Synchronized expression of ftsZ in natural Prochlorococcus populations of the Red Sea

Summary The expression of ftsZ, encoding the initiating protein of the prokaryotic cell division was analysed in natural Prochlorococcus populations in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea. During the seasonal Prochlorococcus bloom in September 2000, picoplankton was collected from the deep chlorophy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental microbiology 2002-11, Vol.4 (11), p.644-653
Main Authors: Holtzendorff, Julia, Marie, Dominique, Post, Anton F., Partensky, Frédéric, Rivlin, Assaf, Hess, Wolfgang R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacterial Proteins - genetics
Base Sequence
Cyanobacteria - cytology
Cyanobacteria - genetics
Cytoskeletal Proteins
Flow Cytometry
Molecular Sequence Data
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
S Phase
Water Microbiology
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Summary:Summary The expression of ftsZ, encoding the initiating protein of the prokaryotic cell division was analysed in natural Prochlorococcus populations in the Gulf of Aqaba, northern Red Sea. During the seasonal Prochlorococcus bloom in September 2000, picoplankton was collected from the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) at 2–4 h intervals over 3 consecutive days. Flow cytometric measurements as well as DNA sequence analyses showed that Prochlorococcus was the dominant photosynthetic organism. Cell densities peaked as high as 1.4 × 105 cells ml−1. This DCM population mainly consisted of brightly red fluorescing Prochlorococcus cells, corresponding to low light‐adapted ‘ecotypes’ (sensu Moore et al., 1998, Nature 393: 464–467). Prochlorococcus populations grew in a highly synchronized fashion with DNA replication in the afternoon and cell division during the night. The ftsZ mRNA level reached maximum values within the replication phase between 14.00 and 16.00 hours, and minimum values between 02.00 and 06.00 hours. Thus, the transcriptional regulation of ftsZ could be a major factor triggering the synchronized cell division of Prochlorococcus populations. This is the first application of quantitative reverse transcriptase‐coupled real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to natural populations of an environmentally relevant marine organism.
ISSN:1462-2912
1462-2920
DOI:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2002.00347.x