Expression and Functional Roles of the Two Distinct NDH-1 Complexes and the Carbon Acquisition Complex NdhD3/NdhF3/CupA/Sll1735 in Synechocystis sp PCC 6803

To investigate the (co)expression, interaction, and membrane location of multifunctional NAD(P)H dehydrogenase type 1 (NDH-1) complexes and their involvement in carbon acquisition, cyclic photosystem I, and respiration, we grew the wild type and specific ndh gene knockout mutants of Synechocystis sp PCC 6803 under different CO2 and pH conditions, followed by a proteome analysis of their membrane protein complexes. Typical NDH-1 complexes were represented by NDH-1L (large) and NDH-1M (medium size), located in the thylakoid membrane. The NDH-1L complex, missing from the DeltaNdhD1/D2 mutant, was a prerequisite for photoheterotrophic growth and thus apparently involved in cellular respiration. The amount of NDH-1M and the rate of P700+ rereduction in darkness in the DeltaNdhD1/D2 mutant grown at low CO2 were similar to those in the wild type, whereas in the M55 mutant (DeltaNdhB), lacking both NDH-1L and NDH-1M, the rate of P700+ rereduction was very slow. The NDH-1S (small) complex, localized to the thylakoid membrane and composed of only NdhD3, NdhF3, CupA, and Sll1735, was strongly induced at low CO2 in the wild type as well as in DeltaNdhD1/D2 and M55. In contrast with the wild type and DeltaNdhD1/D2, which show normal CO2 uptake, M55 is unable to take up CO2 even when the NDH-1S complex is present. Conversely, the DeltaNdhD3/D4 mutant, also unable to take up CO2, lacked NDH-1S but exhibited wild-type levels of NDH-1M at low CO2. These results demonstrate that both NDH-1S and NDH-1M are essential for CO2 uptake and that NDH-1M is a functional complex. We also show that the Na+/HCO3- transporter (SbtA complex) is located in the plasma membrane and is strongly induced in the wild type and mutants at low CO2.