Energy transduction in photosynthetic bacteria. VI. Respiratory sites of energy conservation in membranes from dark-grown cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Energy converting NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (complex I)

NADH:quinone oxidoreductase (complex I) pumps protons across the inner membrane of mitochondria or the plasma membrane of many bacteria. Human complex I is involved in numerous pathological conditions and degenerative processes. With 14 central and up to 32 accessory subunits, complex I is among the largest membrane-bound protein assemblies. The peripheral arm of the L-shaped molecule contains flavine mononucleotide and eight or nine iron-sulfur clusters as redox prosthetic groups. Seven of the iron-sulfur clusters form a linear electron transfer chain between flavine and quinone. In most organisms, the seven most hydrophobic subunits forming the core of the membrane arm are encoded by the mitochondrial genome. Most central subunits have evolved from subunits of different hydrogenases and bacterial Na+/H+ antiporters. This evolutionary origin is reflected in three functional modules of complex I. The coupling mechanism of complex I most likely involves semiquinone intermediates that drive proton pumping through redox-linked conformational changes.

Light-dependent regulation of photosynthesis genes in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1 is coordinately controlled by photosynthetic electron transport via the PrrBA two-component system and the photoreceptor AppA

Formation of the photosynthetic apparatus in Rhodobacter is regulated by oxygen tension and light intensity. Here we show that in anaerobically grown Rhodobacter cells a light-dependent increase in expression of the puc and puf operons encoding structural proteins of the photosynthetic complexes requires an active photosynthetic electron transport. The redox-sensitive CrtJ/PpsR repressor of photosynthesis genes, which was suggested to mediate electron transport-dependent signals, is not involved in this light-dependent signal chain. Our data reveal that the signal initiated in the photosynthetic reaction centre is transmitted via components of the electron transport chain and the PrrB/PrrA two-component system in Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Under blue light illumination in the absence of oxygen this signal leads to activation of photosynthesis genes and interferes with a blue-light repression mediated by the AppA photoreceptor and the PpsR transcriptional repressor in R. sphaeroides. Thus, light either sensed by a photoreceptor or initiating photosynthetic electron transport has opposite effects on the transcription of photosynthesis genes. Both signalling pathways involve redox-dependent steps that finally determine the effect of light on gene expression.

Proton pumping by complex I (NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) from Yarrowia lipolytica reconstituted into proteoliposomes

The mechanism of energy converting NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) is still unknown. A current controversy centers around the question whether electron transport of complex I is always linked to vectorial proton translocation or whether in some organisms the enzyme pumps sodium ions instead. To develop better experimental tools to elucidate its mechanism, we have reconstituted the affinity purified enzyme into proteoliposomes and monitored the generation of DeltapH and Deltapsi. We tested several detergents to solubilize the asolectin used for liposome formation. Tightly coupled proteoliposomes containing highly active complex I were obtained by detergent removal with BioBeads after total solubilization of the phospholipids with n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside. We have used dyes to monitor the formation of the two components of the proton motive force,DeltapH and Deltapsi, across the liposomal membrane, and analyzed the effects of inhibitors, uncouplers and ionophores on this process. We show that electron transfer of complex I of the lower eukaryote Y. lipolytica is clearly linked to proton translocation. While this study was not specifically designed to demonstrate possible additional sodium translocating properties of complex I, we did not find indications for primary or secondary Na+ translocation by Y. lipolytica complex I.

The mitochondrial and prokaryotic proton-translocating NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductases: similarities and dissimilarities of the quinone-junction sites

The catalytic properties of the rotenone-sensitive NADH:ubiquinone reductase (Complex I) in bovine heart submitochondrial particles and in inside-out vesicles derived from Paracoccus denitrificans and Rhodobacter capsulatus were compared. The prokaryotic enzymes catalyze the NADH oxidase and NADH:quinone reductase reactions with similar kinetic parameters as those for the mammalian Complex I, except for lower apparent affinities for the substrates--nucleotides. Unidirectional competitive inhibition of NADH oxidation by ADP-ribose, previously discovered for submitochondrial particles, was also evident for tightly coupled P. denitrificans vesicles, thus suggesting that a second, NAD(+)-specific site is present in the simpler prokaryotic enzyme. The inhibitor sensitivity of the forward and reverse electron transfer reactions was compared. In P. denitrificans and Bos taurus vesicles different sensitivities to rotenone and Triton X-100 for the forward and reverse electron transfer reactions were found. In bovine heart preparations, both reactions showed the same sensitivity to piericidin, and the inhibition was titrated as a straight line. In P. denitrificans, the forward and reverse reactions show different sensitivity to piericidin and the titrations of both activities were curvilinear with apparent I(50) (expressed as mole of inhibitor per mole of enzyme) independent of the enzyme concentration. This behavior is explained by a model involving two different sites rapidly interacting with piericidin within the hydrophobic phase.

Coordination of ubiquinol oxidase and cytochrome cbb(3) oxidase expression by multiple regulators in Rhodobacter capsulatus

Rhodobacter capsulatus utilizes two terminal oxidases for aerobic respiration, cytochrome cbb(3) and ubiquinol oxidase. To determine the transcription factors involved in terminal oxidase expression, ccoN-lacZ and cydA-lacZ protein fusions were assayed in a variety of regulatory mutants. The results of this and previous studies indicate that cytochrome cbb(3) expression is controlled by regB-regA, fnrL, and hvrA and that ubiquinol oxidase expression is controlled by regB-regA, fnrL, hvrA, crtJ, and aerR.

Toward a characterization of the connecting module of complex I

Complex I [NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I, EC 1.6.5.3)] couples electron transfer between NADH and ubiquinone to proton transport across the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane and the mitochondrial inner membrane. This sophisticated enzyme consists of three specialized modules: (1) a hydrophilic NADH-oxidizing module that constitutes the input machinery of the enzyme; (2) a hydrophobic module that anchors the enzyme in the membrane and must take part in proton transport; and (3) a connecting domain that links the two previous modules. Using the complex I of Rhodobacter capsulatus, we developed a genetic study of the structure and function of the connecting module. In the present review, we put together the salient results of these studies, with recent reports of the literature, to try and elucidate the structure of the connecting module and its potential role in the coupling process between electron and proton flux within complex I. From this overview, we conclude that the NUOB-NUOD dimer of the connecting module and a hydrophobic subunit such as NUOH must share a quinone-reduction site. The function of this site in the mechanism of complex I is discussed.

The complex I from Rhodobacter capsulatus

The NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase (type I NDH) of Rhodobacter capsulatus is a multisubunit enzyme encoded by the 14 genes of the nuo operon. This bacterial enzyme constitutes a valuable model for the characterization of the mitochondrial Complex I structure and enzymatic mechanism for the following reasons. (i) The mitochondria-encoded ND subunits are not readily accessible to genetic manipulation. In contrast, the equivalents of the mitochondrial ND1, ND2, ND4, ND4L, ND5 and ND6 genes can be easily mutated in R. capsulatus by homologous recombination. (ii) As illustrated in the case of ND1 gene, point mutations associated with human cytopathies can be reproduced and studied in this model system. (iii) The R. capsulatus model also allows the recombinant manipulations of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) subunits and the assignment of Fe-S clusters as illustrated in the case of the NUOI subunit (the equivalent of the mitochondrial TYKY subunit). (iv) Finally, like mitochondrial Complex I, the NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase of R. capsulatus is highly sensitive to the inhibitor piericidin-A which is considered to bind to or close to the quinone binding site(s) of Complex I. Therefore, isolation of R. capsulatus mutants resistant to piericidin-A represents a straightforward way to map the inhibitor binding sites and to try and define the location of quinone binding site(s) in the enzyme. These illustrations that describe the interest in the R. capsulatus NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase model for the general study of Complex I will be critically developed in the present review.

Isolation and characterization of Rhodobacter capsulatus mutants affected in cytochrome cbb3 oxidase activity

The facultative phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus contains only one form of cytochrome (cyt) c oxidase, which has recently been identified as a cbb3-type cyt c oxidase. This is unlike other related species, such as Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Paracoccus denitrificans, which contain an additional mitochondrial-like aa3-type cyt c oxidase. An extensive search for mutants affected in cyt c oxidase activity in R. capsulatus led to the isolation of at least five classes of mutants. Plasmids complementing them to a wild-type phenotype were obtained for all but one of these classes from a chromosomal DNA library. The first class of mutants contained mutations within the structural genes (ccoNOQP) of the cyt cbb3 oxidase. Sequence analysis of these mutants and of the plasmids complementing them revealed that ccoNOQP in R. capsulatus is not flanked by the oxygen response regulator fnr, which is located upstream of these genes in other species. Genetic and biochemical characterizations of mutants belonging to this group indicated that the subunits CcoN, CcoO, and CcoP are required for the presence of an active cyt cbb3 oxidase, and unlike in Bradyrhizobium japonicum, no active CcoN-CcoO subcomplex was found in R. capsulatus. In addition, mutagenesis experiments indicated that the highly conserved open reading frame 277 located adjacent to ccoNOQP is required neither for cyt cbb3 oxidase activity or assembly nor for respiratory or photosynthetic energy transduction in R. capsulatus. The remaining cyt c oxidase-minus mutants mapped outside of ccoNOQP and formed four additional groups. In one of these groups, a fully assembled but inactive cyt cbb3 oxidase was found, while another group had only extremely small amounts of it. The next group was characterized by a pleiotropic effect on all membrane-bound c-type cytochromes, and the remaining mutants not complemented by the plasmids complementing the first four groups formed at least one additional group affecting the biogenesis of the cyt cbb3 oxidase of R. capsulatus.

Protein and gene structure of the NADH-binding fragment of Rhodobacter capsulatus NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase

Membranes of aerobically grown Rhodobacter capsulatus contain only one type of NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase which is homologous to the proton-translocating complex I. The K(m) value of the enzyme for NADH was determined to be 8 microM. After solubilization of the membranes with an alkylglucoside detergent, two fragments of complex I with molecular masses of 110 kDa and 140 kDa were isolated by chromatographic steps in the presence of detergent. Both fragments contain at least two polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 46 kDa and 42 kDa. FMN was identified as cofactor in the preparations. Degenerative oligonucleotide primers were used to amplify a part of the sequence coding for the NADH-binding subunit of complex I by PCR. With the PCR product as probe, a genomic fragment was cloned and sequenced containing the genes encoding the two purified polypeptides and additional reading frames. The two genes are named nuoE and nuoF and are homologous to nqo2 and nqo1 of Paracoccus denitrificans. However, NuoE contains a C-terminal extension of 149 amino acids compared with Nqo2. NuoE and NuoF have molecular masses of 41259 Da and 47133 Da and contain the NADH-, FMN- and FeS-cluster-binding motifs.

Bacterial NADH-quinone oxidoreductases: iron-sulfur clusters and related problems

Many bacteria contain proton-translocating membrane-bound NADH-quinone oxidoreductases (NDH-1), which demonstrate significant genetic, spectral, and kinetic similarity with their mitochondrial counterparts. This review is devoted to the comparative aspects of the iron-sulfur cluster composition of NDH-1 from the most well-studied bacterial systems to date.: Paracoccus denitrificans, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Escherichia coli, and Thermus thermophilus. These bacterial systems provide useful models for the study of coupling Site I and contain all the essential parts of the electron-transfer and proton-translocating machinery of their eukaryotic counterparts.

The NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) of respiratory chains

The inner membranes of mitochondria contain three multi-subunit enzyme complexes that act successively to transfer electrons from NADH to oxygen, which is reduced to water (Fig. I). The first enzyme in the electron transfer chain, NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase (or complex I), is the subject of this review. It removes electrons from NADH and passes them via a series of enzyme-bound redox centres (FMN and Fe-S clusters) to the electron acceptor ubiquinone. For each pair of electrons transferred from NADH to ubiquinone it is usually considered that four protons are removed from the matrix (see section 4.1 for further discussion of this point).

Bacterial NADH-quinone oxidoreductases

The NADH-quinone oxidoreductases of the bacterial respiratory chain could be divided in two groups depending on whether they bear an energy-coupling site. Those enzymes that bear the coupling site are designated as NADH dehydrogenase 1 (NDH-1) and those that do not as NADH dehydrogenase 2 (NDH-2). All members of the NDH-1 group analyzed to date are multiple polypeptide enzymes and contain noncovalently bound FMN and iron-sulfur clusters as prosthetic groups. The NADH-ubiquinone-1 reductase activities of NDH-1 are inhibited by rotenone, capsaicin, and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. The NDH-2 enzymes are generally single polypeptides and contain noncovalently bound FAD and no iron-sulfur clusters. The enzymatic activities of the NDH-2 are not affected by the above inhibitors for NDH-1. Recently, it has been found that both of these types of the NADH-quinone oxidoreductase are present in a single strain of bacteria. The significance of the occurrence of these two types of enzymes in a single organism has been discussed in this review.

Photophosphorylation and oxidative phosphorylation in intact cells and chromatophores of an aerobic photosynthetic bacterium, Erythrobacter sp. strain OCh114

Light-induced ATP synthesis was studied in intact cells and chromatophores of Erythrobacter sp. strain OCh114. ATP synthesis was measured by both the pH method and the luciferin-luciferase luminescence method. The rate of ATP synthesis was moderate (a typical value of 0.65 mol of ATP per mol of bacteriochlorophyll per min), and synthesis was inhibited by antimycin A. ATP was synthesized under illumination only under aerobic conditions and not under anaerobic conditions. This characteristic was similar to that of other light-induced energy transduction processes in this bacterial species, such as oxidation of reaction center, oxidation of cytochrome c551, and translocation of H+, which were not observed under anaerobic conditions. This phenomenon was reconciled with the fact that the Erythrobacter sp. could not grow anaerobically even in the light. The characteristics of oxidative phosphorylation and ATP hydrolysis were also investigated. The respiratory ratio of chromatophores was 2.3. Typical rates of oxidative phosphorylation by NADH and by succinate were 2.9 mol of ATP per mol of bacteriochlorophyll per min (P/O = 0.22) and 1.1 mol of ATP per mol of bacteriochlorophyll per min (P/O = 0.19), respectively. A typical rate of ATP hydrolysis was 0.25 mol of ATP per mol of bacteriochlorophyll per min in chromatophores. ATPase and adenylate kinase are also involved in the metabolism of adenine nucleotides in this bacterium.

Kinetic studies on formation of cytochrome oxidase of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata after a shift from phototrophic to chemotrophic growth

Rhodopseudomonas capsulata cells were shifted from phototrophic (anaerobic, light) to chemotrophic (semiaerobic, dark, 10% air saturation) growth conditions. During the adaptation period of 4 h, the bacteriochlorophyll content of cells and membranes decreased, and a newly synthesized 65-kilodalton polypeptide of the cytochrome oxidase was incorporated into the membrane fraction. The enzymatic activity of the cytochrome oxidase increased strongly after a lag time of 2 h. The amount of cytochrome oxidase protein does not follow the same kinetics. The relative amount of a membrane-bound cytochrome c of low molecular weight, which has been proposed to be a donor for the cytochrome oxidase, increased during adaptation.

Evidence for an alternative and non-phosphorylating pathway for NADH reoxidation in a yeast strain resistant to glucose repression

A yeast strain (SP1) resistant to glucose repression modified simultaneously in the fermentative and in the oxidative pathways (loss of alcohol dehydrogenase I and over production of cytochrome a + a3, being insensitive to the glucose effect) developed a secondary mitochondrial hydrogen pathway. Oxidative phosphorylation was measured with exogenous NADH as substrate on mitochondria derived from repressed or derepressed cells. In this strain, antimycin A promotes a partial inhibition of NADH oxidation but a complete inhibition of phosphorylation. Amytal partially inhibits oxidation of NADH but not phosphorylation. KCN inhibits NADH oxidation in a biphasic way (first level 0.1 mM, second level 5 mM) but phosphorylation was fully inhibited by 0.1 mM KCN. This alternative but non-phosphorylating pathway is insensitive to salicyl hydroxamate. The external NADH dehydrogenase, like cytochrome c oxidase is partially insensitive to catabolite repression. These results provide evidence for the presence in strain SP1 of an alternative mitochondrial pathway, going from the external NADH dehydrogenase to an oxidase, different from the normal NADH dehydrogenase ubiquinone pathway.

Oxygen-induced inhibition of light-dependent uptake of tetraphenylphosphonium ions as a probe of a direct interaction between photosynthetic and respiratory components in cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Light-generated and oxygen-dependent membrane potentials by heterotrophycally grown cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata have been investigated by using a tetraphenylphosphonium ion-selective electrode. The results show that respiratory electron transport affects the magnitude of photogenerated membrane potential while photosynthesis seems to either inhibit or stimulate respiration in coupled or uncoupled cells, respectively. These observations have been considered as evidence that the intracytoplasmic membrane system of R. capsulata contain respiratory and photosynthetic apparatuses which are strictly intermingled.

Comparative studies of two membrane fractions isolated from chemotrophically and phototrophically grown cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Light and heavy membrane fractions have been isolated by equilibrium sucrose density centrifugation from Rhodopseudomonas capsulata 938 GCM grown aerobically in the dark (chemotrophically) and anaerobically in the light (phototrophically). The densities of the light and heavy fractions from phototrophic cells were 1.1004 to 1.1006 and 1.1478, respectively, and the densities of the light and heavy fractions from chemotrophic cells were 1.0957 to 1.0958 and 1.1315, respectively. Both fractions were active in photochemical and respiratory functions and in electron transport-coupled phosphorylation. The light membrane fraction isolated from chemotrophic cells contained the reaction center and the light-harvesting pigment-protein complex B 870, but not the variable light-harvesting complex B 800-850. A small amount of the complex B 800-850 was present in the light fraction isolated from phototrophically grown cells, but it was not energetically coupled to the photosynthetic apparatus. From inhibitor studies, difference spectroscopy, and measurement of enzyme activities it was tentatively concluded that the light membrane fraction contains only the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-oxidizing electron transport chain having a KCN-insensitive, low-potential cytochrome c oxidase, whereas the heavy fraction contains additionally the succinate dehydrogenase and a high-potential cytochrome b terminal oxidase sensitive to KCN. The light membrane fraction was more labile than the heavy fraction in terms of phosphorylating activity.

Growth of the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas capsulata chemoautotrophically in darkness with H2 as the energy source

The phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas capsulata was found to be capable of growing chemoautotrophically under aerobic conditions in darkness. Growth was strictly dependent on the presence of H2 as the source of energy and reducing power, O2 as the terminal electron acceptor for energy transduction, and CO2 as the sole carbon source; under optimal conditions the generation time was about 6 h. Chemoautotrophically grown cells showed a relatively high content of bacteriochlorophyll a and intracytoplasmic membranes (chromatophores). Experiments with various mutants of R. capsulata, affected in electron transport, indicate that either of the two terminal oxidases of this bacterium can participate in the energy-yielding oxidation of H2. The ability of R. capsulata to multiply in at least five different physiological growth modes suggests that it is one of the most metabolically versatile procaryotes known.

Energy tranduction in photosynthetic bacteria. XI. Further resolution of cytochromes of b type and the nature of the co-sensitive oxidase present in the respiratory chain of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

1. In membranes prepared from dark grown cells of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, five cytochromes of b type (E'0 at pH 7.0 +413+/-5, +270+/-5, +148+/-5, +56+/-5 and -32+/-5 mV) can be detected by redox titrations at different pH values. The midpoint potentials of only three of these cytochromes (b148, b56, and b-32) vary as a function of pH with a slope of 30 mV per pH unit. 2. In the presence of a CO/N2 mixture, the apparent E'0 of cytochrome b270 shifts markedly towards higher potentials (+355mV); a similar but less pronounced shift is apparent also for cytochrome b150. The effect of CO on the midpoint potential of cytochrome b270 is absent in the respiration deficient mutant M6 which possesses a specific lesion in the CO-sensitive segment of the branched respiratory chain present in the wild type strain. 3. Preparations of spheroplasts with lysozyme digestion lead to the release of a large amount of cytochrome c2 and of virtually all cytochrome cc'. These preparations show a respiratory chain impaired in the electron pathway sensitive to low KCN concentration, in agreement with the proposed role of cytochrome c2 in this branch; on the contrary, the activity of the CO-sensitive branch remains unaffected, indicating that neither cytochrome c2 nor the CO-binding cytochrome cc' are involved in this pathway. 4. Membranes prepared from spheroplasts still possess a CO-binding pigment characterized by maxima at 420.5, 543 and 574 nm and minima at 431, 560 nm in C0-difference spectra and with an alpha band at 562.5 nm in reduced minus oxidized difference spectra. This membrane-bound cytochrome, which is coincident with cytochrome b270, can be classified as a typical cytochrome "0" and considered the alternative CO-sensitive oxidase.

The branched respiratory system of photosynthetically grown Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

Various respiratory electron transport activities of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata were studied in membrane fragments prepared from photosynthetically grown cells of a parental strain and two terminal oxidase-defective mutant strains. The NADH and succinate oxidase activities of the mutant having a functional N,N,N1,N1-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxidase, M6, were consideraly more sensitive to inhibition by either antimycin A or cyanide than the corresponding activities of the mutant lacking a functional N,N,N1,N1-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxidase, M7. The parental strain, Z-1, but not the mutants, showed biphasic inhibitory responses of NADH and succinate oxidase activities with either antimycin A or cyanide. In certain reactions no differences in inhibitor susceptibility were found among the strains tested, implying that the pathways involved were unaffected in the mutants. In this category were the actions of rotenone on NADH oxidase, antimycin A on cytochrome c reductase and, in M6 and Z-1, cyanide on N,N,N'N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxidase. These results suggest that the respiratory chain of the parental strain branches at the ubiquinone-cytochrome b region into two pathways, each branch goes to a distinct terminal oxidase, and either may be blocked independently by genetic mutation.

Energy transduction in photosynthetic bacteria. X. Composition and function of the branched oxidase system in wild type and respiration deficient mutants of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata

The respiratory chain of Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, strain St. Louis and of two respiration deficient mutants (M6 and M7) has been investigated by examining the redox and spectral characteristics of the cytochromes and their response to substrates and to specific respiratory inhibitors. Since the specific lesions of M6 and M7 have been localized on two different branches of the multiple oxidase system of the wild type strain, the capability for aerobic growth of these mutants can be considered as a proof of the physiological significance of both branched systems "in vivo". Using M6 and M7 mutants the response of the branched chain to respiratory inhibitors could be established. Cytochrome oxidase activity, a specific function of an high potential cytochrome b (E'0 = +413 mV) is sensitive to low concentrations of KCN (5-10(-5) M); CO is a specific inhibitor of an alternative oxidase, which is also inhibited by high concentrations of KCN (10(-3) M). Antimycin A inhibits preferentially the branch of the chain affected by low concentrations of cyanide. Redox titrations and spectral data indicate the presence in the membrane of three cytochromes of b type (E'0 = +413, +260, +47 vM) and two cytochromes of c type (E'0 = +342, +94 mV). A clear indication of the involvement in respiration of cytochrome b413, cytochrome c342 and cytochrome b47 has been obtained. Only 50% of the dithionite reducible cytochrome b can be reduced by respiratory substrates also in the presence of high concentrations of KCN or in anaerobiosis. The presence and function of quinones in the respiratory electron transport system has been clearly demonstrated. Quinones, which are reducible by NADH and succinate to about the same extent can be reoxidized through both branches of the respiratory chain, as shown by the response of their redox state to KCN. The possible site of the branching of the electron transport chain has been investigated comparing the per cent level of reduction of quinones and of cytochromes b and c as a function of KCN concentrations in membranes from wild type and M6 mutants cells. The site of the branching has been localized at the level of quinones-cytochrome b47. A tentative scheme of the respiratory chains operating in Rhodopseudomonas capsulata, St. Louis and in the two respiration deficient mutants, M6 and M7 is presented.

Transport of amino acids in membrane vesicles of Rhodopseudomonas spheroides energized by respiratory and cyclic electron flow

Active transport of amino acids in whole cells and membrane vesicles from the facultative photo-synthetic bacterium Rhodopseduomonas spheroides is coupled to electron flow in the respiratory chain and in the cyclic electron transfer system. In vesicles made from cells grown aerobically in the dark transport of amino acids is most effectively energized by the oxidation of NADH and to a lesser extent by ascorbate or succinate in the presence of N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-1, 4-phenyldiamine dihydrochloride or by ascorbate + phenazine methosulphate via the respiratory chain with oxygen as terminal electron acceptor. In membrane vesicles from cells grown anaerobically in the light the energy for active transport of amino acids is supplied upon illumination by photo-oxidation of bacteriochlorophyll and subsequent electron flow through the cyclic electron transfer system. The initial rate of transport increases with the light intensity upto saturation levels. In both vesicle preparations, inhibitors of electron transfer flow inhibit amino acid uptake. In order to obtain light-driven amino acid transport the isolation of membrane vesicles needs to be performed in a medium with a redox potential between 0 and 100 mV. Illumination of vesicles made from cells grown anaerobically in the light results in the generation of a membrane potential as is indicated by the uptake of the lipophylic cation triphenyl-methylphosphonium.

Separation of respiratory reactions in Rhodospirillum rubrum: inhibition studies with 2-hydroxydiphenyl

1. Respiration of chemotrophically and phototrophically grown Rhodospirillum rubrum is inhibited by 2-hydroxydiphenyl. 2. Membrane-bound NADH oxidase and NADH: cytochrome c reductase are inhibited also. The inhibitor constant for both reactions (Ki) is 0.075 plus or minus 0.012 mM. NADH dehydrogenase is not inhibited significantly. 3. The inhibition of succinate:cytochrome c reductase is associated for chemotrophic membranes with Ki equals 0.22 plus or minus 0.03 mM and for phototrophic membranes with Ki equals 0.49 plus or minus 0.09 mM. Succinate dehydrogenase is not affected by 2-hydroxydiphenyl. 4. Cytochrome oxidase is inhibited only slightly. 5. While NADH-dependent reactions in both phototrophic and chemotrophic membranes are inhibited maximally more than 95 percent, succinate-dependent reactions can be inhibited more than 95 percent only in chemotrophic membranes. In phototrophic membranes the maximum inhibition of succinate-dependent reactions is about 70 percent. 6. The type of inhibition in both cases 2 and 3 is non-competitive. 7. While the reduction of b-type cytochrome is inhibited by 2-hydroxydiphenyl, the degree of ubiquinone reduction is not influenced. The data suggest that the site of inhibition is localized between ubiquinone and cytochrome b. 8. Implications of these data for the respiratory electron transport system in R. rubrum are discussed.

The respiratory electron transport system of heterotrophically-grown Rhodopseudomonas palustris

The enzymatic activities and the cytochrome components of the respiratory chain were investigated with membrane fractions from chemoheterotrophically growth Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Whereas the level of electron transfer carriers was not distinctly affected by a change of the culture conditions, the potential activities of the enzymes were clearly increased when the cells were grown aerobically. Reduced-minus oxidized difference spectra of the membrane fractions prepared from dark aerobically grown cells revealed the presence of three beta-types cytochromes b561, b560 and b558, and at least two c-type cytochromes c556 and c2 as electron carriers in the electron transfer chain. Cytochrome of a-type could not be detected in these membranes. Reduced plus CO minus reduced difference spectra of the membrane fractions were indicative of cytochrome o, which may be equivalent to cytochrome b560, appearing in substrate-reduced minus oxidized difference spectra. Cytochrome o was found to be the functional terminal oxidase. CO difference spectra of the high speed supernatant fraction indicated the presence of cytochrome c'. Succinate and NADH reduced the same types of cytochromes. However, a considerable amount of cytochrome b561 with associated beta and gamma bands at 531 and 429 nm, respectively, was reducible by succinate, but not by NADH. A substantial fraction of the membrane-bound b-type cytochrome was non-substrate reducible and was found in dithionite-reduced minus substrate-reduced spectra. Cytochrome c2 may be localized in a branch of the electron transport system, with the branch-point at the level of ubiquinone. The separate pathways rejoined at a common terminal oxidase. Two terminal oxidases with different KCN sensitivity were present in the respiratory chain, one of which was sensitive to low concentrations of KCN and was connected with the cytochrome chain. The other terminal oxidase which was inhibited only by high concentrations of cyanide was located in a branched pathway, through which the electrons could flow from ubiquinone to oxygen bypassing the cytochrome chain.