Carbonic anhydrases (CA) are zinc-containing metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of CO₂. The three evolutionarily unrelated families of CAs are designated α-, β-, and γ-CA. Aquatic photosynthetic organisms have evolved different forms of CO₂ concentrating mechanisms (CCMs) to aid Rubisco in capturing CO₂ from the surrounding environment. One aspect of all CCMs is the critical roles played by various specially localized extracellular and intracellular CAs. Five CAs have previously been identified in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a green alga with a well-studied CCM. Here we identify a sixth gene encoding a β-type CA. This new β-CA, designated Cah6, is distinct from the two mitochondrial β-CAs in C. reinhardtii. Nucleotide sequence data show that the Cah6 cDNA contains an open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 264 amino acids with a leader sequence likely targeting the protein to the chloroplast stroma. We have fused the Cah6 open reading frame to the coding sequence of maltose-binding protein in a pMal expression vector. The purified recombinant fusion protein is active and was used to partially characterize the Cah6 protein. The purified recombinant fusion protein was cleaved with protease Factor Xa to separate Cah6 from the maltose-binding protein and the purified Cah6 protein was used to raise an antibody. Western blots, immunolocalization studies, and northern blots collectively indicated that Cah6 is constitutively expressed in the stroma of chloroplasts. A possible role for Cah6 in the CCM of C. reinhardtii is proposed.

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are zinc-containing metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible interconversion of CO₂and HCO₃^–. Aquatic photosynthetic organisms have evolved different forms of CO₂-concentrating mechanisms to aid Rubisco in capturing CO₂from the surrounding environment. One aspect of all CO₂-concentrating mechanisms is the critical roles played by various specially localized extracellular and intracellular CAs. There are three evolutionarily unrelated CA families designated α-, β-, and γ-CA. In the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dangeard, eight CAs have now been identified, including three α-CAs and five β-CAs. In addition, C. reinhardtii has another CA-like gene, Glp1 that is similar to known γ-CAs. To characterize these different CA isoforms, some of the CA genes have been overexpressed to determine whether the proteins have CA activity and to generate antibodies for in vivo immunolocalization. The CA proteins Cah3, Cah6, and Cah8, and the γ-CA-like protein, Glp1, have been overexpressed. Cah3, Cah6, and Cah8 have CA activity, but Glp1 does not. At least two of these proteins, Cah3 and Cah6, are localized to the chloroplast. Using immunolocalization and sequence analyses, we have determined that Cah6 is located to the chloroplast stroma and confirmed that Cah3 is localized to the chloroplast thylakoid lumen. Activity assays show that Cah3 is 100 times more sensitive to sulfonamides than Cah6. We present a model on how these two chloroplast CAs might participate in the CO₂-concentrating mechanism of C. reinhardtii. Key words: carbonic anhydrase, CO₂-concentrating mechanism, Chlamydomonas, immunolocalization.

Research seeks to alter the optical characteristics of microalgae in order to improve solar-to-biofuels energy conversion efficiency in mass culture under bright sunlight conditions. This objective is achieved by genetically truncating the size of the light-harvesting chlorophyll arrays that serve to absorb sunlight in the photosynthetic apparatus.

Truncated light-harvesting antenna 1 ( TLA1 ) is a nuclear gene proposed to regulate the chlorophyll (Chl) antenna size in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . The Chl antenna size of the photosystems and the chloroplast ultrastructure were manipulated upon TLA1 gene over-expression and RNAi downregulation. The TLA1 over-expressing lines possessed a larger chlorophyll antenna size for both photosystems and contained greater levels of Chl b per cell relative to the wild type. Conversely, TLA1 RNAi transformants had a smaller Chl antenna size for both photosystems and lower levels of Chl b per cell. Western blot analyses of the TLA1 over-expressing and RNAi transformants showed that modulation of TLA1 gene expression was paralleled by modulation in the expression of light-harvesting protein, reaction centre D1 and D2, and VIPP1 genes. Transmission electron microscopy showed that modulation of TLA1 gene expression impacts the organization of thylakoid membranes in the chloroplast. Over-expressing lines showed well-defined grana, whereas RNAi transformants possessed loosely held together and more stroma-exposed thylakoids. Cell fractionation suggested localization of the TLA1 protein in the inner chloroplast envelope and potentially in association with nascent thylakoid membranes, indicating a role in Chl antenna assembly and thylakoid membrane biogenesis. The results provide a mechanistic understanding of the Chl antenna size regulation by the TLA1 gene.

The Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genomic DNA database contains a predicted open reading frame (ORF-P) without an apparent stop-codon and unknown coding sequence, located in close proximity and immediately upstream of the TLA1 gene (GenBank Accession No. AF534570). The latter was implicated in the regulation of the light-harvesting chlorophyll antenna size of photosynthesis (Tetali et al. Planta 225:813–829, 2007). To provide currently lacking information on ORF-P and its potential participation in TLA1 gene expression, thus in the regulation of the chlorophyll antenna size, genetic and biochemical analyses were undertaken. The coding and UTR regions of the ORF-P were defined and delineated from those of the adjacent TLA1 gene. ORF-P is shown to encode a protein with a distinct RING-like zinc finger domain that is present in numerous eukaryotic proteins, believed to play a role in cellular ubiquitination, leading to regulation of cellular processes like signaling, growth, transcription, and DNA repair. It is further shown that the two genes share a 74-bp overlap between the 3′ UTR region of ORF-P and the 5′ UTR region of TLA1. However, they possess distinct start and stop codons and separate coding sequences, and transcribed as separate mRNAs without any trans-splicing between them. Complementation experiments showed that the TLA1 gene alone is sufficient to rescue the truncated chlorophyll antenna size phenotype of the tla1 mutant. Protein sequence alignments in C. reinhardtii and the colorless microalga Polytomella parva suggested that TLA1 defines the relationship between nucleus and organelle in microalgae, indirectly affecting the development of the chlorophyll antenna size.