Red and far-red light alter the transcript profile in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: impact of cyanobacterial phytochromes.

Cyanobacteria possess genes encoding phytochrome-related proteins. We used a DNA microarray approach to evaluate the impact of the phytochromes Cph1 and Cph2 on red light (R)- and far-red light (FR)-dependent gene expression in the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. In cells of wild-type and phytochrome mutants, one-fourth of all 3165 annotated putative protein encoding genes was light-responsive. R predominantly enhanced the expression of genes involved in transcription, translation, and photosynthesis, whereas FR upregulated the transcript level of genes known to be inducible by stress. The absence of Cph1 and/or Cph2 altered the light-dependent expression of about 20 genes. Hence, receptor(s) different from the two phytochromes are supposed to trigger the global R/FR alterations of the expression profile.