Group 2 Sigma Factor Mutant δsigCDE of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 Reveals Functionality of Both Carotenoids and Flavodiiron Proteins in Photoprotection of Photosystem II

Adjustment of gene expression during acclimation to stress conditions, such as bright light, in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 depends on four group 2 Sigma factors (SigB, SigC, SigD, SigE). A delta sigCDE strain containing the stress-responsive SigB as the only functional group 2 Sigma factor appears twice as resistant to photoinhibition of photosystem II (PSII) as the control strain. Microarray analyses of the delta sigCDE strain indicated that 77 genes in standard conditions and 79 genes in high light were differently expressed compared with the control strain. Analysis of possible photoprotective mechanisms revealed that high carotenoid content and up-regulation of the photoprotective flavodiiron operon flv4-sll0218-flv2 protected PSII in delta sigCDE, while up-regulation of pgr5-like, hlipB or isiA genes in the mutant strain did not offer particular protection against photoinhibition. Photoinhibition resistance was lost if delta sigCDE was grown in high CO2, where carotenoid and Flv4, Sll0218, and Flv2 contents were low. Additionally, photoinhibition resistance of the delta rpoZ strain (lacking the omega subunit of RNA polymerase), with high carotenoid but low Flv4-Sll0218-Flv2 content, supported the importance of carotenoids in PSII protection. Carotenoids likely protect mainly by quenching of singlet oxygen, but efficient nonphotochemical quenching in delta sigCDE might offer some additional protection. Comparison of photoinhibition kinetics in control, delta sigCDE, and delta rpoZ strains showed that protection by the flavodiiron operon was most efficient during the first minutes of high-light illumination.