Hydroquinone degradation via reductive dehydroxylation of gentisyl-CoA by a strictly anaerobic fermenting bacterium

Performing anaerobic stopped-flow spectrophotometry inside of an anaerobic chamber

The catalytic cycle of most flavin-dependent enzymes can be divided into oxidative and reductive half-reactions. Although some enzymes are oxidized by electron carrier proteins or organic compounds, many use oxygen as the final electron acceptor. In order to properly study the reductive half-reaction of flavin-dependent enzyme that react with oxygen, as in the case of oxidases and monooxygenases, it is necessary to establish anaerobic conditions that will only allow the reduction process to be monitored. The reduced flavoenzyme can be further studied by exposing it to oxygen to monitor the oxidative half-reaction. Anaerobic chambers provide an ideal environment for performing these experiments as they reliably maintain an anaerobic atmosphere inside a large workspace. A common tool used to study flavin-dependent enzymes is the stopped-flow spectrophotometry. This chapter describes methods for performing stopped-flow experiments in an anaerobic chamber. We include information about the chamber components, setting up a stopped-flow spectrophotometer inside of a chamber, preparing anaerobic solutions, and performing experiments to measure the reductive and oxidative half-reactions of flavin-dependent monooxygenases.

Different strategies in anaerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds: nitrate reducers versus strict anaerobes

Mononuclear aromatic compounds are degraded anaerobically through pathways that are basically different from those used in the presence of oxygen. Whereas aerobic degradation destabilizes the aromatic π-electron system by oxidative steps through oxygenase reactions, anaerobic degradation is most often initiated by a reductive attack. The benzoyl-CoA pathway is the most important metabolic route in this context, and a broad variety of mononuclear aromatics, including phenol, cresols, toluene, xylenes and ethylbenzene, are channelled into this pathway through various modification reactions. Multifunctional phenolic compounds are metabolized via the reductive resorcinol pathway, the oxidative resorcinol pathway with hydroxyhydroquinone as key intermediate, and the phloroglucinol pathway. Comparison of the various pathways used for modification and degradation of aromatics in the absence of oxygen indicates that the strategies of breakdown of these compounds are largely determined by the redox potentials of the electron acceptors used, and by the overall reaction energetics. Consequently, nitrate reducers quite often use strategies for primary attack on aromatic compounds that differ from those used by sulfate-reducing, iron-reducing or fermenting bacteria.

Anaerobic metabolism of catechol by the denitrifying bacterium Thauera aromatica--a result of promiscuous enzymes and regulators?

The anaerobic metabolism of catechol (1,2-dihydroxybenzene) was studied in the betaproteobacterium Thauera aromatica that was grown with CO2 as a cosubstrate and nitrate as an electron acceptor. Based on different lines of evidence and on our knowledge of enzymes and genes involved in the anaerobic metabolism of other aromatic substrates, the following pathway is proposed. Catechol is converted to catechylphosphate by phenylphosphate synthase, which is followed by carboxylation by phenylphosphate carboxylase at the para position to the phosphorylated phenolic hydroxyl group. The product, protocatechuate (3,4-dihydroxybenzoate), is converted to its coenzyme A (CoA) thioester by 3-hydroxybenzoate-CoA ligase. Protocatechuyl-CoA is reductively dehydroxylated to 3-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA, possibly by 4-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA reductase. 3-Hydroxybenzoyl-CoA is further metabolized by reduction of the aromatic ring catalyzed by an ATP-driven benzoyl-CoA reductase. Hence, the promiscuity of several enzymes and regulatory proteins may be sufficient to create the catechol pathway that is made up of elements of phenol, 3-hydroxybenzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate, and benzoate metabolism.

Phenylphosphate carboxylase: a new C-C lyase involved in anaerobic phenol metabolism in Thauera aromatica

The anaerobic metabolism of phenol in the beta-proteobacterium Thauera aromatica proceeds via carboxylation to 4-hydroxybenzoate and is initiated by the ATP-dependent conversion of phenol to phenylphosphate. The subsequent para carboxylation of phenylphosphate to 4-hydroxybenzoate is catalyzed by phenylphosphate carboxylase, which was purified and studied. This enzyme consists of four proteins with molecular masses of 54, 53, 18, and 10 kDa, whose genes are located adjacent to each other in the phenol gene cluster which codes for phenol-induced proteins. Three of the subunits (54, 53, and 10 kDa) were sufficient to catalyze the exchange of 14CO2 and the carboxyl group of 4-hydroxybenzoate but not phenylphosphate carboxylation. Phenylphosphate carboxylation was restored when the 18-kDa subunit was added. The following reaction model is proposed. The 14CO2 exchange reaction catalyzed by the three subunits of the core enzyme requires the fully reversible release of CO2 from 4-hydroxybenzoate with formation of a tightly enzyme-bound phenolate intermediate. Carboxylation of phenylphosphate requires in addition the 18-kDa subunit, which is thought to form the same enzyme-bound energized phenolate intermediate from phenylphosphate with virtually irreversible release of phosphate. The 54- and 53-kDa subunits show similarity to UbiD of Escherichia coli, which catalyzes the decarboxylation of a 4-hydroxybenzoate derivative in ubiquinone (ubi) biosynthesis. They also show similarity to components of various decarboxylases acting on aromatic carboxylic acids, such as 4-hydroxybenzoate or vanillate, whereas the 10-kDa subunit is unique. The 18-kDa subunit belongs to a hydratase/phosphatase protein family. Phenylphosphate carboxylase is a member of a new family of carboxylases/decarboxylases that act on phenolic compounds, use CO2 as a substrate, do not contain biotin or thiamine diphosphate, require K+ and a divalent metal cation (Mg2+or Mn2+) for activity, and are strongly inhibited by oxygen.

Activation and degradation of benzoate, 3-phenylpropionate and crotonate by Syntrophus buswellii strain GA. Evidence for electron-transport phosphorylation during crotonate respiration

A strictly anaerobic, benzoate-degrading bacterium, Syntrophus buswellii strain GA, was able to degrade benzoate or 3-phenylpropionate to acetate, CO2 and H2, if the hydrogen partial pressure was sufficiently low. The hydrogen was removed in syntrophic coculture by Methanospirillum hungatei or by Desulfovibrio sp. through interspecies hydrogen transfer or in pure culture by the use of crotonate as reducible cosubstrate. Alternatively, S. buswellii strain GA could grow in pure culture with crotonate. Activities of seven catabolic enzymes were measured in crude cell extracts of S. buswellii strain GA grown with various substrates and of crotonate-grown S. buswellii strain DSM 2612A. Benzoate, 3-phenylpropionate and crotonate were activated by CoA ligases. Glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase was found to be involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds and enzymes catalysing beta-oxidation were involved in the reaction sequence from crotonyl-CoA to acetate. A c-type cytochrome was present in the cytoplasm, whereas b-type cytochromes were associated with the membranes of both S. buswellii strains grown on crotonate. These indicated the presence of an electron-transport system. A high growth yield of crotonate-grown S. buswellii strain GA might be explained by electron-transport phosphorylation in addition to substrate-level phosphorylation.

Succinate decarboxylation by Propionigenium maris sp. nov., a new anaerobic bacterium from an estuarine sediment

Enrichments on succinate plus yeast extract under anoxic conditions from intertidal mud-flat sediments yielded cultures dominated by oval to round-ended rod-shaped cells. Strain 10succ1, obtained in pure culture, was characterized in detail. The non-motile cells possessed a gram-negative cell wall and did not form spores. Carbohydrates were fermented to formate, acetate, ethanol, and lactate. Succinate was decarboxylated to propionate. Other organic and amino acids were variously fermented to formate, acetate, propionate, and butyrate. Sulfur, sulfate, thiosulfate, and nitrate were not used as electron acceptors. Growth required the presence of yeast extract and at least 5 g/l NaCl, and was possible only in the absence of oxygen. No cytochromes were detected. The DNA base ratio was 40 mol% G + C. Phylogenetically, strain 10succ1 is closely related to Propionigenium modestum, as revealed by 16S rDNA analysis, but is physiologically distinct. Accordingly, strain 10succ1 (DSM 9537) is described as the type strain of a new species of the genus Propionigenium, P. maris sp. nov.

Pathway of butyrate catabolism by Desulfobacterium cetonicum

Desulfobacterium cetonicum 480 oxidized butyrate to 1 mol of acetate and 2 mol of CO2; this reaction was coupled to reduction of sulfate to sulfide. Butyrate was activated by coenzyme A (CoA) transfer from acetyl-CoA, and butyryl-CoA was oxidized to acetyl-CoA by a classical beta-oxidation pathway. Acetyl-CoA was oxidized through the acetyl-CoA/carbon monoxide dehydrogenase pathway. There was a rapid exchange of 14CO2 into the intermediate CoA esters and into acetate and butyrate, showing that all of the steps involved in the oxidation of butyrate to acetyl-CoA are reversible.

Metabolic pathways and energetics of the acetone-oxidizing, sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulfobacterium cetonicum

Acetone degradation by cell suspensions of Desulfobacterium cetonicum was CO2-dependent, indicating initiation by a carboxylation reaction. Degradation of butyrate was not CO2-dependent, and acetate accumulated at a ratio of 1 mol acetate per mol butyrate degraded. In cultures grown on acetone, no CoA transfer apparently occurred, and no acetate accumulated in the medium. No CoA-ligase activities were detected in cell-free crude extracts. This suggested that the carboxylation of acetone to acetoacetate, and its activation to acetoacetyl-CoA may occur without the formation of free acetoacetate. Acetoacetyl-CoA was thiolytically cleaved to two acetyl-CoA, which were oxidized to CO2 via the acetyl-CoA/carbon monoxide dehydrogenase pathway. The measured intracellular acyl-CoA ester concentrations allowed the calculation of the free energy changes involved in the conversion of acetone to acetyl-CoA. At in vivo concentrations of reactants and products, the initial steps (carboxylation and activation) must be energy-driven, either by direct coupling to ATP, or coupling to transmembrane gradients. The delta G' of acetone conversion to two acetyl-CoA at the expense of the energetic equivalent of one ATP was calculated to lie very close to 0 kJ (mol acetone)-1. Assimilatory metabolism was by an incomplete citric acid cycle, lacking an activity oxidatively decarboxylating 2-oxoglutarate. The low specific activities of this cycle suggested its probable function in anabolic metabolism. Succinate and glyoxylate were formed from isocitrate by isocitrate lyase. Glyoxylate thus formed was condensed with acetyl-CoA to form malate, functioning as an anaplerotic sequence. A glyoxylate cycle thus operates in this strictly anaerobic bacterium. Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase formed PEP from oxaloacetate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Catabolic and anabolic enzyme activities and energetics of acetone metabolism of the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfococcus biacutus

Acetone degradation by cell suspensions of Desulfococcus biacutus was CO2 dependent, indicating initiation by a carboxylation reaction, while degradation of 3-hydroxybutyrate was not CO2 dependent. Growth on 3-hydroxybutyrate resulted in acetate accumulation in the medium at a ratio of 1 mol of acetate per mol of substrate degraded. In acetone-grown cultures no coenzyme A (CoA) transferase or CoA ligase appeared to be involved in acetone metabolism, and no acetate accumulated in the medium, suggesting that the carboxylation of acetone and activation to acetoacetyl-CoA may occur without the formation of a free intermediate. Catabolism of 3-hydroxybutyrate occurred after activation by CoA transfer from acetyl-CoA, followed by oxidation to acetoacetyl-CoA. In both acetone-grown cells and 3-hydroxybutyrate-grown cells, acetoacetyl-CoA was thioyltically cleaved to two acetyl-CoA residues and further metabolized through the carbon monoxide dehydrogenase pathway. Comparison of the growth yields on acetone and 3-hydroxybutyrate suggested an additional energy requirement in the catabolism of acetone. This is postulated to be the carboxylation reaction (delta G(o)' for the carboxylation of acetone to acetoacetate, +17.1 kJ.mol-1). At the intracellular acyl-CoA concentrations measured, the net free energy change of acetone carboxylation and catabolism to two acetyl-CoA residues would be close to 0 kJ.mol of acetone-1, if one mol of ATP was invested. In the absence of an energy-utilizing step in this catabolic pathway, the predicted intracellular acetoacetyl-CoA concentration would be 10(13) times lower than that measured. Thus, acetone catabolism to two acetyl-CoA residues must be accompanied by the utilization of teh energetic equivalent of (at lease) one ATP molecule. Measurement of enzyme activities suggested that assimilation of acetyl-CoA occurred through a modified citric acid cycle in which isocitrate was cleaved to succinate and glyoxylate. Malate synthase, condensing glyoxylate and acetyl-CoA, acted as an anaplerotic enzyme. Carboxylation of pyruvate of phosphoenolpyruvate could not be detected.

Anaerobic degradation of catechol by Desulfobacterium sp. strain Cat2 proceeds via carboxylation to protocatechuate

Under anoxic conditions, most methoxylated mononuclear aromatic compounds are degraded by bacteria, with catechol being formed as an important intermediate. On the basis of our experiments with the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfobacterium sp. strain Cat2, we describe for the first time the enzymatic activities involved in the complete anaerobic oxidation of catechol and protocatechuate. Results obtained from experiments with dense cell suspensions of strain Cat2 demonstrated that all enzymes necessary for protocatechuate and benzoate degradation were induced during growth with catechol. In addition, anaerobic oxidation of catechol was found to be a CO2-dependent process. Phenol was not degraded in suspensions of cells grown with catechol. In cell extracts of Desulfobacterium sp. strain Cat2, protocatechuyl-coenzyme A (CoA) was formed from catechol, bicarbonate, and uncombined CoA. This oxygen-sensitive reaction requires high concentrations of both bicarbonate and protein, and only very low levels of enzyme were detected. In a second oxygen-sensitive step, protocatechuyl-CoA was reduced to 3-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA by reductive elimination of the p-hydroxyl group. Further dehydroxylation to benzoyl-CoA was not detectable. Key reactions described for anaerobic degradation of benzoate were catalyzed by cell extracts of strain Cat2, too.