NdhM subunit is required for the stability and the function of NAD(P)H dehydrogenase complexes involved in CO2 uptake in synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803

Abstract

The cyanobacterial type I NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (NDH-1) complexes play a crucial role in a variety of bioenergetic reactions such as respiration, CO2 uptake, and cyclic electron transport around photosystem I. Two types of NDH-1 complexes, NDH-1MS and NDH-1MS′, are involved in the CO2 uptake system. However, the composition and function of the complexes still remain largely unknown. Here, we found that deletion of ndhM caused inactivation of NDH-1-dependent cyclic electron transport around photosystem I and abolishment of CO2 uptake, resulting in a lethal phenotype under air CO2 condition. The mutation of NdhM abolished the accumulation of the hydrophilic subunits of the NDH-1, such as NdhH, NdhI, NdhJ, and NdhK, in the thylakoid membrane, resulting in disassembly of NDH-1MS and NDH-1MS′ as well as NDH-1L. In contrast, the accumulation of the hydrophobic subunits was not affected in the absence of NdhM. In the cytoplasm, the NDH-1 subcomplex assembly intermediates including NdhH and NdhK were seriously affected in the ΔndhM mutant but not in the NdhI-deleted mutant ΔndhI. In vitro protein interaction analysis demonstrated that NdhM interacts with NdhK, NdhH, NdhI, and NdhJ but not with other hydrophilic subunits of the NDH-1 complex. These results suggest that NdhM localizes in the hydrophilic subcomplex of NDH-1 complexes as a core subunit and is essential for the function of NDH-1MS and NDH-1MS′ involved in CO2 uptake in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803.