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Identification and characterization of a carboxysomal γ-carbonic anhydrase from the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120

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Abstract

Carboxysomes are proteinaceous microcompartments that encapsulate carbonic anhydrase (CA) and ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco); carboxysomes, therefore, catalyze reversible HCO3 − dehydration and the subsequent fixation of CO2. The N- and C-terminal domains of the β-carboxysome scaffold protein CcmM participate in a network of protein–protein interactions that are essential for carboxysome biogenesis, organization, and function. The N-terminal domain of CcmM in the thermophile Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 is also a catalytically active, redox regulated γ-CA. To experimentally determine if CcmM from a mesophilic cyanobacterium is active, we cloned, expressed and purified recombinant, full-length CcmM from Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 as well as the N-terminal 209 amino acid γ-CA-like domain. Both recombinant proteins displayed ethoxyzolamide-sensitive CA activity in mass spectrometric assays, as did the carboxysome-enriched TP fraction. NstCcmM209 was characterized as a moderately active and efficient γ-CA with a k cat of 2.0 × 104 s−1 and k cat/K m of 4.1 × 106 M−1 s−1 at 25 °C and pH 8, a pH optimum between 8 and 9.5 and a temperature optimum spanning 25–35 °C. NstCcmM209 also catalyzed the hydrolysis of the CO2 analog carbonyl sulfide. Circular dichroism and intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence analysis demonstrated that NstCcmM209 was progressively and irreversibly denatured above 50 °C. NstCcmM209 activity was inhibited by the reducing agent tris(hydroxymethyl)phosphine, an effect that was fully reversed by a molar excess of diamide, a thiol oxidizing agent, consistent with oxidative activation being a universal regulatory mechanism of CcmM orthologs. Immunogold electron microscopy and Western blot analysis of TP pellets indicated that Rubisco and CcmM co-localize and are concentrated in Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 carboxysomes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to G. S. E. and M. S. K. and an NSERC CGSD to C. A.; by a grant from the Australian Research Council to B. M. L. and G. D. P., and by a grant from the U.S.A. National Science Foundation, MCB-1157332, to R. S. R.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, Canada

    Charlotte de Araujo, Dewan Arefeen & George S. Espie

  2. Department of Biology, University of Toronto, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada

    Yohannes Tadesse & George S. Espie

  3. Division of Plant Science, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Benedict M. Long & G. Dean Price

  4. Department of Chemistry, Colgate University, Hamilton, NY, USA

    Roger S. Rowlett

  5. Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

    Matthew S. Kimber

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  1. Charlotte de Araujo
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Correspondence to George S. Espie.

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Fig. S1

Immunogold localization of Rubisco and CcmM in Nostoc PCC 7120. Typical sections of Nostoc PCC 7120 immunolabeled with a, b anti-Rubsico (RbcL/S) antibody and c, d anti-CcmM CT antibody. Protein A coated gold particles (15 nm) were used to visualize the immune-complexes. Carboxysomes are indicated by c. Scale bars represent a, b, d, 100 nm or c 500 nm

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de Araujo, C., Arefeen, D., Tadesse, Y. et al. Identification and characterization of a carboxysomal γ-carbonic anhydrase from the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120. Photosynth Res 121, 135–150 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-014-0018-4

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