Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30803160›Full record

ArticleMicrobiologyOpen2019

Glycolipid composition of the heterocyst envelope of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is crucial for diazotrophic growth and relies on the UDP-galactose 4-epimerase HgdA.

Dmitry Shvarev, Carolina N Nishi, Iris Maldener

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in MicrobiologyOpen, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Emergence and evolution of heterocyte glycolipid biosynthesis enabled specialized nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Dmitry ShvarevOrganismic Interactions, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-9776-268X
Carolina N NishiOrganismic Interactions, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Iris MaldenerOrganismic Interactions, Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1784-5638

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The nitrogenase complex in the heterocysts of the filamentous freshwater cyanobacterium Anabaenasp. PCC 7120 fixes atmospheric nitrogen to allow diazotrophic growth. The heterocyst cell envelope protects the nitrogenase from oxygen and consists of a polysaccharide and a glycolipid layer that are formed by a complex process involving the recruitment of different proteins. Here, we studied the function of the putative nucleoside-diphosphate-sugar epimerase HgdA, which along with HgdB and HgdC is essential for deposition of the glycolipid layer and growth without a combined nitrogen source. Using site-directed mutagenesis and single homologous recombination approach, we performed a thoroughly functional characterization of HgdA and confirmed that the glycolipid layer of the hgdAmutant heterocyst is aberrant as shown by transmission electron microscopy and chemical analysis. The hgdA gene was expressed during late stages of the heterocyst differentiation. GFP-tagged HgdA protein localized inside the heterocysts. The purified HgdA protein had UDP-galactose 4-epimerase activity in vitro. This enzyme could be responsible for synthesis of heterocyst-specific glycolipid precursors, which could be transported over the cell wall by the ABC transporter components HgdB/HgdC.

Indexed as

Nitrogen FixationAnabaenaCell WallChemistry Techniques, AnalyticalDNA Mutational AnalysisGlycolipidsHomologous RecombinationMicroscopy, Electron, TransmissionMutagenesis, Site-DirectedUDPglucose 4-EpimeraseGlycolipidsUDPglucose 4-EpimeraseAnabaenasp. PCC 7120cyanobacteriumepimeraseglycolipidsheterocyst differentiationHgdA

Identifiers

PMID30803160
PMCPMC6692557

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.