Research Projects

Cyanobacteria are evolutionarily adapted to rapidly remodel their metabolism and maintain a stable physiological state in fluctuating environments, making them a desirable host for the synthesis of beneficial metabolites such as biofuel, bioplastic, and pigments. Sigma (σ) factors are the principal regulators of prokaryotic transcription, guiding the RNA polymerase core enzyme to specific promoters of regulons whose products are essential. Genetic manipulation of σ factors imitates natural stress response and guides the synthesis of metabolites, and σ factors serve as links between different metabolic pathways. Deleting σ factor genes causes a more dramatic alteration in metabolic profile for harnessing the synthesis of metabolites. Cyanobacterial genomes possess a large number of alternative σ factors regulating different functions, which cause a complicated molecular crosstalk via functional redundancy, hierarchical cascades, and expression interference. These complex genetic arrangements are critical for their adaptability in diverse environmental circumstances, but their individual roles are difficult to identify. To create a "multiplexed" σ factor library of all four alternative σ factors in novel, fast-growing cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 11901 and characterize their metabolic and proteomic profile, the researchers aim to create a "multiplexed" σ factor library of all four alternative σ factors in Synechococcus sp