XVI International Botanical Congess

Is flavodoxin a surveillance protein for iron stress and an electron carrier to nitrogenase in Trichodesmium? As a first step to address this question, it is important to isolate the gene and determine whether it is conserved in this genus of cyanobacteria. We used a single-colony PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technique to amplify and clone this gene from an Atlantic North Carolina coastal isolate (IMS101) and the field populations in the southern Pacific Ocean (from 13° 02' S to 36° 14' S in latitude and 161° 01' E to 177° 41' E in longitude). It is shown that this gene is highly conserved between T. erythraeum (IMS101) and T. thiebautii (field populations), and across a wide range of geographic locations for the latter species. Implication of the high conservation of the gene will be discussed.