31P NMR studies of photophosphorylation in intact cells ofChromatium vinosum

In-cell NMR: Why and how?

NMR spectroscopy has been applied to cells and tissues analysis since its beginnings, as early as 1950. We have attempted to gather here in a didactic fashion the broad diversity of data and ideas that emerged from NMR investigations on living cells. Covering a large proportion of the periodic table, NMR spectroscopy permits scrutiny of a great variety of atomic nuclei in all living organisms non-invasively. It has thus provided quantitative information on cellular atoms and their chemical environment, dynamics, or interactions. We will show that NMR studies have generated valuable knowledge on a vast array of cellular molecules and events, from water, salts, metabolites, cell walls, proteins, nucleic acids, drugs and drug targets, to pH, redox equilibria and chemical reactions. The characterization of such a multitude of objects at the atomic scale has thus shaped our mental representation of cellular life at multiple levels, together with major techniques like mass-spectrometry or microscopies. NMR studies on cells has accompanied the developments of MRI and metabolomics, and various subfields have flourished, coined with appealing names: fluxomics, foodomics, MRI and MRS (i.e. imaging and localized spectroscopy of living tissues, respectively), whole-cell NMR, on-cell ligand-based NMR, systems NMR, cellular structural biology, in-cell NMR… All these have not grown separately, but rather by reinforcing each other like a braided trunk. Hence, we try here to provide an analytical account of a large ensemble of intricately linked approaches, whose integration has been and will be key to their success. We present extensive overviews, firstly on the various types of information provided by NMR in a cellular environment (the "why", oriented towards a broad readership), and secondly on the employed NMR techniques and setups (the "how", where we discuss the past, current and future methods). Each subsection is constructed as a historical anthology, showing how the intrinsic properties of NMR spectroscopy and its developments structured the accessible knowledge on cellular phenomena. Using this systematic approach, we sought i) to make this review accessible to the broadest audience and ii) to highlight some early techniques that may find renewed interest. Finally, we present a brief discussion on what may be potential and desirable developments in the context of integrative studies in biology.

In vivo 31P- and 13C-NMR studies of ATP synthesis and methane formation by Methanosarcina barkeri

Carbon and phosphorus metabolism of cell suspensions of Methanosarcina barkeri strain MS (DSM 800), grown on methanol, were probed in vivo by NMR. The experimental conditions, which involved thick cell suspensions, did not significantly affect the efficiency of the rate of methanol uptake by cells. Following exposure to methanol an acidification of both the intracellular and the extracellular spaces was observed and a gradient of 0.5 pH units across the cytoplasmic membrane was determined from the 31P-NMR data. High levels of intracellular ATP up to 4 mM were detected. The ADP concentration determined in a suspension of starved cells was only 2 mM, suggesting that a significant amount of ADP may be immobilized and is thus not detectable by NMR. In the presence of the protonophore, 3,3',4',5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide, the proton gradient was dissipated and the synthesis of ATP stopped. The inhibitor of the ATP synthase, N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, was rather inefficient in inhibiting ATP synthesis. High concentrations of N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (corresponding to 300 nmol/mg protein-1) were required to decrease the ATP content by approximately 60%, and, under these conditions, formation of acetyl phosphate was detected. However, the methanol consumption rate was not affected.

Active transport in phototrophic bacteria

Phototrophic bacteria utilize light-driven, cyclic electron flow to pump protons out of their cytoplasm, creating an electrochemical proton gradient, ΔμH+, outside acid and positive. These bacteria exchange external protons for internal cations (Na(+), K(+) and Ca(+2)), allowing the cells to maintain a nearly constant internal pH while maintaining the electrical component of ΔμH+. Na(+)/H(+) exchange also establishes an electrochemical Na(+) gradient. Phototrophic bacteria are able to utilize these electrochemical gradients as energy sources for the uptake of a wide variety of metabolites (e.g., sugars, organic acids and amino acids) via metabolite/cation symports.

In vivo 31P and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance studies of acetate metabolism in Chromatium vinosum

31P and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments were performed on suspensions of the phototrophic bacterium Chromatium vinosum incubated anaerobically in the dark. 31P NMR spectra revealed that during prolonged dark incubation high ATP levels are maintained. This phenomenon was independent of the presence of the energy reserves polyglucose and polyphosphate. 13C NMR experiments revealed that the amino acids glutamate, aspartate, and alanine are the major products of acetate incorporation in the dark. Apart from these amino acids, poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate was also formed. Acetate metabolism was markedly stimulated by the presence of polyglucose. The specific 13C activity of glutamate C-2 was approximately 50% that of glutamate C-4. The idea is discussed that this difference is the consequence of the maintenance of redox balance during entry of acetate into cell metabolism.

Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance studies of acetate metabolism in intact cells of rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides

13C-nuclear magnetic resonance was used to study the metabolism of [2-(13)C]acetate in suspensions of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides. In the dark, in logarithmic-phase cells the 13C label appeared first in butyrate C-2 and C-4 and subsequently in glutamate C-4 and succinate C-2 and C-3. In the light, synthesis of poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) takes place. Butyrate synthesis seems to be independent of PHB synthesis or degradation activity. Starved, logarithmic-phase cells also show massive synthesis of PHB in the dark. Stationary-phase cells incorporate 13C predominantly into glutamate and succinate. No significant butyrate biosynthesis can be detected in the dark or during illumination. The incorporation of label in PHB is very slow in these cells and most probably originates from exchange of 12C for 13C into PHB. This might indicate slow turnover without net synthesis of the polymer occurring under these conditions. The results are discussed in relation to the redox state and the availability of metabolic energy for biosynthetic reactions in the dark and during illumination of cell suspensions of Rps. sphaeroides.