, 2005). Slime capsules, made up by exopolysaccharides, frequently contain

sulfated polysaccharides ( Poli et al., 2010). Though the holdfast substance is of unknown composition, one can speculate about sulfated polysaccharides being present. Cell material in our study was harvested during exponential phase. In exponential phase, aggregate formation and attachment to solid surfaces are not strongly pronounced. Therefore additional functions mediated by sulfatases are likely. Taking results from stress response studies, life cycle analyses and our study together, sulfatases seem to play diverse roles referring to the metabolism of R. baltica SH1T. Findings relating VE-821 to single sulfatases being expressed under stress conditions,

particular life cycle stages and exposure to sulfated growth substrates suggest a multifunctionality of individual sulfatases. The exceptionally high number of sulfatase genes found in the nine planctomycetal genomes is an outstanding feature of these organisms. Such high numbers are normally only found for e.g., transporter or regulator genes. The bioinformatic analysis of 1120 sulfatases revealed 240 discriminable lineages of exclusively Cys-type group I sulfatases, grouping into 19 major phylogenetic clusters. Only for five of these clusters, reviewed orthologs in other organisms are currently known. A core set of 60 sulfatases occurring in all nine investigated organisms has been identified, which are of unknown function as yet, but represent prime targets selleck chemicals for future experimental analysis. We interpret the huge diversity of sulfatases as a response to the diversity of sulfated compounds in nature

and especially in the marine environment. For R. baltica SH1T, distinct sulfatase expression profiles in cells grown on different sulfated polysaccharides proved a functional link between sulfated polysaccharides and planctomycetal sulfatases. In line with previous studies the constitutive expression of a subset of sulfatases points towards a central PD184352 (CI-1040) role in cellular functions beyond polysaccharide degradation. We would like to express our gratitude to Andreas Ellrott and Emina Karamehmedovic for help during microarray processing and laboratory assistance. We thank Gurvan Michel for detailed information on sulfated polysaccharides in marine environments. Thanks a lot to Florian Battke for straightforward help relating to MayDay. This project was funded by the Max Planck Society, which we gratefully acknowledge. “
“Like Plants, Cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis during the day, a process that provides the primary source of energy for almost all forms of life on Earth. Algae and Cyanobacteria attract more and more attention to production of clean and sustainable energy and other valuable products.