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Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, December 2004, p. 630-638, Vol. 68, No. 4
1092-2172/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.68.4.630-638.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Streamlined Regulation and Gene Loss as Adaptive Mechanisms in Prochlorococcus for Optimized Nitrogen Utilization in Oligotrophic Environments

Jose Manuel García-Fernández,1* Nicole Tandeau de Marsac,2 and Jesús Diez1

Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain,1 Unité des Cyanobactéries, Institut Pasteur (CNRS-URA 2172), Paris, France2

Prochlorococcus is one of the dominant cyanobacteria and a key primary producer in oligotrophic intertropical oceans. Here we present an overview of the pathways of nitrogen assimilation in Prochlorococcus, which have been significantly modified in these microorganisms for adaptation to the natural limitations of their habitats, leading to the appearance of different ecotypes lacking key enzymes, such as nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, or urease, and to the simplification of the metabolic regulation systems. The only nitrogen source utilizable by all studied isolates is ammonia, which is incorporated into glutamate by glutamine synthetase. However, this enzyme shows unusual regulatory features, although its structural and kinetic features are unchanged. Similarly, urease activities remain fairly constant under different conditions. The signal transduction protein PII is apparently not phosphorylated in Prochlorococcus, despite its conserved amino acid sequence. The genes amt1 and ntcA (coding for an ammonium transporter and a global nitrogen regulator, respectively) show noncorrelated expression in Prochlorococcus under nitrogen stress; furthermore, high rates of organic nitrogen uptake have been observed. All of these unusual features could provide a physiological basis for the predominance of Prochlorococcus over Synechococcus in oligotrophic oceans.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de Córdoba, Edificio Severo Ochoa, Planta 1, Campus de Rabanales, 14071-Córdoba, Spain. Phone: 34 957 211075. Fax: 34 957 218592. E-mail: bb1gafej{at}uco.es.

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, December 2004, p. 630-638, Vol. 68, No. 4
1092-2172/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.68.4.630-638.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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