Manganese (Mn) is an essential micronutrient for all photoautotrophic organisms. Two distinct pools of Mn have been identified in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis), with 80% of the Mn residing in the periplasm and 20% in cytoplasm and thylakoid lumen (Keren et al., 2002). In this protocol, we describe a method to quantify the periplasmic and intracellular pools of Mn in Synechocystis accurately, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
