The presence and expression of hetR in the non-heterocystous cyanobacterium Symploca PCC 8002

The filamentous cyanobacteria Symploca PCC 8002 (Symploca) and Trichodesmium spp. fix nitrogen aerobically in the light in a light/dark cycle, without forming specialized thick-walled cells (heterocysts). Even though they do not form heterocysts, we amplified and sequenced a segment of a key regulatory gene in heterocyst differentiation, the hetR gene, from Symploca, Trichodesmium erythraeum and Leptolyngbya PCC 73110 (which fixes nitrogen anaerobically) using degenerate oligonucleotides. The transcriptional level of hetR in Symploca PCC 8002 was examined in relation to nifH expression during nitrogen step-down. The expression pattern of hetR suggests that it was not induced during removal of combined nitrogen, as is the case with the heterocystous cyanobacteria. This is the first report of sequences corresponding to a portion of hetR from within the group of non-heterocystous cyanobacteria.