Biography

Name:
Email:
Department:
Supervisors:

Anne I. M. Vogel
anne.vogel@ntnu.no
Department of Biotechnology
Martin F. Hohmann-Marriot, NTNU
Hanne C. Winther-Larsen, UiO

Short Description of myself

I started my PhD at NTNU at the end of August 2015. Before that I studied Molecular Life
Sciences at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, including a 7 month internship in New
Zealand. In between my Masters and my Bachelors degree I work one year fulltime as a
student representative in the university council to gain more experience in soft skills such as
communication, project and time management etc. Professionally, I am interested in recent
developments in the area of gene technology, systems biology and molecular biology in
general.
Since I have a Dutch father and a German mother I feel at home in both countries. In my free
time I prefer to read books and play (computer) games. Since I am living in Norway, I also
enjoy the outdoors, e.g. by cycling, walking and skiing. I like travelling and I hope that I can
see more parts of the world during my PhD.

Background
Iron is an essential element for life on earth and is abundant in the earths crust. In marine
environments however, iron is only found in an insoluble, oxidized state called ferric iron (Fe 3+)
which is difficult for micro-organisms to take up. Therefore, biomass production in marine
environments is limited by the presence of iron1,2. Photosynthetic organisms in marine
environments, such as cyanobacteria, rely on photosynthesis as energy source. A part of their
photosynthetic systems, Photosystem I, requires high amounts of iron 3. Consequently,
cyanobacteria need an effective mechanism to take up iron. One of the proposed mechanisms
includes the transport of electrons from the inside of the cyanobacteria to ferric iron present in
the environment which leads to the reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+; the latter form of iron can easily
be taken up by cyanobacteria4.
This raises the question how cyanobacteria manage to transport internal electrons to the
environment. Interestingly, recent research on non-photosynthetic soil bacteria showed that
Type IV pili (nanowires) are capable of donating intracellular electrons to extracellular metal
oxides5,6. Pili are hair-like protein structures attached to the surface of (cyano)bacteria. Based
on the proposed function of nanowires in non-photosynthetic organisms, it was hypothesized
that cyanobacteria can also use their nanowires to take up iron by reducing insoluble Fe 3+ to
soluble Fe2+. Previous experiments suggested that the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC
6803 is capable of using its nanowires for iron acquisition, thereby strengthening the hypothesis
that nanowires mediate electron transport to extracellularly reduce essential metals such as
iron7. However, the exact function, structure and contribution of nanowires in cyanobacteria
remains controversial and there is a need for a model organism to structurally solve the question
how and why nanowires can facilitate iron acquisition.
Aims
The molecular mechanisms and structures involved in iron acquisition will be investigated in
the new cyanobacterium model organism Synechococcus sp. PCC7002. The aim is to validate
or falsify the hypothesis of nanowire-mediated iron acquisition and to investigate if nanowires
are an universal occurrence in cyanobacteria with type IV pili.
Methodology
Wild type Synechococcus sp. PCC7002 and mutants of Synechococcus sp. PCC7002 will be
grown on a wide variety of iron sources and the growth conditions and physiology will be
studied on a molecular, genetic and physical level. Based on the findings, essential genes can
be identified and a characterization of the nanowires functionality in iron uptake can be made.

References
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7.

Martin, J. H. et al. Testing the iron hypothesis in ecosystems of the equatorial Pacific
Ocean. Nature 371, 123129 (1994).

Moore, C. M. et al. Processes and patterns of oceanic nutrient limitation. Nat. Geosci.
6, 701710 (2013).

Sun, J. & Golbeck, J. H. The Presence of the IsiA-PSI Supercomplex Leads to

Enhanced Photosystem I Electron Throughput in Iron-Starved Cells of Synechococcus
sp. PCC 7002. J. Phys. Chem. B 119, 1354959 (2015).

Kranzler, C., Lis, H., Shaked, Y. & Keren, N. The role of reduction in iron uptake
processes in a unicellular, planktonic cyanobacterium. Environ. Microbiol. 13, 29909
(2011).
Gorby, Y. A. et al. Electrically conductive bacterial nanowires produced by
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Reguera, G. et al. Extracellular electron transfer via microbial nanowires. Nature 435,
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Lamb, J. J., Hill, R. E., Eaton-Rye, J. J. & Hohmann-Marriott, M. F. Functional role of

PilA in iron acquisition in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. PLoS One
9, e105761 (2014).