Two plant-type ferredoxins from a blue-green alga, Nostoc verrucosum

Purification and properties of a bacterial-type ferredoxin from the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis ATCC29413

Three soluble ferredoxins were purified to homogeneity from nitrogen-fixing cultures of Anabaena variabilis (ATCC 29413) and characterized. The purified proteins have different absorption spectra, molecular mass, iron content, amino-acid composition and resistance to O2 inactivation. Two were plant-type ferredoxins FdI and FdxH, corresponding to the previously reported ferredoxins II and I (Böhme, H. and Schrautemeier, B. (1987) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 891, 1-7). The third ferredoxin (ferredoxin III) (previously not described in cyanobacteria) was a bacterial-type ferredoxin. Ferredoxin III has a molecular mass of about 6 kDa and contains 3-4 atoms Fe/mol. Native (oxidized) ferredoxin III shows an EPR-signal at g = 2.014 that disappears after reduction by dithionite, characteristic of ferredoxins containing three-iron clusters. Ferredoxin III, like ferredoxin FdxH, is inactivated by oxygen. Ferredoxin III supports higher rates of C2H2 reduction by Rhodobacter capsulatus nitrogenase than FdI and higher rates of H2 evolution by clostridial hydrogenase than FdI and FdxH. Combined nitrogen suppresses the synthesis of both nitrogenase and ferredoxin III. These data suggest a possible role of ferredoxin III (bacterial-type) in nitrogen fixation by A. variabilis.

Two-step purification of Cyanophora ferredoxin and its identification in soluble protein preparations by isoelectric focusing

Cyanophora paradoxa ferredoxin is encoded by (cyano-)plastidic DNA, in contrast to those of all other photosynthetic eukaryotes investigated so far. In the present study we report (i) the rapid purification of a chloroplast-type [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin in a two-step procedure by DEAE-Sephadex and Mono Q ion-exchange chromatography; (ii) the biochemical characterization of the purified ferredoxin by electrophoretic separation methods on a microscale; and (iii) a qualitative and quantitative ferredoxin detection method in the femtomole range that allows densitometry, semidry immunoblotting, identification of ferredoxin in soluble cell protein preparations, and analysis of protein biosynthesis from cyanoplast poly(A)- RNA in vivo and in vitro. These fast micromethods should be useful for screening phototrophic species containing ferredoxins encoded by nonnuclear DNA.

Properties and structure of the soluble ferredoxin from Synechococcus 6301 (Anacystis nidulans). Relationship to gene sequences

Photoautotrophic cultures of the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6301 (Anacystis nidulans) possessed a single [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin with a midpoint redox potential of -385 mV. Determination of the amino acid sequence of the ferredoxin showed that it consisted of 98 residues, with methionine and tryptophan both absent, and with only the four cysteine residues that are required to co-ordinate the iron-sulphur cluster. Comparisons with other ferredoxin sequences showed that most resemblance was to those from filamentous cyanobacteria, with up to 87% homology. There was less resemblance to the ferredoxins of unicellular cyanobacteria, with 25 differences when compared with that from another Synechococcus sp. However, the sequence of Synechococcus 6301 ferredoxin was identical with that derived for a gene sequence for a putative ferredoxin from the genotypically closely related Synechococcus 7942 (Anacystis nidulans R2). In contrast, the sequence showed substantial differences from that corresponding to a putative ferredoxin gene from Synechococcus 6301 reported by Cozens & Walker [(1988) Biochem. J. 252, 563-569].

Expression of a gene encoding a novel ferredoxin in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6301

A gene was discovered in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6301 that encodes a protein highly related to members of the [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin family found in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria. It follows a cluster of seven genes encoding subunits of the cyanobacterial ATP synthase complex. It is transcribed as a monocistronic mRNA of 408 nucleotide residues. Transcription starts at a site 55 bp upstream of the initiator methionine codon. Transcriptional initiation and termination signals with sequences similar to those found in Escherichia coli are not present. Comparison of the predicted sequence of the ferredoxin protein with those of other cyanobacterial and plant ferredoxins shows an average sequences identity of about 40%. Twelve amino acid residues are invariant, including the four cysteine residues that provide ligands for the [2Fe-2S] cluster. The deduced Synechococcus ferredoxin protein sequence has a C-terminal extension of eight amino acid residues relative to most other 2Fe-2S ferredoxins except for those from halobacteria, which also have a C-terminal extension. The sequence of the Synechococcus protein is most closely related to ferredoxins from the two complex cyanobacteria Chlorogloeopsis fritschii and Mastigocladus laminosus. The deduced protein sequence is not that of the major soluble ferredoxin that has been isolated from Synechococcus 6301 and is reported in the accompanying paper [Wada, Masui, Matsubara & Rogers (1988) Biochem. J. 252, 571-575]. So it appears to be a novel [2Fe-2S] ferredoxin and Synechococcus 6301 contains at least two [2Fe-2S] ferredoxins, which may have different roles in vivo.

Molecular aspects of nitrogen fixation by photosynthetic prokaryotes

The photosynthetic prokaryotes possess diverse metabolic capabilities, both in carrying out different types of photosynthesis and in their other growth modes. The nature of the coupling of these energy-generating processes with the basic metabolic demands of the cell, such as nitrogen fixation, has stimulated research for many years. In addition, nitrogen fixation by photosynthetic prokaryotes exhibits several unique features; the oxygen-evolving cyanobacteria have developed various strategies for protection of the oxygen-labile nitrogenase proteins, and some photosynthetic bacteria have been found to regulate their nitrogenase (N2ase) activity in a rapid response to fixed nitrogen, thus saving substantial amounts of energy. Recent advances in the biochemistry, physiology, and genetics of nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria and photosynthetic bacteria are reviewed, with special emphasis on the unique features found in these organisms. Several major topics in cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation are reviewed. The isolation and characterization of N2ase and the isolation and sequence of N2ase structural genes have shown a great deal of similarity with other organisms. The possible pathways of electron flow to N2ase, the mechanisms of oxygen protection, and the control of nif expression and heterocyst differentiation will be discussed. Several recent advances in the physiology and biochemistry of nitrogen fixation by the photosynthetic bacteria are reviewed. Photosynthetic bacteria have been found to fix nitrogen microaerobically in darkness. The regulation of nif expression and possible pathways of electron flow to N2ase are discussed. The isolation of N2ase proteins, particularly the covalent modification of the Fe protein, the nature of the modifying group, properties of the activating enzyme, and regulating factors of the inactivation/activation process are reviewed.

Isolation and nucleotide sequence analysis of the ferredoxin I gene from the cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans R2

Two mixed oligonucleotide probes derived from conserved regions of the Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6714 ferredoxin amino acid sequence were utilized to isolate an Anacystis nidulans R2 clone containing the ferredoxin I gene. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a 297-base-pair (bp) open reading frame with a deduced amino acid sequence having high homology to other cyanobacterial ferredoxins. Assuming proteolytic cleavage of the initial methionine residue, the molecular weight of the mature A. nidulans R2 ferredoxin was 10,370. The initial methionine residue was preceded by a probable ribosome-binding site sequence, AGGA. Northern hybridization analysis with the cloned ferredoxin gene indicated an RNA transcript of approximately 450 bp. S1 nuclease mapping localized the transcription start site to a position 64 bases upstream from the initial methionine residue. The nucleotide sequence 14 to 8 bp preceding the transcription start site resembled a typical Escherichia coli promoter, but the sequence in the -35 region did not. Southern hybridization detected only a single copy of the ferredoxin sequence in the A. nidulans R2 genome.

Structural and evolution of chloroplast- and bacterial-type ferredoxins

Comparisons have been made between amino acid sequences of 26 chloroplast-type ferredoxins and 16 bacterial-type ferredoxins. Their structural characteristics are described and related to a three-dimensional structure of a chloroplast-type ferredoxin. Aspects of molecular evolution of these ferredoxins are presented together with a phylogenetic tree including both chloroplast- and bacterial-type ferredoxins.

The differential action of metronidazole on nitrogen fixation, hydrogen metabolism, photosynthesis and respiration in Anabaena and Scenedesmus

Metronidazole (2-methyl-5-nitroimidazole-1-ethanol) at 1--2 mM levels has been shown to be a selective inhibitor of nitrogenase activity in Anabanena. Two constitutive hydrogenases and photosynthesis are insensitive to metronidazole at these same concentrations. At higher concentrations metronidazole inhibits photosynthesis in Anabaena while photoreduction and to a lesser extent photohydrogen production are retarded in Scenedesmus. Respiration is slightly stimulated at high metronidazole levels in both algae. The reductant source for nitrogenase in Anabaena and photohydrogen production and photoreduction electron transport in Scenedesmus are discussed. Due to the activity to metronidazole as a selective inhibitor of ferredoxin-associated processes, it should prove to be useful in N2 fixation studies and in distinguishing between ferredoxin-linked reactions of different sensitivities and other activities not associated with low reduction potential components.