Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of the central metabolism of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 under different trophic conditions

Cyanobacteria have received considerable attention as a sustainable energy resource because of their organic material production capacity using light energy and CO2 as a carbon source. Therefore, it is important to understand the cellular metabolism of cyanobacteria for metabolic engineering. In this study, to shed light on the central metabolism of cyanobacteria, we performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of a glucose-tolerant strain of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, which was cultured under auto- and mixotrophic conditions. Our results indicate that the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis are activated under mixotrophic conditions rather than autotrophic conditions. Moreover, we examined the effect of atrazine, a photosynthesis inhibitor, on the metabolism of PCC 6803 under mixotrophic conditions, which was defined as photoheterotrophic conditions, by transcriptomics and metabolomics. We demonstrated that the activity of the glycolytic pathway decreased due to the indirect effect of atrazine. In addition, the difference in transcriptional and metabolic changes between auto- and photoheterotrophic conditions could also be captured. The omics dataset reported herein provides clues for understanding the metabolism of cyanobacteria.