Microbiology and genetics of CO utilization in mycobacteria

Hydrogen Sulfide and Carbon Monoxide Tolerance in Bacteria

Hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide share the ability to be beneficial or harmful molecules depending on the concentrations to which organisms are exposed. Interestingly, humans and some bacteria produce small amounts of these compounds. Since several publications have summarized the recent knowledge of its effects in humans, here we have chosen to focus on the role of H2S and CO on microbial physiology. We briefly review the current knowledge on how bacteria produce and use H2S and CO. We address their potential antimicrobial properties when used at higher concentrations, and describe how microbial systems detect and survive toxic levels of H2S and CO. Finally, we highlight their antimicrobial properties against human pathogens when endogenously produced by the host and when released by external chemical donors.

Identification and characterization of the genes encoding carbon monoxide dehydrogenase in Terrabacter carboxydivorans

Terrabacter carboxydivorans is able to grow aerobically at low concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) as a sole source of carbon and energy. The genes for carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CO-DH) were cloned from T. carboxydivorans and analyzed. The operon encoding T. carboxydivorans CO-DH was composed of three structural genes with the transcriptional order of cutB, cutC and cutA, as well as an additional accessory gene (orf4). Phylogenetic analysis of CutA revealed that T. carboxydivorans CO-DH was classified into a group distinct from previously characterized CO-DHs. Expression of antisense RNA for the cutB or cutA gene in T. carboxydivorans led to a decrease in CO-DH activity, confirming that cutBCA genes are the functional genes encoding CO-DH. The CO-DH operon was expressed even in the absence of CO and further inducible by CO. In addition, CO-DH synthesis was increased in the stationary phase compared to the exponential phase during heterotrophic growth on glucose and glycerol. Point mutations of a partially inverted repeat sequence (TCGGA-N₆-GCCCA) in the upstream region of the cutB gene almost abolished expression of the CO-DH operon, indicating that the inverted-repeat sequence might be a cis-acting regulatory site for the positive regulation of the CO-DH operon.

Functional characterization of the cutI gene for the transcription of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase genes in Mycobacterium sp. strain JC1 DSM 3803

Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CO-DH) in Mycobacterium sp. strain JC1 is a key enzyme for the carboxydotrophic growth, when carbon monoxide (CO) is supplied as a sole source of carbon and energy. This enzyme is also known to act as nitric oxide dehydrogenase (NO-DH) for the detoxification of NO. Several accessory genes such as cutD, cutE, cutF, cutG, cutH, and cutI, are clustered together with two copies of the CO-DH structural genes (cutB1C1A1 and cutB2C2A2) in Mycobacterium sp. strain JC1 and are well conserved in carboxydotrophic mycobacteria. Transcription of the CO-DH structural and accessory genes was demonstrated to be increased significantly by acidified sodium nitrate as a source of NO. A cutI deletion (ΔcutI) mutant of Mycobacterium sp. strain JC1 was generated to identity the function of CutI. Lithoautotrophic growth of the ΔcutI mutant was severely affected in mineral medium supplemented with CO, while the mutant grew normally with glucose. Western blotting, CO-DH activity staining, and CO-DH-specific enzyme assay revealed a significant decrease in the cellular level of CO-DH in the ΔcutI mutant. Northern blot analysis and promoter assay showed that expression of the cutB1 and cutB2 genes was significantly reduced at the transcriptional level in the ΔcutI mutant, compared to that of the wildtype strain. The ΔcutI mutant was much more susceptible to NO than was the wild type.

Identification of Unknown Carboxydovore Bacteria Dominant in Deciduous Forest Soil via Succession of Bacterial Communities, coxL Genotypes, and Carbon Monoxide Oxidation Activity in Soil Microcosms

Surveys of the coxL gene, encoding the large subunit of the CO dehydrogenase, are used as a standard approach in ecological studies of carboxydovore bacteria scavenging atmospheric CO. Recent soil surveys unveiled that the distribution of coxL sequences encompassing the atypical genotype coxL type I group x was correlated to the CO oxidation activity. Based on phylogenetic analysis including the available coxL reference genome sequences, this unusual genotype was assigned to an unknown member of the Deltaproteobacteria, with the coxL sequence from Haliangium ochraceum being the sole and closest reference sequence. Here we seek to challenge the proposed taxonomic assignation of the coxL group x genotype through the monitoring of CO consumption activity and microbial community successions during the colonization of sterile soil microcosms inoculated with indigenous microorganisms. In our study, we established that the estimated population density of Deltaproteobacteria was too small to account for the abundance of the coxL group x genotype detected in soil. Furthermore, we computed a correlation network to relate 16S rRNA gene profiles with the succession of coxL genotypes and CO uptake activity in soil. We found that most of the coxL genotypes for which the colonization profile displayed covariance with CO uptake activity were related to potential carboxydovore bacteria belonging to Actinobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria. Our analysis did not provide any evidence that coxL group x genotypes belonged to Deltaproteobacteria. Considering the colonization profile of CO-oxidizing bacteria and the theoretical energy yield of measured CO oxidation rates in soil microcosms, we propose that unknown carboxydovore bacteria harboring the atypical coxL group x genotype are mixotrophic K-strategists.

Metagenomic analysis for the microbial consortium of anaerobic CO oxidizers

Metagenomics analysis has been applied to identify the dominant anaerobic microbial consortium of the carbon monoxide (CO) oxidizers in anaerobic sludge. Reads from the hypervariable V6 region in the bacterial 16s rDNA were aligned and finally clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). The OTUs from different stages in anaerobic CO condition were classified. Alphaproteobacteria, clostridia, betaproteobacteria and actinobacteria were the most abundant groups, while alphaproteobacteria, betaproteobacteria and actinobacteria were variable groups. CO consumption and production efficiency of the microbial consortium were studied. Semi-continuous trials showed that these anaerobic CO oxidizers formed a stable microbial community, and the CO conversion rate was at over 84%, with the highest CO consumption activity of 28.9 mmol CO/g VSS●day and methane production activity at 7.6 mmol CH₄/g VSS●day during six cycles.

Land-use influences the distribution and activity of high affinity CO-oxidizing bacteria associated to type I-coxL genotype in soil

Soil carboxydovore bacteria are the biological sink of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO). The initial oxidation of CO is catalyzed by a CO-dehydrogenase (CODH), and the gene coxL encodes the large subunit of the enzyme. Only a few carboxydovore isolates were shown to oxidize atmospheric CO and little is known about the potential impact of global change on the ecophysiology of this functional group. The main objective of this study was to assess the impact of land-use and soil properties on coxL gene diversity and identify molecular indicators for the soil uptake of atmospheric CO. Soil samples were collected in three neighboring sites encompassing different land-use types, namely deciduous forest, larch plantation and maize field. CO uptake activity was related to total carbon and nitrogen content in soil, with the highest activity observed in deciduous forest. An extensive coxL database was assembled to optimize a PCR detection assay targeting sequences belonging to functional type I-CODH and hypothetical type II-CODH. Fully replicated coxL gene libraries unveiled a unique molecular signature in deciduous forest soil, with enrichment of type I sequences. Genetic profiles of larch and maize monocultures were not statistically different and showed higher level of coxL gene richness than deciduous forest. Soil water content and CO uptake activity explained 38% of the variation of coxL gene profiles in a canonical ordination analysis, leading to the identification of sequences belonging to the δ-Proteobacteria cluster as indicator for high affinity CO uptake activity. Enrichment of type I and δ-Proteobacteria coxL sequences in deciduous forest were confirmed by qPCR in an independent soil survey. CO uptake activity in model carboxydovore bacteria suggested that a significant fraction of detected putative high affinity CO oxidizers were active in soil. Land-use was a driving force separating coxL diversity in deciduous forest from monocultures.