Roles of xanthophyll carotenoids in protection against photoinhibition and oxidative stress in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002

Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 is a robust, genetically tractable cyanobacterium that produces six different xanthophyll carotenoids (zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, myxoxanthophyll (myxol-2′-fucoside), echinenone, 3′-hydroxyechinenone, and synechoxanthin) and tolerates many environmental stresses, including high light intensities. Targeted mutations were introduced to block the branches of the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway leading to specific xanthophylls, and a mutant lacking all xanthophylls was constructed. Some of the mutants showed severe growth defects at high light intensities, and multi-locus mutants had somewhat lower chlorophyll contents and lower photosystem I levels. The results suggested that xanthophylls, particularly zeaxanthin and echinenone, might play regulatory roles in thylakoid biogenesis. Measurements of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species in the mutants showed that all xanthophylls participate in preventing ROS/RNS accumulation and that a mutant lacking all xanthophylls accumulated very high levels of ROS/RNS. Results from transcription profiling showed that mRNA levels for most genes encoding the enzymes of carotenogenesis are significantly more abundant after exposure to high light. These studies indicated that all xanthophylls contribute to protection against photo-oxidative stress.

Research highlights
► Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 synthesizes six xanthophyll carotenoids.
► A xanthophyll-free mutant of Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 is viable.
► Xanthophylls are non-essential but are important for photoprotection.
► All xanthophylls participate in protection against ROS/RNS.
► Transcripts for carotenogenesis genes increase at high light intensity.