Three putative photosensory light, oxygen or voltage (LOV) domains with distinct biochemical properties from the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

Photochem Photobiol. 2006 Nov-Dec;82(6):1627-33. doi: 10.1562/2006-05-02-RA-888.

Abstract

Light, oxygen or voltage (LOV) domains function as blue-light sensors in the phototropin family of photoreceptors found in plants, algae and bacteria. We detected putative LOV domains (Alr3170-LOV, All2875-LOV and Alr1229-LOV) in the genome of a filamentous cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. These cyanobacterial LOV domains are closely clustered with the known LOV domains. Alr3170-LOV and A112875-LOV carry the conserved cysteine residue unique to the photoactive LOV, whereas Alr1229-LOV does not. We expressed these three LOV domains in Escherichia coli and purified them. In fact, Alr3170-LOV and A112875-LOV that are conserved in Nostoc punctiforme, a related species, bound flavin mononucleotide and showed spectral changes unique to known LOV domains on illumination with blue light. Alr3170-LOV was completely photoreduced and dark reversion was slow, whereas A112875-LOV was slowly photoreduced and dark reversion was rapid. For comparison, AvA112875-LOV in a closely related A. variabilis was also studied as a homolog of A112875-LOV. Finally, we observed that Alr1229-LOV that is not conserved in N. punctiforme showed no flavin binding.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Anabaena / classification
  • Anabaena / metabolism*
  • Anabaena / radiation effects
  • Conserved Sequence
  • Cryptochromes
  • Flavoproteins / chemistry
  • Flavoproteins / genetics
  • Flavoproteins / metabolism*
  • Flavoproteins / radiation effects
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Light
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oxygen / pharmacology
  • Phylogeny
  • Plasmids
  • Sequence Alignment

Substances

  • Cryptochromes
  • Flavoproteins
  • Oxygen