Keeping in touch with PII: PII-interacting proteins in unicellular cyanobacteria

Plant Cell Physiol. 2007 Jul;48(7):908-14. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcm072. Epub 2007 Jun 12.

Abstract

PII protein is conserved among bacteria, archaea and plants, and is thought to function as a carbon/nitrogen balance sensor in these organisms. Recently, several proteins that specifically interact with PII, including a PII phosphatase (PphA), an amino acid biosynthetic enzyme (NAGK), a probable membrane channel (PamA) and a small protein (PipX) that also interacts with the nitrogen transcription factor NtcA, have been identified in the unicellular cyanobacteria Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. These findings and subsequent analyses have suggested that PII protein controls carbon and nitrogen metabolism at the gene expression level as well as at the protein activity level. In this review, the functions of PII are envisaged based on functional analyses of the PII-interacting proteins identified in cyanobacteria.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Cyanobacteria / genetics*
  • Cyanobacteria / metabolism*
  • Photosystem II Protein Complex / genetics*
  • Photosystem II Protein Complex / metabolism*
  • Phylogeny
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Photosystem II Protein Complex