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Article
Open AccessConfinement in crystal lattice alters entire photocycle pathway of the Photoactive Yellow Protein
Femtosecond time-resolved crystallography (TRC) on proteins enables resolving the spatial structure of short-lived photocycle intermediates. An open question is whether confinement and lower hydration of the p...
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Article
Open AccessUsing osmotic stress to stabilize mannitol production in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803
Mannitol is a C(6) polyol that is used in the food and medical sector as a sweetener and antioxidant, respectively. The sustainable production of mannitol, especially via the direct conversion of CO2 by photosynt...
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Protocol
Development of a Light-Dependent Protein Histidine Kinase
Phosphorylation plays a critical role in facilitating signal transduction in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. Our study introduces a tool for investigation of signal diffusion in a biochemical regulation ...
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Article
Open AccessExploring the low photosynthetic efficiency of cyanobacteria in blue light using a mutant lacking phycobilisomes
The ubiquitous chlorophyll a (Chl a) pigment absorbs both blue and red light. Yet, in contrast to green algae and higher plants, most cyanobacteria have much lower photosynthetic rates in blue than in red light. ...
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Article
Open AccessBlue light reduces photosynthetic efficiency of cyanobacteria through an imbalance between photosystems I and II
Several studies have described that cyanobacteria use blue light less efficiently for photosynthesis than most eukaryotic phototrophs, but comprehensive studies of this phenomenon are lacking. Here, we study t...
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Article
Open AccessSpectrally decomposed dark-to-light transitions in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Photosynthetic activity and respiration share the thylakoid membrane in cyanobacteria. We present a series of spectrally resolved fluorescence experiments where whole cells of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp....
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Article
Open AccessDesign, characterization and in vivo functioning of a light-dependent histidine protein kinase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Helical alignment of the α-helical linker of the LOV (light-oxygen-voltage) domain of YtvA from Bacillus subtilis with the α-helical linker of the histidine-protein kinase domain of the Sln1 kinase of the phospho...
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Article
Open AccessAlignment of microbial fitness with engineered product formation: obligatory coupling between acetate production and photoautotrophic growth
Microbial bioengineering has the potential to become a key contributor to the future development of human society by providing sustainable, novel, and cost-effective production pipelines. However, the sustaine...
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Challenges in the Application of Synthetic Biology Toward Synthesis of Commodity Products by Cyanobacteria via “Direct Conversion”
Cyanobacterial direct conversion of CO2 to several commodity chemicals has been recognized as a potential contributor to support the much-needed sustainable development of human societies. However, the feasibilit...
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Article
Open AccessEthylene production with engineered Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 strains
Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology of cyanobacteria offer a promising sustainable alternative approach for fossil-based ethylene production, by using sunlight via oxygenic photosynthesis, to convert c...
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Article
Open AccessGenetic engineering of Synechocystis PCC6803 for the photoautotrophic production of the sweetener erythritol
Erythritol is a polyol that is used in the food and beverage industry. Due to its non-caloric and non-cariogenic properties, the popularity of this sweetener is increasing. Large scale production of erythritol...
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Article
Open AccessSingle-cell screening of photosynthetic growth and lactate production by cyanobacteria
Photosynthetic cyanobacteria are attractive for a range of biotechnological applications including biofuel production. However, due to slow growth, screening of mutant libraries using microtiter plates is not ...
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Article
Open AccessQuantitative proteomics analysis of an ethanol- and a lactate-producing mutant strain of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803
This study aimed at exploring the molecular physiological consequences of a major redirection of carbon flow in so-called cyanobacterial cell factories: quantitative whole-cell proteomics analyses were carried...
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Article
Open AccessExploring metabolic engineering design principles for the photosynthetic production of lactic acid by Synechocystis sp. PCC6803
Molecular engineering of the intermediary physiology of cyanobacteria has become important for the sustainable production of biofuels and commodity compounds from CO2 and sunlight by “designer microbes.” The chem...
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Protocol
On the In Vivo Redox State of Flavin-Containing Photosensory Receptor Proteins
Measured values of the redox midpoint potential of flavin-containing photoreceptor proteins range from physiologically very negative values, i.e., < –300 mV (compared to the calomel electrode) for some LOV dom...
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Article
Tryptophan fluorescence as a reporter for structural changes in photoactive yellow protein elicited by photo-activation
Light-activation of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) is followed by a series of dynamical transitions in the structure of the protein. Tryptophan fluorescence is well-suited as a tool to study selected aspects...
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Article
Is the photoactive yellow protein a UV-B/blue light photoreceptor?
UV light below 300 nm is shown to generate the first photocycle intermediate in the blue light photoreceptor Photoactive Yellow Protein. Fluorescence and ultrafast transient absorption measurements indicate tw...
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Article
Open AccessAlgal Photosynthesis as the Primary Driver for a Sustainable Development in Energy, Feed, and Food Production
High oil prices and global warming that accompany the use of fossil fuels are an incentive to find alternative forms of energy supply. Photosynthetic biofuel production represents one of these since for this, ...
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Chapter
Photoreceptor Proteins from Purple Bacteria
Purple bacteria contain representatives of four of the six main families of photoreceptor proteins: phytochromes, BLUF domain containing proteins, xanthopsins (i.e., photoactive yellow proteins), and phototrop...
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Protocol
Prokaryotic Phototaxis
Microorganisms have various mechanisms at their disposal to react to (changes in) their ambient light climate (i.e., intensity, color, direction, and degree of polarization). Of these, one of the best studied ...