gas vesicle

GO:0031411 · Inclusion · Protein shelled organelle · Proposed

A gas-filled, non-membrane-bounded protein organelle, usually shaped as a cylindrical shell with conical end caps. Its gas-permeable, water-excluding wall lowers cell density and enables buoyancy regulation in aquatic microbes. [PMID:8177173]

Synonyms: gas vacuole

Xrefs: uniprot.location:SL-0125 — Gas vesicle MICRO:0000214 — gas vacuole

UniProt location names: UniProt Consortium, CC BY 4.0. Reference label and route sources.

Components

Component	Type	Part of / acts on	Grounding	Genes	Stoichiometry	Essential	Role
major gas vesicle protein GvpA	Protein	part of		gvpA		ESSENTIAL	Forms the ribbed, gas-permeable structural shell. `PMID:22147705` Solid-state NMR supports cross-beta assembly of the GvpA shell.
gas vesicle strengthening protein GvpC	Protein	part of		gvpC		CONDITIONAL	Strengthens the shell against collapse in characterized systems. `PMID:8177173` Walsby reviews GvpC-dependent strengthening.

Taxonomic distribution

NCBITaxon:2 Bacteria — VARIABLE: Occurs in several bacterial phyla, especially aquatic phototrophs. [PMID:8177173]
NCBITaxon:2157 Archaea — VARIABLE: Also occurs in multiple archaeal groups, including haloarchaea. [PMID:8177173]

Canonical examples

NCBITaxon:315271 Dolichospermum flos-aquae CCAP 1403/13F — Source strain for the primary cryo-ET structural study and its public gas-vesicle dataset. [DOI:10.1016/j.str.2023.03.011]

Functions

buoyancy regulation — Changing gas-vesicle content lets aquatic microbes alter vertical position.
- PMID:8177173 Gas vesicles provide buoyancy and enable vertical migration.

Mechanism graphs

GvpA and GvpC build gas-filled buoyancy bodies (FUNCTION)

GvpA polymerizes into a ribbed shell around a hollow, gas-filled lumen, while GvpC reinforces that shell against collapse. The hydrophobic protein wall excludes liquid water, permits gases to enter, and creates low-density vesicles that support buoyancy regulation.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
major gas vesicle protein GvpA	polymerizes into	ribbed GvpA shell	`PMID:22147705` Bayro et al. 2012 used solid-state NMR to support a cross-beta assembly model for GvpA in gas-vesicle shells. `DOI:10.1016/j.str.2023.03.011` Dutka et al. 2023 used cryo-electron tomography of Dolichospermum gas vesicles to resolve a shell assembled from a helical GvpA filament.
ribbed GvpA shell	encloses	gas vesicle	`DOI:10.1016/j.str.2023.03.011` Dutka et al. 2023 resolved the in situ gas-vesicle shell architecture of Dolichospermum flos-aquae.
gas vesicle strengthening protein GvpC	strengthens	ribbed GvpA shell	`PMID:8177173` Walsby 1994 reviews experiments showing that GvpC binds the gas vesicle surface and strengthens cyanobacterial vesicles.
ribbed GvpA shell	maintains	water-excluding gas-filled lumen	`PMID:8177173` Walsby 1994 reviews the liquid-water impermeability and high gas permeability of the gas vesicle wall.
water-excluding gas-filled lumen	enables	buoyancy regulation	`PMID:8177173` Walsby 1994 describes how gas vesicles lower cell density and let aquatic microbes regulate position in the water column.

Accessory Gvp interactions scaffold shell assembly (ASSEMBLY)

Accessory Gvp proteins interact with one another and with the major shell protein during early gas-vesicle biogenesis. In haloarchaea and the Bacillus megaterium pNL29 system, GvpF/GvpL-family proteins help connect the hydrophobic GvpA-family shell subunits with accessory assembly modules that organize growth of the ribbed gas-vesicle wall.

Subject	Predicate	Object	Evidence
GvpF/GvpL-family accessory proteins	organize	accessory Gvp assembly complex	`DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2020.610179` Voelkner, Jost and Pfeifer 2020 combined pull-down and split-GFP assays in Haloferax volcanii to infer a network of interactions among accessory GvpF-through-GvpM proteins.
GvpF/GvpL-family accessory proteins	recruit	major gas vesicle protein GvpA	`DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2020.610179` Voelkner, Jost and Pfeifer 2020 mapped GvpF as the sole clear haloarchaeal accessory-Gvp partner of GvpA in split-GFP tests. `DOI:10.1038/s44318-024-00178-2` Iburg et al. 2024 found that the Bacillus megaterium-derived GvpA2/GvpF contact is masked by other Gvps and reappears when GvpG is removed.
accessory Gvp assembly complex	nucleates	incipient GvpA shell	`DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2020.610179` Voelkner, Jost and Pfeifer 2020 propose that an accessory-Gvp complex acts early in gas-vesicle formation and recruits GvpA through GvpF.
incipient GvpA shell	elongates into	ribbed GvpA shell	`PMID:8177173` Walsby 1994 reviews the model in which gas-vesicle assembly begins from small biconical forms that enlarge into the cylindrical vesicle. `DOI:10.1016/j.str.2023.03.011` Dutka et al. 2023 resolved the Dolichospermum wall as a helical assembly of GvpA filaments.
gas vesicle strengthening protein GvpC	coats	ribbed GvpA shell	`PMID:8177173` Walsby 1994 reviews localization of cyanobacterial GvpC on the outside of the gas-vesicle shell and its role in shell strengthening.
ribbed GvpA shell	matures into	gas vesicle	`DOI:10.1016/j.str.2023.03.011` Dutka et al. 2023 show the continuous GvpA-shell architecture of intact Dolichospermum gas vesicles by cryo-electron tomography.

Datasets

D. flos-aquae Ana GVs (WT) (CryoETDataPortal:10014) · CRYOET_DATA_PORTAL · STRUCTURAL_IMAGING
Organism: NCBITaxon:315271 Dolichospermum flos-aquae CCAP 1403/13F · Platform: cryo-electron tomography
The portal identifies the dataset cell component exactly as GO:0031411 (gas vesicle) across 217 runs.
CryoET Data Portal dataset 10014; canary run 14004 (pda2021-06-24-66), one of 217 portal runs; deposited 2023-10-01T00:00:00+00:00; released 2023-12-01T00:00:00+00:00; last modified 2023-12-01T00:00:00+00:00; related entries: EMD-29922,EMD-29923,EMD-29924,EMD-29925. Public portal submissions are CC0 (https://cryoetdataportal.czscience.com/data-submission-policy). Metadata-only ingest: no tomogram or annotation volume was requested, downloaded or hosted.
- DOI:10.1016/j.str.2023.03.011

Evidence

PMID:8177173 Walsby 1994 comprehensive review.
PMID:22147705 Belenky et al. 2012 structural evidence for the GvpA shell.

Curation history

2026-08-30T19:30:00Z codex · CREATED_RECORD — Added as a literature-backed foundational seed. Identity checked against the 2026-07-01 Gene Ontology release; requires human review.
2026-08-31T03:48:24Z uniprot_sl · ADD_UNIPROT_SL_XREF — Added uniprot.location:SL-0125 (Gas vesicle); mapping read from the GO line of UniProt subcell.txt.
2026-08-31T06:12:34Z claude · SET_COMPONENT_ROLE — component_role became required (#77) so the constituent/machinery distinction is machine-readable rather than prose. Set per component; ASSOCIATED_MACHINERY only where the protein acts on the already-assembled structure.
2026-09-01T20:52:03Z micro_xrefs · ADD_XREF — Added MICRO:0000214 (gas vacuole) as a curator-reviewed identity xref; exact non-obsolete MicrO id and label verified through OLS.
2026-09-02T06:21:09Z codex · ADD_CANONICAL_EXAMPLE — Added the publication-backed Dolichospermum flos-aquae CCAP 1403/13F strain as a canonical gas-vesicle example before CryoET dataset ingestion.
2026-09-02T06:29:03Z cryoet_data_portal · ADD_STRUCTURAL_DATASET — Added CryoET Data Portal dataset 10014 after exact GraphQL resolution of run 14004; required the record's pre-existing exact NCBI taxon and exact GO identity, preserved annotation quality metadata, and stored no imaging volumes.
2026-09-04T01:15:25Z codex · ADD_CAUSAL_GRAPH — Added a FUNCTION graph for GvpA shell formation, GvpC shell strengthening, liquid-water exclusion, gas retention, and buoyancy regulation, with additional edge-level use of the Dolichospermum cryo-ET evidence.
2026-09-04T04:12:00Z codex · ADD_CAUSAL_GRAPH — Added an ASSEMBLY graph for accessory-Gvp interaction networks that recruit GvpA-family shell proteins, and anchored GvpA, GvpC, and GvpF/GvpL-family graph nodes with Pfam identifiers.

Source: data/structures/inclusion/gas_vesicle.yaml