NdhL contributes to two critical processes:
Photosynthesis: Facilitates cyclic electron flow around Photosystem I, essential for ATP synthesis in low-nutrient marine environments .
Respiratory Chain: Participates in redox reactions by transferring electrons from NAD(P)H to plastoquinone .
Comparative studies suggest horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events between Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus species, which may explain the widespread distribution of ndhL homologs in marine cyanobacteria .
Biochemical Research: Study of electron transport mechanisms in marine cyanobacteria .
Bioenergy: Engineered into microbial systems for enhanced ATP production .
Environmental Adaptation: Insights into Prochlorococcus’s survival in oligotrophic oceans .
Evolutionary Insights: Phylogenetic analyses reveal that ndhL is part of a core set of 1,273 genes shared across all Prochlorococcus strains, underscoring its essential role .
Ecological Impact: Prochlorococcus contributes ~20% of global photosynthetic oxygen production, with NdhL supporting its dominance in nutrient-poor waters .
Gene Transfer: Evidence of HGT between Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus spp. highlights the enzyme’s evolutionary adaptability .
NDH-1 (NAD(P)H-quinone oxidoreductase subunit L) facilitates electron transfer from an unidentified donor, utilizing FMN and iron-sulfur (Fe-S) centers, to quinones within the respiratory and/or photosynthetic electron transport chain. In this organism, plastoquinone is considered the primary electron acceptor. The enzyme couples this redox reaction to proton translocation, thereby conserving energy within a proton gradient. In cyanobacteria, NDH-1 also plays a crucial role in inorganic carbon concentration.
KEGG: pmm:PMM0570
STRING: 59919.PMM0570