{
  "abstract": "Picocyanobacteria drive ocean carbon fixation, and cyanophages reshape host metabolism during infection. In cyanobacteria, the intrinsically disorder Calvin cycle protein 12 (CP12) assembles glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP2) and phosphoribulokinase (PRK) into the inhibitory dark complex, yet how phage CP12 homologs modulate redox-sensitive partners remains unclear. Here, we examined viral CP12 across sequence, structure, and post-translational modification (PTM) complexities to resolve the mechanistic remodeling of dark-complex assembly and regulation. Protein-family analysis of CP12 homologs across diverse lineages showed that viral CP12 preserves interface-dominated positions while shifting partner-facing chemistry toward charged and geometry-modulating features. Matched molecular dynamics simulations (MD) of Prochlorococcus MED4 and cyanophage P-HM2 showed that phage CP12 preserves assembly while strengthening PRK-facing contacts and reducing GAP2-facing interface burial. MED4 redox proteomics identified coordinated cysteine oxidation across CP12 and GAP2 under light disturbance, guiding MD to explore thiol-PTM states. Conformational divergence increased with PTM load and localized mainly to GAP2 modifications. Thiol PTM at GAP2 imposed the largest CP12 binding-energy cost, which P-HM2 CP12 buffered, yielding smaller comparative binding-energy penalties than host CP12. These findings link sequence-driven chemistry to interface dynamics and redox PTM responsiveness to light, defining phage CP12 as a regulatory mimetic that may retune host carbon regulation during infection.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Pacific Northwest National Laboratory"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 20,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "S. Widmann"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Wu"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Nelson"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Mejia-Rodriguez"
    },
    {
      "name": "s. samantray"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Neff"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Feng"
    },
    {
      "name": "X. Li"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Rozum"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. George"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Rigor"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Bohutskyi"
    },
    {
      "name": "N. Boise"
    },
    {
      "name": "H. Kim"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. N. Anderson"
    },
    {
      "name": "W.-J. QIAN"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Olaleye"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Idowu"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Andersen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "M. S. Cheung"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39avfdfz6zx0v.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.10.750766",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750766v1.full",
  "id": "39avfdfz6zx0v",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750766v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "microbiology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212361817",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750766v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-10",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39avfdfz6zx0v.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:34Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.10.750766",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750766v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Cyanophage CP12 Rewires Host Carbon Regulation through Interface Remodeling and Redox Buffering",
  "title_text": "Cyanophage CP12 Rewires Host Carbon Regulation through Interface Remodeling and Redox Buffering",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:34Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/39avfdfz6zx0v",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}