Hydrocarbon profiles and phylogenetic analyses of diversified cyanobacterial species

Liu, Aiqiu; Zhu, Tao; Lü, Xuefeng; Song, Lirong

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2013.05.008

Cited by 38 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Branched alkanes have been observed mostly in filamentous cyanobacteria but there are a few reports of branched hydrocarbons in unicellular strains ( Anacystis nidulans , Anacystis cyanea , and Chrocococcus turgidus ) [2], [30], [33]. Expanding this distribution, we show for the first time that the unicellular cyanobacterium G. violaceus PCC 7421 also produces 7-methylheptadecane.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…This latter approach introduces ambiguity concerning these key structural features, and therefore, could contribute to misunderstandings concerning the nature and distribution of hydrocarbon biosynthetic pathways and their evolution. For example, a number of the reported hydrocarbons are inconsistent with either of the known mechanisms of hydrocarbon production, such as naturally derived even chain-length hydrocarbons [30]–[33] despite the expected production of only odd-chain alk(a/e)nes from either the FAAR/ADO or OLS pathways following predicted and the experimentally verified pathway mechanisms [5], [9], [22]. This observation could be explained by either the existence of yet another pathway for alk(a/e)ne biosynthesis, or that the reported even chain alk(a/e)nes have been mis-identified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterization of Cyanobacterial Hydrocarbon Composition and Distribution of Biosynthetic Pathways

et al. 2014

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Cyanobacteria possess the unique capacity to naturally produce hydrocarbons from fatty acids. Hydrocarbon compositions of thirty-two strains of cyanobacteria were characterized to reveal novel structural features and insights into hydrocarbon biosynthesis in cyanobacteria. This investigation revealed new double bond (2- and 3-heptadecene) and methyl group positions (3-, 4- and 5-methylheptadecane) for a variety of strains. Additionally, results from this study and literature reports indicate that hydrocarbon production is a universal phenomenon in cyanobacteria. All cyanobacteria possess the capacity to produce hydrocarbons from fatty acids yet not all accomplish this through the same metabolic pathway. One pathway comprises a two-step conversion of fatty acids first to fatty aldehydes and then alkanes that involves a fatty acyl ACP reductase (FAAR) and aldehyde deformylating oxygenase (ADO). The second involves a polyketide synthase (PKS) pathway that first elongates the acyl chain followed by decarboxylation to produce a terminal alkene (olefin synthase, OLS). Sixty-one strains possessing the FAAR/ADO pathway and twelve strains possessing the OLS pathway were newly identified through bioinformatic analyses. Strains possessing the OLS pathway formed a cohesive phylogenetic clade with the exception of three Moorea strains and Leptolyngbya sp. PCC 6406 which may have acquired the OLS pathway via horizontal gene transfer. Hydrocarbon pathways were identified in one-hundred-forty-two strains of cyanobacteria over a broad phylogenetic range and there were no instances where both the FAAR/ADO and the OLS pathways were found together in the same genome, suggesting an unknown selective pressure maintains one or the other pathway, but not both.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Cyanobacterial Hydrocarbon Composition and Distribution of Biosynthetic Pathways

et al. 2014

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“…Multiple sequence alignment of the 128 AAR amino acid sequences was carried out on the BLAST server. The phylogenetic tree of cyanobacteria based on the AAR amino acid sequences, drawn using NJplot [31], was consistent with that constructed using 16S ribosomal RNA [32]. Multiple sequence alignment of 12 representative AARs was carried out using the Clustal X software [33].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of aldehyde-producing activities of cyanobacterial acyl-(acyl carrier protein) reductases

Kudo

Nawa

Hayashi

et al. 2016

Biotechnol Biofuels

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BackgroundBiosynthesis of alkanes is an attractive way of producing substitutes for petroleum-based alkanes. Acyl-[acyl carrier protein (ACP)] reductase (AAR) is a key enzyme for alkane biosynthesis in cyanobacteria and catalyzes the reduction of fatty acyl-ACP to fatty aldehydes, which are then converted into alkanes/alkenes by aldehyde-deformylating oxygenase (ADO). The amino acid sequences of AARs vary among cyanobacteria. However, their differences in catalytic activity, substrate specificity, and solubility are poorly understood.ResultsWe compared the aldehyde-producing activity, substrate specificity, and solubility of AARs from 12 representative cyanobacteria. The activity is the highest for AAR from Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, followed by AAR from Prochlorococcus marinus MIT 9313. On the other hand, protein solubility is high for AARs from PCC 7942, Microcystis aeruginosa, Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1, Synechococcus sp. RS9917, and Synechococcus sp. CB0205. As a consequence, the amount of alkanes/alkenes produced in Escherichia coli coexpressing AAR and ADO is the highest for AAR from PCC 7942, followed by AARs from BP-1 and MIT 9313. Strikingly, AARs from marine and freshwater cyanobacteria tend to have higher specificity toward the substrates with 16 and 18 carbons in the fatty acyl chain, respectively, suggesting that the substrate specificity of AARs correlates with the type of habitat of host cyanobacteria. Furthermore, mutational analysis identified several residues responsible for the high activity of AAR.ConclusionsWe found that the activity, substrate specificity, and solubility are diverse among various AARs. Our results provide a basis for selecting an AAR sequence suitable for metabolic engineering of bioalkane production while regulating carbon chain length.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13068-016-0644-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…7-Methylheptadecane is a characteristic marker for cyanobacteria (Shiea et al, 1990;Köster et al, 1999). Its most likely source are members of the subclass Nostocophyceae that were often reported to produce isomeric midchain branched alkanes, including 7-methylheptadecane (Shiea et al, 1990;Hajdu et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2013). Nostocophyceae are key members of the photoautotrophic community in the Baltic Sea.…”

Section: Phototrophic Primary Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomarkers in the stratified water column of the Landsort Deep (Baltic Sea)

et al. 2014

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Abstract. The water column of the Landsort Deep, central Baltic Sea, is stratified into an oxic, suboxic, and anoxic zone. This stratification controls the distributions of individual microbial communities and biogeochemical processes. In summer 2011, particulate organic matter was filtered from these zones using an in situ pump. Lipid biomarkers were extracted from the filters to establish water-column profiles of individual hydrocarbons, alcohols, phospholipid fatty acids, and bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs). As a reference, a cyanobacterial bloom sampled in summer 2012 in the central Baltic Sea Gotland Deep was analyzed for BHPs. The biomarker data from the surface layer of the oxic zone showed major inputs from cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, and ciliates, while the underlying cold winter water layer was characterized by a low diversity and abundance of organisms, with copepods as a major group. The suboxic zone supported bacterivorous ciliates, type I aerobic methanotrophic bacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and, most likely, methanogenic archaea. In the anoxic zone, sulfate reducers and archaea were the dominating microorganisms as indicated by the presence of distinctive branched fatty acids: archaeol and pentamethylicosane (PMI) derivatives, respectively. Our study of in situ biomarkers in the Landsort Deep thus provided an integrated insight into the distribution of relevant compounds and describes useful tracers to reconstruct stratified water columns in the geological record.

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Hydrocarbon profiles and phylogenetic analyses of diversified cyanobacterial species

Cited by 38 publications

References 60 publications

Characterization of Cyanobacterial Hydrocarbon Composition and Distribution of Biosynthetic Pathways

Characterization of Cyanobacterial Hydrocarbon Composition and Distribution of Biosynthetic Pathways

Comparison of aldehyde-producing activities of cyanobacterial acyl-(acyl carrier protein) reductases

Biomarkers in the stratified water column of the Landsort Deep (Baltic Sea)

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