FOR 2816:  The Autotrophy-Heterotrophy Switch in Cyanobacteria: Coherent Decision-Making at Multiple Regulatory Layers

• Subject Area: Medicine
• Term: since 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 397695561

Cyanobacteria are the only prokaryotes performing oxygenic photosynthesis. Theyhad and have tremendous influence on the biogeochemical cycles on Earth. Recently,cyanobacteria are increasingly investigated as cell factories for a sustainableeconomy. Despite their global, environmental and rising economic importance, ourknowledge on the regulation of their primary metabolism is fragmented.Cyanobacteria switch between photoautotrophic and heterotrophic modes ofmetabolism during day/night cycles or under specific environmental conditions withthe enzymatic capacity for both life-styles being present in one cell. It is notunderstood how this remarkable metabolic plasticity, which requires coherentdecisions at multiple layers in response to different external and internal signals, isachieved. Our research network aims at answering this major unsolved question. Wewill address the function and control of key enzymes, pathways and regulators of Cmetabolismand their interplay to unveil the (hidden) regulatory layers that organizethe central metabolic routes. Therefore, the consortium, composed of experts withcomplementary skills, will use the model strain Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for anintegrative application of advanced biochemical, transcriptomic, fluxomic, andproteomic methods.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• International Connection: South Africa, USA

Projects

• Control of the cyanobacterial day-night metabolism by a biological clock system (Applicant Wilde, Annegret )
• Coordination Funds (Applicant Forchhammer, Karl )
• Dynamic organization of glycolytic routes and the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle during the autotrophy-heterotrophy switch (Applicant Gutekunst, Kirstin )
• Metabolic regulation of carbon allocation from the CBB cycle under different CO2 supply (Applicant Hagemann, Martin )
• Novel regulators and interactions within the regulatory networks controlling the autotrophy -heterotrophy switch in cyanobacterial carbon metabolism (Applicant Hess, Wolfgang R. )
• Post-translational regulation of autotrophy-to-heterotrophy switch in Synechocystis (Applicant Macek, Boris )
• Regulation of glycogen metabolism in response to the autotrophy-heterotrophy switch in Cyanobacteria (Applicant Forchhammer, Karl )
• (SCyCode): Metabolomics and metabolic flux analyses for probing transitions between heterotrophic and autotrophic growth (Applicant Kopka, Joachim )
• SCyCode - Unraveling the cyanobacterial carbon switch and its regulation using enzyme kinetic analyses and mathematical modeling (Applicant Siebers, Bettina )

• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Karl Forchhammer