Transplantability of a circadian clock to a noncircadian organism.

Circadian oscillators are posttranslationally regulated and affect gene expression in autotrophic cyanobacteria. Oscillations are controlled by phosphorylation of the KaiC protein, which is modulated by the KaiA and KaiB proteins. However, it remains unclear how time information is transmitted to transcriptional output.

The bacterial carbon-fixing organelle is formed by shell envelopment of preassembled cargo.

Background: Cyanobacteria play a significant role in the global carbon cycle. In Synechococcuselongatus, the carbon-fixing enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) is concentrated into polyhedral, proteinaceous compartments called carboxysomes.

Methodology/principal Findings: Using live cell fluorescence microscopy, we show that carboxysomes are first detected as small seeds of RuBisCO that colocalize with existing carboxysomes.

Spatial and temporal organization of chromosome duplication and segregation in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942.

The spatial and temporal control of chromosome duplication and segregation is crucial for proper cell division. While this process is well studied in eukaryotic and some prokaryotic organisms, relatively little is known about it in prokaryotic polyploids such as Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, which is known to possess one to eight copies of its single chromosome. Using a fluorescent repressor-operator system, S.

Designing biological compartmentalization.

Intracellular organization is a key factor in cell metabolism. Cells have evolved various organizational systems to solve the challenges of toxic pathway intermediates, competing metabolic reactions, and slow turnover rates. Inspired by nature, synthetic biologists have utilized proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids to construct synthetic organizational systems that mimic natural systems.

Spatially ordered dynamics of the bacterial carbon fixation machinery.

Cyanobacterial carbon fixation is a major component of the global carbon cycle. This process requires the carboxysome, an organelle-like proteinaceous microcompartment that sequesters the enzymes of carbon fixation from the cytoplasm. Here, fluorescently tagged carboxysomes were found to be spatially ordered in a linear fashion.