Discovery
Polyhedral bodies were discovered byArchitecture
Shell proteins
The carboxysome has an outer shell composed of a few thousand protein subunits, with hexameric shell proteins populating the faces and pentameric shell proteins placed at the 12 icosahedral vertices. Proteins known to form the shell have been structurally characterized byScaffold proteins
All carboxysomes contain scaffold proteins that nucleate carboxysome components together during the assembly process. These scaffold proteins are required for carboxysome assembly; without them, carboxysomes do not form. The α-carboxysomal scaffold protein is called CsoS2, and the β-carboxysomal scaffold protein is called CcmM. Though CsoS2 and CcmM have related functions, they have no evolutionary or sequence similarity. Both proteins bind to Rubisco, thereby ensuring that Rubisco gets packaged during carboxysome biogenesis. Remarkably, both proteins bind to Rubisco at a binding site that bridges two large subunits while maintaining contact with the small subunit, ensuring that only the 16-subunit Rubisco holoenzyme is encapsulated. Both CsoS2 and CcmM have repetitive domain structures giving them multi-valent modes of binding. CcmM has three small-subutnit-like (SSUL) domains that bind to Rubisco, and CsoS2 has four N-terminal domain (NTD) repeats that bind Rubisco, making it possible for each single scaffold protein to bind up to 3-4 Rubiscos at a time. CsoS2 has also been shown to bind to shell proteins via its 7 Middle Region (MR) repeats and C-terminal domain (CTD). In α-carboxysomes, the CsoS2 MR repeats have been shown to define the size of the carboxysome.Two types of carboxysomes
There are two types of carboxysomes. Although they may seem similar in appearance, they differ in their protein composition, including the form of RuBisCO they enclose. Furthermore, studies have revealed fundamental differences in their gene organization and possibly their assembly pathway. Based on bioinformatic studies of shell proteins, it appears that the two types of carboxysomes evolved independently.Alpha-carboxysomes
Alpha-carboxysomes (aka α-carboxysomes) are also referred as the ''cso'' type of carboxysome. They contain Form IA RuBisCO; they are found in alpha-cyanobacteria and members of Pseudomonadota (some nitrifying bacteria, some sulfur-oxidizing bacteria such as ''Halothiobacillus neapolitanus'', and some purple bacteria). The alpha-carboxysome was the first bacterial microcompartment to be purified and characterized. Electron microscopy studies on purified alpha-carboxysomes or cell sections containing alpha-carboxysomes revealed that they are typically 100-160 nm in diameter. Common building blocks for the shell of alpha-carboxysomes are called CsoS1A/B/C (BMC-H), CsoS4A/B (BMC-P), and CsoS1D (BMC-T). CsoS4A/B were the first BMC-P proteins to be experimentally demonstrated as minor components of the BMC shell (only 12 pentamers are required to cap the vertices of an icosahedron). CsoS1D is the first BMC-T which has been structurally characterized; it is also the first example of dimerization of two BMC building blocks in a face-to-face fashion to create a tiny cage. The CsoS1D cage has a gated pore at both ends, which is proposed to facilitate the transfer of large metabolites across the shell. In addition to the specific form of RuBisCO, other encapsulated proteins distinguish alpha-carboxysomes from beta-carboxysomes such as scaffold protein CsoS2 and carbonic anhydrase CsoSCA. CsoS2 is an intrinsically disordered protein with an essential role in alpha-carboxysome assembly. It has a very high pI and a unique primary structure with three domains: an N-terminal, a middle- and a C-terminal domain. Repetitive motifs can be identified in all three regions; the N-terminal domain repeats bind to Rubisco, the middle region domains bind to shell proteins, and the c-terminal domain repeats also bind to shell proteins. CsoSCA is a beta-carbonic anhydrase that binds to Rubisco and has been found to be allosterically regulated by the Rubisco substrate, ribulose,1-5,bisphosphate (RuBP) in alpha-cyanobacteria. Studies in ''Halothiobacillus neapolitanus'' have shown that empty shells of normal shape and composition are assembled in carboxysomal RuBisCO-lacking mutants, suggesting that alpha-carboxysome shell biogenesis and enzyme sequestration are two independent, but functionally linked processes. Intriguingly, carboxysomes of ''Halothiobacillus neapolitanus'' have been found to accommodate chimeric and heterologous species of RuBisCO. It is the large subunit of RuBisCO which determines whether the enzyme is sequestered into carboxysomes.Beta-carboxysomes
Beta-carboxysomes (aka β-carboxysomes) are found inPotential uses of the carboxysome in biotechnology
As is the case with other BMCs, the carboxysome is attracting significant attention by researchers for applications in plantCarboxysome reviews (by year)
Carboxysome research expands every year. Published reviews chart the rapid pace of discovery across the broad field of "carboxysomics".See also
* Bacterial microcompartment * BMC domain * RuBisCO * PyrenoidReferences
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