Spatial Proteome Reorganization of a Photosynthetic Model Cyanobacterium in Response to Abiotic Stresses

Spatial proteome reorganization in response to a changing environment represents a different layer of adaptation mechanism in addition to differential expression of a subset of stress responsive genes in photosynthetic organisms. Profiling such reorganization events is critically important to extend our understanding how photosynthetic organisms adapt to adverse environments. Thus, we treated a unicellular photosynthetic model cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (hereafter referred to as Synechocystis), with five different types of abiotic stresses including nitrogen starvation, iron deficiency, cold, heat, and darkness, and systematically identified proteins showing stress-induced differential expression and/or redistribution between the membrane and the soluble fractions using a quantitative proteomics approach. A number of proteins showing such a redistribution in response to a single or multiple types of abiotic stresses were identified. These include 12 ribosomal proteins displaying unanimous cold-induced redistribution to the membrane and the protein FurA, a master regulator of iron acquisition, displaying iron deficiency- and nitrogen starvation-induced redistribution to the membrane. Such findings shed light on a novel regulatory mechanism underlying the corresponding stress responses, and establish the results in the present study as an important resource for future studies intended to understand how photosynthetic organisms cope with adverse environments.