Differential expression of the two kdp operons in the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain L-31

Abstract

In several types of bacteria, the Kdp ATPase (comprising of the KdpABC complex) is an inducible, high-affinity potassium transporter that scavenges K⁺ from the environment. The cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain L-31 showed the presence of not one but two distinct kdp operons in its genome. The kdp1 consisted of kdp A1B1G1C1D genes, whereas the kdp2 contained the kdp A2B2G2C2 genes. Among the regulatory genes, the kdpD open reading frame of Anabaena sp. strain L-31 was truncated compared to the kdpD of other bacteria, whereas a kdpE-like gene was absent in the vicinity of the two kdp operons. In response to K⁺ limitation (< 0.05 mM external K⁺), only kdp2 (and not kdp1) expression could be detected as a 5.3-kb transcript on Northern blots, indicating that kdpA2B2G2C2 genes constitute a polycystronic operon. Unlike E. coli, addition of osmolytes like NaCl, or a change in pH of the medium did not enhance the kdp expression in Anabaena sp. strain L-31. Interestingly, the Anabaena sp. strain L-31 kdp2 operon was strongly induced in response to desiccation stress. The addition of K⁺ to K⁺-starved cultures resulted in repression and degradation of kdp2 transcripts. Our results clearly show that kdp2 is the major kdp operon expressed in Anabaena sp. strain L-31 and may play an important role in adaptation to K⁺ limitation and desiccation stress.