An in vivo approach to define the role of the LCM, the key polypeptide of cyanobacterial phycobilisomes.

In cyanobacteria, phycobilisomes are regularly arrayed on the surface of the photosynthetic membranes, and their role is to funnel light energy to the underlying photosystem II reaction center. A model has recently been proposed that ascribes to the so-called LCM, a central role in the building up of the phycobilisome, in addition to its role of terminal energy acceptor (Capuano, V., Braux, A.-S., Tandeau de Marsac, N., and Houmard, J. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 7239-7247). The phycobilisomes of Calothrix sp. PCC 7601 are typically of the type found in most cyanobacteria. Those of Synechococcus PCC 7942 (or PCC 6301) differ in having central cores made up of two instead of three cylinders. We have integrated the Calothrix PCC 7601 apcE gene that encodes the LCM into the chromosome of a Synechococcus PCC 7942 strain. We have observed that the heterologous gene is expressed and that the corresponding product carries a bilin-type chromophore and can be detected in the phycobilisome fraction of the Synechococcus strain. Moreover, it is shown that, in agreement with our model, this LCM can direct the formation of phycobilisomes that have three-cylinder cores.