose. Complementary DNA specific for rbcL was synthesized from Lake Erie RNA samples and used as a template for PCR amplification of portions of various rbcL genes. Thus far, a total of 21 clones of rbcL genes derived from mRNA have been obtained and completely sequenced from the Ballast Island site. For surface water samples, deduced amino acid sequences of five of six clones appeared to be representative of green algae. In contrast, six of nine sequenced rbcL clones from 10-m-deep samples were of chromophytic and rhodophytic lineages. At 5 m deep, the active CO2-fixing planktonic organisms represented a diverse group, including organisms related to Chlorella ellipsoidea, Cylindrotheca sp. strain N1, and Olisthodiscus luteus. Although many more samplings at diverse sites must be accomplished, the discovery of distinctly different sequences of rbcL mRNA at different water depths suggests that there is a stratification of active CO2-fixing organisms in western Lake Erie.

Dataset Information

Diversity of the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase form I gene (rbcL) in natural phytoplankton communities.

Publications

Diversity of the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase form I gene (rbcL) in natural phytoplankton communities.

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