Summary:
Simon Fraser University researchers are cooperating with the Canadian Light Source (CLS) to study how carbon dioxide (CO2) affects cyanobacteria, a type of photosynthetic organism found in water. The researchers hope to apply their findings to the development of novel carbon capture systems and the improvement of human and environmental health. Cyanobacteria are unicellular organisms that multiply rapidly, doubling in number every three hours. They can also fix CO2 twice as efficiently as plants, making them a viable carbon-reduction tool. The researchers were able to view molecular structures and investigate how CO2 attaches to a bacterial protein, identifying one CO2-carboxylated lysine in PII, a metabolic signaling protein. This lysine's CO2-carboxylation decreases the protein's affinity for ATP, revealing a negative molecular regulatory mechanism mediated by CO2.
Here are some of the key points:
Researchers from Simon Fraser University are collaborating with the Canadian Light Source (CLS) to investigate the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) on cyanobacteria, a type of photosynthetic organism found in water.
The researchers believe that by understanding how these organisms perceive and react to CO2, they can develop new carbon capture methods and improve human and environmental health.
Cyanobacteria are unicellular and can grow quickly, doubling in number every three hours. They can fix CO2 twice as efficiently as plants and are one of the largest and most significant groups of bacteria on Earth.
The researchers used a method to stably mimic CO2-carboxylated lysine residues in proteins to study how CO2 binds to bacterial proteins. They identified one CO2-carboxylated lysine in a metabolic signaling protein called PII, which reduces the protein's affinity for ATP.
This research provides insight into a negative molecular control mechanism mediated by CO2 and illuminates a potential avenue for developing improved CO2 capture technologies.
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