Transition from Anoxygenic to Oxygenic Photosynthesis in a Microcoleus chthonoplastes Cyanobacterial Mat

Abstract

Benthic cyanobacterial mats with the filamentous Microcoleus chthonoplastes as the dominant phototroph grow in oxic hypersaline environments such as Solar Lake, Sinai. The cyanobacteria are in situ exposed to chemical variations between 200 μmol of sulfide liter −1 at night and 1 atm pO 2 during the day. During experimental H 2 S to O 2 transitions the microbial community was shown to shift from anoxygenic photosynthesis, with H 2 S as the electron donor, to oxygenic photosynthesis. Microcoleus filaments could carry out both types of photosynthesis concurrently. Anoxygenic photosynthesis dominated at high sulfide levels, 500 μmol liter −1 , while the oxygenic reaction became dominant when the sulfide level was reduced below 100 to 300 μmol liter −1 (25 to 75 μmol of H 2 S liter −1 ). An increasing inhibition of the oxygenic photosynthesis was observed upon transition to oxic conditions from increasing sulfide concentrations. Oxygen built up within the Microcoleus layer of the mat even under 5 mmol of sulfide liter −1 (500 μmol of H 2 S liter −1 ) in the overlying water. The implications of such a localized O 2 production in a highly reducing environment are discussed in relation to the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis during the Proterozoic era.