Variations in the rhythms of respiration and nitrogen fixation in members of the unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterial genus Cyanothece

In order to accommodate the physiologically incompatible processes of photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation within the same cell, unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria have to maintain a dynamic metabolic profile in the light as well as the dark phase of a diel cycle. The transition from the photosynthetic to the nitrogen-fixing phase is marked by the onset of various biochemical and regulatory responses, which prime the intracellular environment for nitrogenase activity. Cellular respiration plays an important role during this transition, quenching the oxygen generated by photosynthesis and by providing energy necessary for the process. Although the underlying principles of nitrogen fixation predict unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria to function in a certain way, significant variations are observed in the diazotrophic behavior of these microbes. In an effort to elucidate the underlying differences and similarities that govern the nitrogen-fixing ability of unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria, we analyzed six members of the genus Cyanothece. Cyanothece sp. ATCC 51142, a member of this genus, has been shown to perform efficient aerobic nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production. Our study revealed significant differences in the patterns of respiration and nitrogen fixation among the Cyanothece spp. strains that were grown under identical culture conditions, suggesting that these processes are not solely controlled by cues from the diurnal cycle but that strain-specific intracellular metabolic signals play a major role. Despite these inherent differences, the ability to perform high rates of aerobic nitrogen fixation and hydrogen production appears to be a characteristic of this genus.