ISSN:
1574-6968
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
In cyanobacteria the protein on the outside of the gas vesicle, GvpC, is characterised by the presence of a 33 amino acid residue repeat (33RR), which in some genera is highly conserved. The number of 33RR s correlates with the diameter of the gas vesicle and inversely with its strength. Gas vesicles isolated from Microcystis aeruginosa strain PCC 7806 were found to be wider and have a lower critical collapse pressure than those from Microcystis sp. strain BC 8401. The entire gas-vesicle gene cluster of the latter strain was sequenced and compared with the published sequence of the former: the sequences of nine of the ten gvp genes differed by only 1–5% between the two strains; the only substantial difference was in gvpC which in strain BC 8401 lacked a 99-nucleotide section encoding a 33RR. This observation further narrows the correlation of gas vesicle width to the number of 33RR s and suggests how Microcystis strains might be used in experimental manipulation of gas vesicle width and strength.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.femsle.2005.04.026
