The structural gene for cytochrome c551 from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The nucleotide sequence shows a location downstream of the nitrite reductase gene

Genetic diversity into a novel free-living species of Bradyrhizobium from contaminated freshwater sediment

A free-living Bradyrhizobium strain isolated from a contaminated sediment sample collected at a water depth of 4 m from the Hongze Lake in China was characterized. Phylogenetic investigation of the 16S rRNA gene, concatenated housekeeping gene sequences, and phylogenomic analysis placed this strain in a lineage distinct from all previously described Bradyrhizobium species. The sequence similarities of the concatenated housekeeping genes support its distinctiveness with the type strains of the named species. The complete genome of strain S12-14-2 consists of a single chromosome of size 7.3M. The strain lacks both a symbiosis island and important nodulation genes. Based on the data presented here, the strain represents a new species, for which the name Bradyrhizobium roseus sp. nov. is proposed for the type strain S12-14-2T. Several functional differences between the isolate and other published genomes indicate that the genus Bradyrhizobium is extremely heterogeneous and has functions within the community, such as non-symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Functional denitrification and nitrogen fixation genes were identified on the genomes of strain S12-14-2T. Genes encoding proteins for sulfur oxidation, sulfonate transport, phosphonate degradation, and phosphonate production were also identified. Lastly, the B. roseus genome contained genes encoding ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, a trait that presumably enables autotrophic flexibility under varying environmental conditions. This study provides insights into the dynamics of a genome that could enhance our understanding of the metabolism and evolutionary characteristics of the genus Bradyrhizobium and a new genetic framework for future research.

Genomic and Metabolic Insights into Denitrification, Sulfur Oxidation, and Multidrug Efflux Pump Mechanisms in the Bacterium Rhodoferax sediminis sp. nov

This genus contains both phototrophs and nonphototrophic members. Here, we present a high-quality complete genome of the strain CHu59-6-5^T, isolated from a freshwater sediment. The circular chromosome (4.39 Mbp) of the strain CHu59-6-5^T has 64.4% G+C content and contains 4240 genes, of which a total of 3918 genes (92.4%) were functionally assigned to the COG (clusters of orthologous groups) database. Functional genes for denitrification (narGHJI, nirK and qnor) were identified on the genomes of the strain CHu59-6-5^T, except for N₂O reductase (nos) genes for the final step of denitrification. Genes (soxBXAZY) for encoding sulfur oxidation proteins were identified, and the FSD and soxF genes encoding the monomeric flavoproteins which have sulfide dehydrogenase activities were also detected. Lastly, genes for the assembly of two different RND (resistance-nodulation division) type efflux systems and one ABC (ATP-binding cassette) type efflux system were identified in the Rhodoferax sediminis CHu59-6-5^T. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences and Average Nucleotide Identities (ANI) support the idea that the strain CHu59-6-5^T has a close relationship to the genus Rhodoferax. A polyphasic study was done to establish the taxonomic status of the strain CHu59-6-5^T. Based on these data, we proposed that the isolate be classified to the genus Rhodoferax as Rhodoferax sediminis sp. nov. with isolate CHu59-6-5^T.

Transferable denitrification capability of Thermus thermophilus

Laboratory-adapted strains of Thermus spp. have been shown to require oxygen for growth, including the model strains T. thermophilus HB27 and HB8. In contrast, many isolates of this species that have not been intensively grown under laboratory conditions keep the capability to grow anaerobically with one or more electron acceptors. The use of nitrogen oxides, especially nitrate, as electron acceptors is one of the most widespread capabilities among these facultative strains. In this process, nitrate is reduced to nitrite by a reductase (Nar) that also functions as electron transporter toward nitrite and nitric oxide reductases when nitrate is scarce, effectively replacing respiratory complex III. In many T. thermophilus denitrificant strains, most electrons for Nar are provided by a new class of NADH dehydrogenase (Nrc). The ability to reduce nitrite to NO and subsequently to N2O by the corresponding Nir and Nor reductases is also strain specific. The genes encoding the capabilities for nitrate (nar) and nitrite (nir and nor) respiration are easily transferred between T. thermophilus strains by natural competence or by a conjugation-like process and may be easily lost upon continuous growth under aerobic conditions. The reason for this instability is apparently related to the fact that these metabolic capabilities are encoded in gene cluster islands, which are delimited by insertion sequences and integrated within highly variable regions of easily transferable extrachromosomal elements. Together with the chromosomal genes, these plasmid-associated genetic islands constitute the extended pangenome of T. thermophilus that provides this species with an enhanced capability to adapt to changing environments.

Regulation and Function of Versatile Aerobic and Anaerobic Respiratory Metabolism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitously distributed opportunistic pathogen that inhabits soil and water as well as animal-, human-, and plant-host-associated environments. The ubiquity would be attributed to its very versatile energy metabolism. P. aeruginosa has a highly branched respiratory chain terminated by multiple terminal oxidases and denitrification enzymes. Five terminal oxidases for aerobic respiration have been identified in the P. aeruginosa cells. Three of them, the cbb₃-1 oxidase, the cbb₃-2 oxidase, and the aa₃ oxidase, are cytochrome c oxidases and the other two, the bo₃ oxidase and the cyanide-insensitive oxidase, are quinol oxidases. Each oxidase has a specific affinity for oxygen, efficiency of energy coupling, and tolerance to various stresses such as cyanide and reactive nitrogen species. These terminal oxidases are used differentially according to the environmental conditions. P. aeruginosa also has a complete set of the denitrification enzymes that reduce nitrate to molecular nitrogen via nitrite, nitric oxide (NO), and nitrous oxide. These nitrogen oxides function as alternative electron acceptors and enable P. aeruginosa to grow under anaerobic conditions. One of the denitrification enzymes, NO reductase, is also expected to function for detoxification of NO produced by the host immune defense system. The control of the expression of these aerobic and anaerobic respiratory enzymes would contribute to the adaptation of P. aeruginosa to a wide range of environmental conditions including in the infected hosts. Characteristics of these respiratory enzymes and the regulatory system that controls the expression of the respiratory genes in the P. aeruginosa cells are overviewed in this article.

Purification, characterization, and gene cloning of thermophilic cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase from Hydrogenobacter thermophilus TK-6

A thermophilic, chemolithoautotrophic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium, Hydrogenobacter thermophilus TK-6 can grow autotrophically under anaerobic conditions by denitrification. One of the denitrification enzymes, cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase, was isolated and its gene was cloned from strain TK-6. The subunit molecular mass of the purified enzyme was 61.5 kDa and the isoelectric point was determined to be 9.3. The optimum temperature and pH for the enzymatic reaction were 70-75 degrees C and 6.5-7.0, respectively. The structural gene for the enzyme, nirS, is probably transcribed as a hexacistronic operon with the following genes encoding a putative diheme cytochrome c and the proteins required for biosynthesis of heme d(1). The NirS sequence was phylogenetically distinct from those of proteobacteria. The consensus -35 and -10 sequences were found in the putative nirS promoter region, but the consensus sequences for the DNR/NnrR-type or the NorR/FhpR-type nitric oxide sensing regulators were not found in this region.

Localization of denitrification genes on the chromosomal map of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Cleavage of chromosomal DNA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO by Spel and Dpnl has been used together with PFGE and Southern hybridization to establish the map location of the following principal denitrification genes: narGH (encoding the large and small subunits of respiratory nitrate reductase), nirS (cytochrome-cd1 nitrite reductase), nirE (uroporphyrinogen-III methyltransferase for haem d1 biosynthesis), norCB (nitric-oxide reductase complex), nosZ (nitrous-oxide reductase) and nosA (an outer-membrane protein and OprC homologue). The study also included several genes related to anaerobic or microaerophilic metabolism: napA (encoding the catalytic subunit of the periplasmic nitrate reductase), ccoN (catalytic subunit of the cytochrome-cbb3 oxidase), hemN (oxygen-independent coproporphyrinogen-III oxidase), an fnr-like regulatory gene, and azu and fdxA (electron carriers azurin and ferredoxin, respectively). Genes necessary for denitrification are concentrated at 20 to 36 min on the P. aeruginosa chromosome, where they form three separate loci, the nir-nor, nar and nos gene clusters. Genomic DNA of Pseudomonas stutzeri ZoBell was also subjected to Spel restriction and Southern analysis to assign denitrification genes to individual fragments. A homologue of nosA encoding a putative component of the Cu-processing apparatus for nitrous-oxide reductase was identified. In both P. aeruginosa and P. stutzeri there is evidence for the linkage of anr (fnrA) with hemN and ccoN; and for the presence of a napA gene.

Cell biology and molecular basis of denitrification

Denitrification is a distinct means of energy conservation, making use of N oxides as terminal electron acceptors for cellular bioenergetics under anaerobic, microaerophilic, and occasionally aerobic conditions. The process is an essential branch of the global N cycle, reversing dinitrogen fixation, and is associated with chemolithotrophic, phototrophic, diazotrophic, or organotrophic metabolism but generally not with obligately anaerobic life. Discovered more than a century ago and believed to be exclusively a bacterial trait, denitrification has now been found in halophilic and hyperthermophilic archaea and in the mitochondria of fungi, raising evolutionarily intriguing vistas. Important advances in the biochemical characterization of denitrification and the underlying genetics have been achieved with Pseudomonas stutzeri, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Paracoccus denitrificans, Ralstonia eutropha, and Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Pseudomonads represent one of the largest assemblies of the denitrifying bacteria within a single genus, favoring their use as model organisms. Around 50 genes are required within a single bacterium to encode the core structures of the denitrification apparatus. Much of the denitrification process of gram-negative bacteria has been found confined to the periplasm, whereas the topology and enzymology of the gram-positive bacteria are less well established. The activation and enzymatic transformation of N oxides is based on the redox chemistry of Fe, Cu, and Mo. Biochemical breakthroughs have included the X-ray structures of the two types of respiratory nitrite reductases and the isolation of the novel enzymes nitric oxide reductase and nitrous oxide reductase, as well as their structural characterization by indirect spectroscopic means. This revealed unexpected relationships among denitrification enzymes and respiratory oxygen reductases. Denitrification is intimately related to fundamental cellular processes that include primary and secondary transport, protein translocation, cytochrome c biogenesis, anaerobic gene regulation, metalloprotein assembly, and the biosynthesis of the cofactors molybdopterin and heme D1. An important class of regulators for the anaerobic expression of the denitrification apparatus are transcription factors of the greater FNR family. Nitrate and nitric oxide, in addition to being respiratory substrates, have been identified as signaling molecules for the induction of distinct N oxide-metabolizing enzymes.

Expression and characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c-551 and two site-directed mutants: role of tryptophan 56 in the modulation of redox properties

The gene coding for Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome c-551 was expressed in Pseudomonas putida under aerobic conditions, using two different expression vectors; the more efficient proved to be pNM185, induced by m-toluate. Mature holo-(cytochrome c-551) was produced in high yield by this expression system, and was purified to homogeneity. Comparison of the recombinant wild-type protein with that purified from Ps. aeruginosa showed no differences in structural and functional properties. Trp56, an internal residue in cytochrome c-551, is located at hydrogen-bonding distance from haem propionate-17, together with Arg47. Ionization of propionate-17 was related to the observed pH-dependence of redox potential. The role of Trp56 in determining the redox properties of Ps. aeruginosa cytochrome c-551 was assessed by site-directed mutagenesis, by substitution with Tyr (W56Y) and Phe (W56F). The W56Y mutant is similar to the wild-type cytochrome. On the other hand, the W56F mutant, although similar to the wild-type protein in spectral properties and electron donation to azurin, is characterized by a weakening of the Fe-Met61 bond, as shown in the oxidized protein by the loss of the 695 nm band approx. 2 pH units below the wild-type. Moreover, in W56F, the midpoint potential and its pH-dependence are both different from the wild-type. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that hydrogen-bonding to haem propionate-17 is important in modulation of the redox properties of Ps. aeruginosa cytochrome c-551.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa nitrite reductase (or cytochrome oxidase): an overview

The biochemistry and molecular biology of nitrite reductase, a key enzyme in the dissimilatory denitrification pathway of Ps aeruginosa which reduces nitrite to NO, is reviewed in this paper. The enzyme is a non-covalent homodimer, each subunit containing one heme c and one heme d1. The reaction mechanisms of nitrite and oxygen reduction are discussed in detail, as well as the interaction of the enzyme with its macromolecular substrates, azurin and cytochrome c551. Special attention is paid to new structural information, such as the chemistry of the d1 prosthetic group and the primary sequence of the gene and the protein. Finally, results on the expression both in Ps aeruginosa and in heterologous systems are presented.

Anaerobic control of denitrification in Pseudomonas stutzeri escapes mutagenesis of an fnr-like gene

The synthesis of proteins necessary for the respiratory reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen is induced in most denitrifying bacteria by a shift to anaerobiosis. A homolog of the fur gene, which encodes a redox-active transcriptional activator in Escherichia coli, was isolated from Pseudomonas stutzeri by using the anr gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa as the hybridization probe (R. G. Sawers, Mol. Microbiol. 5:1469-1481, 1991). The coding region was located on a 3-kb SmaI fragment. An open reading frame of 735 nucleotides, designated fnrA, had the coding potential for a protein of 244 amino acids (M(r) = 27,089) with 51.2% positional identity to the Fnr protein of E. coli and 86.1% to the Anr protein of P. aeruginosa. The fnrA gene gave a single transcript of 0.85 kb and complemented nitrate-dependent anaerobic growth of an fnr deletion mutant of E. coli. An open reading frame immediately downstream of fnrA encoded adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (EC 2.4.2.7). Mutations in fnrA were generated in vitro by insertional mutagenesis followed by gene replacement. Gene inactivation was shown by loss of the fnrA transcript and detection of an arginine deiminase (EC 3.5.3.6)-negative phenotype in the mutants. However, neither the enzymatic activities nor the levels of anaerobic expression of the respiratory enzymes nitrate reductase (EC 1.7.99.4), nitrate reductase (EC 1.9.3.2), NO reductase (EC 1.7.99.7), and N2O reductase (EC 1.7.99.6) were changed in fnrA mutants versus the P. stutzeri wild type. A promoter-probe vector for Fnr-dependent transcription was activated anaerobically in the fnrA mutants, suggesting the existence of a second Fnr homolog in the same bacterium. The Fnr-binding motifs, apparent in the promoter region of genes encoding denitrification components of P. stutzeri, are likely to be recognized by this second Fnr homolog. Preliminary evidence indicates also the presence of the catabolite activator protein, Crp, in P. stutzeri.

Quaternary structure of quinoprotein ethanol dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its reoxidation with a novel cytochrome c from this organism

Quinoprotein (2,7,9-tricarboxy-1H-pyrrolo-[2,3-f]quinoline-4,5-dione quinone form (PQQ)-containing) ethanol dehydrogenase (EDH) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 17933 was purified to homogeneity. EDH has an alpha 2 beta 2 configuration and subunits comparable in size to those of methanol dehydrogenase (MDH). Compared with other PQQ-containing dehydrogenases, Ca2+ is rather loosely bound and it seems necessary for PQQ binding and stability of EDH. Two soluble cytochromes c were detected in extracts from ethanol-grown cells and both were purified. One of these has an alpha-band at 551 nm for its reduced form, the oxidized form being an excellent electron acceptor for the semiquinone form of EDH. Since this cytochrome is quite different from the already known cytochrome c551 (operating in nitrate respiration) of this organism, it is indicated here as cytochrome cEDH. Comparison of the N-terminal amino acid sequence of cytochrome cEDH with the complete sequence of cytochrome cL (the electron acceptor of MDH), cytochrome cH (the electron acceptor of cytochrome cL) and cytochrome c551 revealed some similarity only to internal stretches of amino acids of the last two. The other soluble cytochrome appeared to be the already-known cytochrome c556. Since it was not an electron acceptor for cytochrome cEDH (neither for EDH), cytochrome cH is lacking in the quinoprotein-EDH-ethanol oxidation system of P. aeruginosa. It seems, therefore, that the respiratory chains for MDH and EDH are different.

Characterization of Tn5 mutants deficient in dissimilatory nitrite reduction in Pseudomonas sp. strain G-179, which contains a copper nitrite reductase

Tn5 was used to generate mutants that were deficient in the dissimilatory reduction of nitrite for Pseudomonas sp. strain G-179, which contains a copper nitrite reductase. Three types of mutants were isolated. The first type showed a lack of growth on nitrate, nitrite, and nitrous oxide. The second type grew on nitrate and nitrous oxide but not on nitrite (Nir-). The two mutants of this type accumulated nitrite, showed no nitrite reductase activity, and had no detectable nitrite reductase protein bands in a Western blot (immunoblot). Tn5 insertions in these two mutants were clustered in the same region and were within the structural gene for nitrite reductase. The third type of mutant grew on nitrate but not on nitrite or nitrous oxide (N2O). The mutant of this type accumulated significant amounts of nitrite, NO, and N2O during anaerobic growth on nitrate and showed a slower growth rate than the wild type. Diethyldithiocarbamic acid, which inhibited nitrite reductase activity in the wild type, did not affect NO reductase activity, indicating that nitrite reductase did not participate in NO reduction. NO reductase activity in Nir- mutants was lower than that in the wild type when the strains were grown on nitrate but was the same as that in the wild type when the strains were grown on nitrous oxide. These results suggest that the reduction of NO and N2O was carried out by two distinct processes and that mutations affecting nitrite reduction resulted in reduced NO reductase activity following anaerobic growth with nitrate.

Mutants of Pseudomonas fluorescens deficient in dissimilatory nitrite reduction are also altered in nitric oxide reduction

Five Tn5 mutants of Pseudomonas fluorescens AK-15 deficient in dissimilatory reduction of nitrite were isolated and characterized. Two insertions occurred inside the nitrite reductase structural gene (nirS) and resulted in no detectable nitrite reductase protein on a Western immunoblot. One mutant had Tn5 inserted inside nirC, the third gene in the same operon, and produced a defective nitrite reductase protein. Two other mutants had insertions outside of this nir operon and also produced defective proteins. All of the Nir- mutants characterized showed not only loss of nitrite reductase activity but also a significant decrease in nitric oxide reductase activity. When cells were incubated with 15NO in H2(18)O, about 25% of the oxygen found in nitrous oxide exchanged with H2O. The extent of exchange remained constant throughout the reaction, indicating the incorporation of 18O from H2(18)O reached equilibrium rapidly. In all nitrite reduction-deficient mutants, less than 4% of the 18O exchange was found, suggesting that the hydration and dehydration step was altered. These results indicate that the factors involved in dissimilatory reduction of nitrite influenced the subsequent NO reduction in this organism.

Metabolic pathways in Paracoccus denitrificans and closely related bacteria in relation to the phylogeny of prokaryotes

Denitrification and methylotrophy in Paracoccus denitrificans are discussed. The properties of the enzymes of denitrification: the nitrate-nitrite antiporter, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, nitric oxide reductase and nitrous oxide reductase are described. The genes for none of these proteins have yet been cloned and sequenced from P. denitrificans. A number of sequences are available for enzymes from Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas stutzeri and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. It is concluded that pathway specific c-type cytochromes are involved in denitrification. At least 40 genes are involved in denitrification. In methanol oxidation at least 20 genes are involved. In this case too pathway specific c-type cytochromes are involved. The sequence homology between the quinoproteins methanol dehydrogenase, alcoholde-hydrogenase and glucose dehydrogenase is discussed. This superfamily of proteins is believed to be derived from a common ancestor. The moxFJGI operon determines the structural components of methanol dehydrogenase and the associated c-type cytochrome. Upstream of this operon 3 regulatory proteins were found. The moxY protein shows the general features of a sensor protein and the moxX protein those of a regulatory protein. Thus a two component regulatory system is involved in both denitrification and methylotrophy. The phylogeny of prokaryotes based on 16S rRNA sequence is discussed. It is remarkable that the 16S rRNA of Thiosphaera pantotropha is identical to that of P. denitrificans. Still these bacteria show a number of differences. T. pantotropha is able to denitrify under aerobic circumstances and it shows heterotrophic nitrification. Nitrification and heterotrophic nitrification are found in species belonging to the beta-and gamma-subdivisions of purple non-sulfur bacteria. Thus the occurrence of heterotrophic nitrification in T. pantotropha, which belongs to the alpha-subdivision of purple non-sulfur bacteria is a remarkable property. Furthermore T. pantotropha contains two nitrate reductases of which the periplasmic one is supposed to be involved in aerobic denitrification. The nitrite reductase is of the Cu-type and not of the cytochrome cd1 type as in P. denitrificans. Also the cytochrome b of the Qbc complex of T. pantotropha is highly similar to its counterpart in P. denitrificans. It is hypothesized that the differences between these two organisms which both contain large megaplasmids is due to a combination of loss of genetic information and plasmid-coded properties. The distribution of a number of complex metabolic systems in eubacteria and in a number of species belonging to the alpha-group of purple non sulphur bacteria is reviewed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Isolation and characterization of a nitrite reductase gene and its use as a probe for denitrifying bacteria

The dissimilatory nitrite reductase gene (nir) from denitrifying bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri JM300 was isolated and sequenced. In agreement with recent sequence information from another strain of P. stutzeri (strain ZoBell), strain JM300 nir is the first gene in an operon and is followed immediately by a gene which codes for a tetraheme protein; 2.5 kb downstream from the nitrite reductase carboxyl terminus is the cytochrome c551 gene. P. stutzeri JM300 nir is 67% homologous to P. aeruginosa nir and 88% homologous to P. stutzeri ZoBell nir. Within the nitrite reductase promoter region is an fnr-like operator very similar to an operator upstream of a separate anaerobic pathway, that for arginine catabolism in P. aeruginosa. The denitrification genes in P. stutzeri thus may be under the same regulatory control as that found for other anaerobic pathways of pseudomonads. We have generated gene probes from restriction fragments within the nitrite reductase operon to evaluate their usefulness in ecology studies of denitrification. Probes generated from the carboxyl terminus region hybridized to denitrifying bacteria from five separate genera and did not cross-hybridize to any nondenitrifying bacteria among six genera tested. The denitrifier probes were successful in detecting denitrifying bacteria from samples such as a bioreactor consortium, aquifer microcosms, and denitrifying toluene-degrading enrichments. The probes also were used to reveal restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns indicating the diversity of denitrifiers present in these mixed communities.

Cloning, nucleotide sequence and expression of the cytochrome c-552 gene from Hydrogenobacter thermophilus

A cytochrome c-552 gene from a thermophilic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium, Hydrogenobacter thermophilus, was cloned by using two oligonucleotide probes, which had been synthesized based on the known amino acid sequence of the protein. A 780-bp PstI-SphI fragment of the cloned DNA was sequenced and found to contain the entire structural gene coding for cytochrome c-552 bracketed by apparent Escherichia coli consensus sequences for initiation and termination of transcription. Cytochrome c-552 is synthesized in vivo as a precursor having an N-terminal signal sequence consisting of 18 amino acid residues. The cloned cytochrome c-552 gene without its own signal sequence was introduced into the pKK223-3 vector and expressed in E. coli upon induction with isopropyl beta-D-thiogalactoside. An expressed cytochrome c-552 protein had a methionine residue at the N-terminus since an initiation signal was introduced before the first amino acid residue of the mature cytochrome c-552. The heme c was attached to apo-type cytochrome c-552 in the cytoplasm of E. coli and the holoprotein had spectral properties, similar to the authentic cytochrome c-552 from H. thermophilus.

Positive FNR-like control of anaerobic arginine degradation and nitrate respiration in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

A mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was characterized which could not grow anaerobically with nitrate as the terminal electron acceptor or with arginine as the sole energy source. In this anr mutant, nitrate reductase and arginine deiminase were not induced by oxygen limitation. The anr mutation was mapped in the 60-min region of the P. aeruginosa chromosome. A 1.3-kb chromosomal fragment from P. aeruginosa complemented the anr mutation and also restored anaerobic growth of an Escherichia coli fnr deletion mutant on nitrate medium, indicating that the 1.3-kb fragment specifies an FNR-like regulatory protein. The arcDABC operon, which encodes the arginine deiminase pathway enzymes of P. aeruginosa, was rendered virtually noninducible by a deletion or an insertion in the -40 region of the arc promoter. This -40 sequence (TTGAC....ATCAG) strongly resembled the consensus FNR-binding site (TTGAT....ATCAA) of E. coli. The cloned arc operon was expressed at low levels in E. coli; nevertheless, some FNR-dependent anaerobic induction could be observed. An FNR-dependent E. coli promoter containing the consensus FNR-binding site was expressed well in P. aeruginosa and was regulated by oxygen limitation. These findings suggest that P. aeruginosa and E. coli have similar mechanisms of anaerobic control.

The nirSTBM region coding for cytochrome cd1-dependent nitrite respiration of Pseudomonas stutzeri consists of a cluster of mono-, di-, and tetraheme proteins

Genes for respiratory nitrite reduction (denitrification) of Pseudomonas stutzeri are clustered within 7 kbp. A 4.6-kbp Hind III-Kpn I fragment carrying nirS, the structural gene for cytochrome cd1, was sequenced. An open reading frame immediately downstream of nirS codes for a 22.8-kDa protein with four heme c-binding motifs. Mutagenesis of this gene causes an apparent defect in electron donation to cytochrome cd1. Following this ORF are the structural genes for cytochrome c552, cytochrome c551, and ORF5 that codes for a 11.9-kDa monoheme protein. All cytochromes have a signal sequence for protein export.

Close linkage in Pseudomonas stutzeri of the structural genes for respiratory nitrite reductase and nitrous oxide reductase, and other essential genes for denitrification

The structural gene, nirS, for the respiratory nitrite reductase (cytochrome cd1) from Pseudomonas stutzeri was identified by (i) sequencing of the N-terminus of the purified protein and partial sequencing of the cloned gene, (ii) immunoscreening of clones from a lambda gt11 expression library, (iii) mapping of the transposon Tn5 insertion site in the nirS mutant strain MK202, and (iv) complementation of strain MK202 with a plasmid carrying the insert from an immunopositive lambda clone. A mutation causing overproduction of cytochrome c552 mapped on the same 8.6 kb EcoRI fragment within 1.7 kb of the mutation affecting nirS. Two mutations affecting nirD, which cause the synthesis of an inactive cytochrome cd1 lacking heme d1, mapped 1.1 kb apart within a 10.5 kb EcoRI fragment contiguous with the fragment carrying nirS. Nir- mutants of another type that had low level synthesis of cytochrome cd1, had Tn5 insertions within an 11 kb EcoRI fragment unlinked to the nirS+ and nirD+ fragments. Cosmid mapping provided evidence that nirS and nirD, and the previously identified gene cluster for nitrous oxide respiration are closely linked. The nirS gene and the structural gene for nitrous oxide reductase, nosZ, are transcribed in the same direction and are separated by approximately 14 kb. Several genes for copper processing are located within the intervening region.

Involvement of the hydrophobic patch of azurin in the electron-transfer reactions with cytochrome C551 and nitrite reductase

The electron-transfer reactions of site-specific mutants of the blue copper protein azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa with its presumed physiological redox partners cytochrome c551 and nitrite reductase were investigated by temperature-jump and stopped-flow experiments. In the hydrophobic patch of azurin Met44 was replaced by Lys, and in the His35 patch His35 was replaced by Phe, Leu and Gln. Both patches were previously thought to be involved in electron transfer. 1H-NMR spectroscopy revealed only minor changes in the three-dimensional structure of the mutants compared to wild-type azurin. Observed changes in midpoint potentials could be attributed to electrostatic effects. The slow relaxation phase observed in temperature-jump experiments carried out on equilibrium mixtures of wild-type azurin and cytochrome c551 was definitively shown to be due to a conformational relaxation involving His35. Analysis of the kinetic data demonstrated the involvement of the hydrophobic but not the His35 patch of azurin in the electron transfer reactions with both cytochrome c551 and nitrite reductase.