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The cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus is a model organism for the study of circadian rhythms. It is naturally competent for transformation—that is, it takes up DNA from the environment, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we use a genome-wide screen to identify genes required for natural transformation in S. elongatus, including genes encoding a conserved Type IV pilus, genes known to be associated with competence in other bacteria, and others. Pilus biogenesis occurs daily in the morning, while natural transformation is maximal when the onset of darkness coincides with the dusk circadian peak. Thus, the competence state in cyanobacteria is regulated by the circadian clock and can adapt to seasonal changes of day length., The cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus is a model organism for the study of circadian rhythms, and is naturally competent for transformation. Here, Taton et al. identify genes required for natural transformation in this organism, and show that the coincidence of circadian dusk and darkness regulates the competence state in different day lengths.

Filamentous marine cyanobacteria make a variety of bioactive molecules that are produced by polyketide synthases, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, and hybrid pathways that are encoded by large biosynthetic gene clusters. These cyanobacterial natural products represent potential drugs leads; however, thorough pharmacological investigations have been impeded by the limited quantity of compound that is typically available from the native organisms. Additionally, investigations of the biosynthetic gene clusters and enzymatic pathways have been difficult due to the inability to conduct genetic manipulations in the native producers. Here we report a set of genetic tools for the heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters in the cyanobacteria Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and Anabaena (Nostoc) PCC 7120. To facilitate the transfer of gene clusters in both strains, we engineered a strain of Anabaena that contains S. elongatus homologous sequences for chromosomal recombination at a neutral site and devised a CRISPR-based strategy to efficiently obtain segregated double recombinant clones of Anabaena. These genetic tools were used to express the large 28.7 kb cryptomaldamide biosynthetic gene cluster from the marine cyanobacterium Moorena (Moorea) producens JHB in both model strains. S. elongatus did not produce cryptomaldamide, however high-titer production of cryptomaldamide was obtained in Anabaena. The methods developed in this study will facilitate the heterologous expression of biosynthetic gene clusters isolated from marine cyanobacteria and complex metagenomic samples.Abstract Figure

In the heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Anabaena (also Nostoc) sp. strain PCC 7120, the nitrogen-fixation (nif) genes are expressed specifically in heterocysts during the late stages of development. We used gfp-reporter fusions to examine the regulation of the nifH and nifD genes. Plasmid-borne reporter fusions containing up to 500-bp of the nifH upstream region, which extended into the nifU gene, did not show developmentally regulated GFP fluorescence after removal of a nitrogen source from the growth medium, which indicated that sequences essential for transcriptional regulation are outside of the tested regions. Therefore, a gfp-reporter fusion was engineered into the chromosome at the 5′ end of nifD to produce strain AMC1774. This reporter construct at the native locus showed strong developmentally regulated GFP expression in differentiating heterocysts by 18 h after removal of combined nitrogen. We then screened for UV-induced mutants of AMC1774 that differentiated heterocysts but failed to ...

To downregulate gene expression in cyanobacteria, we constructed NOT gate genetic circuits using orthogonal promoters and their cognate repressors regulated translationally by synthetic riboswitches. Four NOT gates were tested and characterized in five cyanobacterial strains using fluorescent reporter-gene assays. In comparison to alternative systems used to downregulate gene expression in cyanobacteria, these NOT gates performed well, reducing YFP reporter expression by 4 to 50-fold. We further evaluated these NOT gates by controlling the expression of the ftsZ gene, which encodes a prokaryotic tubulin homologue that is required for cell division and is essential for Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. These NOT gates would facilitate cyanobacterial genetic engineering or the study of essential cellular processes.

© 2016 The Authors. To facilitate development of synthetic biology tools for genetic engineering of cyanobacterial strains, we constructed pANS-derived self-replicating shuttle vectors that are based on the minimal replication element of the Synechococcus elongatus strain PCC 7942 plasmid pANS. To remove the possibility of homologous recombination events between the shuttle plasmids and the native pANS plasmid, the endogenous pANS was cured through plasmid incompatibility-mediated spontaneous loss. A heterologous toxin-antitoxin cassette was incorporated into the shuttle vectors for stable plasmid maintenance in the absence of antibiotic selection. The pANS-based shuttle vectors were shown to be able to carry a large 20 kb DNA fragment containing a gene cluster for biosynthesis of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid. Based on quantitative PCR analysis, there are about 10 copies of pANS and 3 copies of the large native plasmid pANL per chromosome in S. elongatus. Fluorescence levels of GFP reporter genes in a pANS-based vector were about 2.5-fold higher than when in pANL or integrated into the chromosome. In addition to its native host, pANS-based shuttle vectors were also found to replicate stably in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. There were about 27 copies of a pANS-based shuttle vector, 9 copies of a pDU1-based shuttle vector and 3 copies of an RSF1010-based shuttle vector per genome when these three plasmids coexisted in Anabaena cells. The endogenous pANS from our S. elongatus laboratory strain was cloned in Escherichia coli, re-sequenced and re-annotated to update previously published sequencing data.

We isolated 59 strains of cyanobacteria from the benthic microbial mats of 23 Antarctic lakes, from five locations in two regions, in order to characterize their morphological and genotypic diversity. On the basis of their morphology, the cyanobacteria were assigned to 12 species that included four Antarctic endemic taxa. Sequences of the ribosomal RNA gene were determined for 56 strains. In general, the strains closely related at the 16S rRNA gene level belonged to the same morphospecies. Nevertheless, divergences were observed concerning the diversity in terms of species richness, novelty, and geographical distribution. For the 56 strains, 21 operational taxonomic units (OTUs, defined as groups of partial 16S rRNA gene sequences with more than 97.5% similarity) were found, including nine novel and three exclusively Antarctic OTUs. Sequences of Petalonema cf. involvens and Chondrocystis sp. were determined for the first time. The internally transcribed spacer (ITS) between the 16S and the 23S rRNA genes was sequenced for 33 strains, and similar groupings were observed with the 16S rRNA gene and the ITS, even when the strains were derived from different lakes and regions. In addition, 48 strains were screened for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities, and 17 strains were bioactive against the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, or the fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Cryptococcus neoformans. The bioactivities were not in coincidence with the phylogenetic relationships, but rather were specific to certain strains.

© The Author(s) 2014. Inspired by the developments of synthetic biology and the need for improved genetic tools to exploit cyanobacteria for the production of renewable bioproducts, we developed a versatile platform for the construction of broad-host-range vector systems. This platform includes the following features: (i) an efficient assembly strategy in which modules released from 3 to 4 donor plasmids or produced by polymerase chain reaction are assembled by isothermal assembly guided by short GC-rich overlap sequences. (ii) A growing library of molecular devices categorized in three major groups: (a) replication and chromosomal integration; (b) antibiotic resistance; (c) functional modules. These modules can be assembled in different combinations to construct a variety of autonomously replicating plasmids and suicide plasmids for gene knockout and knockin. (iii) A web service, the CYANO-VECTOR assembly portal, which was built to organize the various modules, facilitate the in silico construction of plasmids, and encourage the use of this system. This work also resulted in the construction of an improved broadhost-range replicon derived from RSF1010, which replicates in several phylogenetically distinct strains including a new experimental model strain Synechocystis sp. WHSyn, and the characterization of nine antibiotic cassettes, four reporter genes, four promoters, and a ribozyme-based insulator in several diverse cyanobacterial strains.

Current cyanobacterial model organisms were not selected for their growth traits or potential for the production of renewable biomass, biofuels, or other products. The cyanobacterium strain BL0902 emerged from a search for strains with superior growth traits. Morphology and 16S rRNA sequence placed strain BL0902 in the genus Leptolyngbya. Leptolyngbya sp. strain BL0902 (hereafter Leptolyngbya BL0902) showed robust growth at temperatures from 22°C to 40°C and tolerated up to 0.5 M NaCl, 32 mM urea, high pH, and high solar irradiance. Its growth rate under outdoor conditions rivaled Arthrospira ("pirulina" strains. Leptolyngbya BL0902 accumulated higher lipid content and a higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids than Arthrospira strains. In addition to these desirable qualities, Leptolyngbya BL0902 is amenable to genetic engineering that is reliable, efficient, and stable. We demonstrated conjugal transfer from Escherichia coli of a plasmid based on RSF1010 and expression of spectinomycin/streptomycin resistance and yemGFP reporter transgenes. Conjugation efficiency was investigated in biparental and triparental matings with and without a "elper"plasmid that carries DNA methyltransferase genes, and with two different conjugal plasmids. We also showed that Leptolyngbya BL0902 is amenable to transposon mutagenesis with a Tn5 derivative. To facilitate genetic manipulation of Leptolyngbya BL0902, a conjugal plasmid vector was engineered to carry a trc promoter upstream of a Gateway recombination cassette. These growth properties and genetic tools position Leptolyngbya BL0902 as a model cyanobacterial production strain. © 2012 Taton et al.

Many genes related to the circadian clock have been discovered and studied in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, the model organism for cyanobacterial circadian rhythms. However, the partners of some known clock components are still unidentified, and undiscovered pathways are predicted to exist that connect the central clock to other cellular functions. Identification of all clock components in S. elongatus is necessary for fully elucidating molecular mechanisms of the cyanobacterial circadian clock, as well as the relationship of the circadian clock to metabolism and other essential cellular activities. We adopted a transposon-mediated in vitro mutagenesis and sequencing strategy to disrupt essentially every locus in the genome and screen each insertional mutant for altered circadian phenotypes in S. elongatus. The completion of the genome sequence by the Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute greatly facilitated our functional genomics project, which is very close to the finish line with 88% of the genome mutagenized and more than 75% of loci screened for circadian function. Among the first 700 genes surveyed, 70 new clock loci were discovered that represent an array of functional categories.

Background Understanding the history of life requires that we understand the transfer of genetic material across phylogenetic boundaries. Detecting genes that were acquired by means other than vertical descent is a basic step in that process. Detection by discordant phylogenies is computationally expensive and not always definitive. Many have used easily computed compositional features as an alternative procedure. However, different compositional methods produce different predictions, and the effectiveness of any method is not well established. Results The ability of octamer frequency comparisons to detect genes artificially seeded in cyanobacterial genomes was markedly increased by using as a training set those genes that are highly conserved over all bacteria. Using a subset of octamer frequencies in such tests also increased effectiveness, but this depended on the specific target genome and the source of the contaminating genes. The presence of high frequency octamers and the GC content of the contaminating genes were important considerations. A method comprising best practices from these tests was devised, the Core Gene Similarity (CGS) method, and it performed better than simple octamer frequency analysis, codon bias, or GC contrasts in detecting seeded genes or naturally occurring transposons. From a comparison of predictions with phylogenetic trees, it appears that the effectiveness of the method is confined to horizontal transfer events that have occurred recently in evolutionary time. Conclusions The CGS method may be an improvement over existing surrogate methods to detect genes of foreign origin.