Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The Pennsylvania State Univeristy
The Molecular Biology of Cyanobacteria summarizes more than
a decade of progress in analyzing the taxonomy, biochemistry, physiology,
cellular differentiation and developmental biology of cyanobacteria by modern
molecular methods, especially molecular genetics. During this period cyanobacterial
molecular biologists have been "studying those things that cyanobacteria
do well," and they have made cyanobacteria the organisms of choice
for detailed molecular analyses of oxygenic photosynthesis. Part 1 contains
chapters describing the molecular evolution and taxonomy of the cyanobacteria
as well as chapters describing cyanelles and the origins of algal and higher
plant chloroplasts. Also included are chapters describing the picoplanktonic,
oceanic cyanobacteria and prochlorophytes, "the other cyanobacteria."
Part 2 is devoted to a detailed description of structural and functional
aspects of the cyanobacterial photosynthetic apparatus. Included are chapters
on thylakoid membrane organization, phycobiliproteins, and phycobilisomes,
Photosystem I, Photosystem II, the cytochrome b6f complex,
ATP synthase, and soluble electron carriers associated with photosynthetic
electron transport. Structure as it relates to biological function, is heavily
emphasized in this portion of the book. Part 3 describes other important
biochemical processes, including respiration, carbon metabolism, inorganic
carbon uptake and concentration, nitrogen metabolism, tetrapyrrole biosynthesis,
and carotenoid biosynthesis. Part 4 describes the cyanobacterial genetic
systems and gene regulatory phenomena in these organisms. Emphasis is placed
on responses to environmental stimuli, such as light intensity, light wavelength,
temperature, and nutrient availability. Cellular differentiation and development
phenomena, including the formation of heterocysts for nitrogen fixation
and hormogonia for dispersal of organisms in the environment, are described.
The book comprises 28 chapters written by leading experts from Europe,
Israel, Japan and the United States.
The book is intended for graduate students and researchers in the fields
of photosynthesis, microbiology, plant molecular biology, biochemistry,
and biotechnology.
Contents and Contributors
Preface.
Color Plates.
1. Molecular Evolution and Taxonomy of the Cyanobacteria; A. Wilmotte. 2. The Oceanic Cyanobacterial Picoplankton; N.G. Carr, N.H. Mann. 3. Prochlorophytes: The "Other" Cyanobacteria? H.C.P. Matthijs,
G.W.M. van der Staay, L.R. Mur. 4. Molecular Biology of Cyanelles; W. Löfflehardt, H.J. Bohnert. 5. Chloroplast Origins and Evolution; S.E. Douglas. 6. Supramolecular Membrane Organization; E. Gantt. 7. Phycobilisome and Phycobiliprotein Structures; W.A. Sidler. 8. The Use of Cyanobacteria in the Study of the Structure and Function of
Photosystem II; B.A. Barry, R.J. Boerner, J.C. de Paula. 9. The Cytochrome b6f Complex; T. Kallas. 10. Photosystem I in Cyanobacteria; J.H. Golbeck. 11. The F-type ATPase in Cyanobacteria: Pivotal Point in the Evolution
of the Universal Enzyme; W.D. Frasch. 12. Soluble Electron Transfer Catalysts of Cyanobacteria; L.Z. Morand,
R.H. Cheng, D.W. Krogmann, Kwok Ki Ho. 13. Cyanobacterial Respiration; G. Schmetterer. 14. The Biochemistry and Molecular Regulation of Carbon Dioxide Metabolism
in Cyanobacteria; F.R. Tabita. 15. Physiological and Molecular Studies on the Response of Cyanobacteria
to Changes in the Ambient Inorganic Carbon Concentration; A. Kaplan,
R. Schwarz, J. Lieman-Hurwitz, M. Ronen-Tarazi, L. Reinhold. 16. Assimilatory Nitrogen Metabolism and its Regulation; E. Flores,
A. Herrero. 17.Biosynthesis of Cyanobacterial Tetrapyrrole Pigments: Hemes, Chlorophylls
and Phycobilins; S.I. Beale. 18. Carotenoids in Cyanobacteria; J. Hirschberg, D. Chamovitz. 19. Genetic Analysis of Cyanobacteria. T. Thiel. 20. The Transcription Apparatus and the Regulation of Transcription Initiation;
S.E. Curtis, J.A. Martin. 21. The Responses of Cyanobacteria to Environmental Conditions: Light
and Nutrients; A.R. Grossman, M.R. Schaefer, G.G. Chiang, J.L. Collier. 22. Short-Term and Long-Term Adaptation of the Photosynthetic Apparatus:
Homeostatic Properties of Thylakoids; Y. Fujita, A. Murakami, K. Aizawa,
K. Ohki. 23. Light-Responsive Gene Expression and the Biochemistry of the Photosystem
II Reaction Center; S.S. Golden. 24. Thioredoxins in Cyanobacteria: Structure and Redox Regulation of
Enzyme Activity; F.K. Gleason. 25. Iron Deprivation: Physiology and Gene Regulation; N.A. Straus. 26. The Cyanobacterial Heat-Shock Response and the Molecular Chaperones;
R. Webb, L.A. Sherman. 27. Heterocyst Metabolism and Development; C.P. Wolk, A. Ernst, J.
Elhai. 28. Differentiation of Hormogonia and Relationships with Other Biological
Processes; N. Tandeau de Marsac. Organism Index.
Gene and Gene Product Index.
Subject index. Springer (Kluwer Academic Publishers), Dordrecht
1994, 916 pp.
Hardbound USD 335.00/NLG 555.00/GBP 233.00 // ISBN 0-7923-3222-9
Paperback USD 190.00/NLG 300.00/GBP 126.00 .// ISBN 0-7023-3273-3
