Structure of a Novel Oligosaccharide-Mycosporine-Amino Acid Ultraviolet A/B Sunscreen Pigment from the Terrestrial Cyanobacterium Nostoc commune

Water-soluble UV-A/B-absorbing pigments are secreted by cells of the cosmopolitan terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc commune. The pigments constitute a complex mixture of monomers with molecular masses of up to 1801 Da. Two different chromophores with absorption maxima at 312 and 335 nm are linked to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of biological chemistry 1995-04, Vol.270 (15), p.8536-8539
Main Authors: Böhm, Günter A., Pfleiderer, Wolfgang, Böger, Peter, Scherer, Siegfried
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acids - isolation & purification
Amino Acids - physiology
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cyanobacteria - chemistry
Cyanobacteria - physiology
Molecular Structure
Nostoc commune
Oligosaccharides - isolation & purification
Pigments, Biological - chemistry
Pigments, Biological - isolation & purification
Pigments, Biological - physiology
Radiation Tolerance
Spectrometry, Mass, Fast Atom Bombardment
Ultraviolet Rays
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Summary:Water-soluble UV-A/B-absorbing pigments are secreted by cells of the cosmopolitan terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc commune. The pigments constitute a complex mixture of monomers with molecular masses of up to 1801 Da. Two different chromophores with absorption maxima at 312 and 335 nm are linked to different amino acids and to oligosaccharides consisting of galactose, glucose, xylose, glucuronic acid, and glucosamine. The 335 nm chromophore is a 1,3-diaminocyclohexen derivative, while the chromophore with an absorption maximum at 312 nm is most likely a 3-aminocyclohexen-1-one derivative. These UV-inducible substances are the first mycosporines to be described covalently linked to oligosaccharides. The pigments are located in the extracellular glycan sheath of Nostoc colonies, where they form complexes of extremely high molecular mass that are attached noncovalently to the glycan sheath. Pigments occur in concentrations that permit the cells to attenuate a significant part of incident UV-B radiation.
ISSN:0021-9258
1083-351X
DOI:10.1074/jbc.270.15.8536