Terminal reduction reactions of nitrate and sulfate assimilation in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2): identification of genes encoding nitrite and sulfite reductases

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in four Pseudomonas spp. under aerobic conditions

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) has an important role in soil nitrogen retention and is considered to be constrained to anaerobic conditions. However, a recent study found that Pseudomonas putida Y-9 is capable of DNRA under aerobic conditions. In this study, four species of Pseudomonas spp. were found to produce ammonium during the nitrite reduction process under aerobic conditions, similar to the Y-9 strain. The detectable ammonium in the culture supernatant during the nitrite reduction process for each of the four strains originated intracellularly. A subsequent ¹⁵N isotope experiment showed that these four strains were able to transform ¹⁵NO₂ ^- to ¹⁵NH₄ ⁺ in 3 h under aerobic conditions. The NirBD sequence in each of the four strains showed high similarity with that in the Y-9 strain (approximately 94.61%). Moreover, the nirBD sequences in the four strains and the Y-9 strain were all similar to those of other Pseudomonas spp., while they were relatively distant in terms of their phylogenetic relationship from those of other genera. Overall, these results suggest that these four strains of Pseudomonas spp. are capable of DNRA under aerobic conditions, which might be attributed to the existence of nirBD.

Spatial and temporal conversion of nitrogen using Arthrobacter sp. 24S4-2, a strain obtained from Antarctica

According to average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis of the complete genomes, strain 24S4-2 isolated from Antarctica is considered as a potential novel Arthrobacter species. Arthrobacter sp. 24S4-2 could grow and produce ammonium in nitrate or nitrite or even nitrogen free medium. Strain 24S4-2 was discovered to accumulate nitrate/nitrite and subsequently convert nitrate to nitrite intracellularly when incubated in a nitrate/nitrite medium. In nitrogen-free medium, strain 24S4-2 not only reduced the accumulated nitrite for growth, but also secreted ammonia to the extracellular under aerobic condition, which was thought to be linked to nitrite reductase genes nirB, nirD, and nasA by the transcriptome and RT-qPCR analysis. A membrane-like vesicle structure was detected in the cell of strain 24S4-2 by transmission electron microscopy, which was thought to be the site of intracellular nitrogen supply accumulation and conversion. This spatial and temporal conversion process of nitrogen source helps the strain maintain development in the absence of nitrogen supply or a harsh environment, which is part of its adaption strategy to the Antarctic environment. This process may also play an important ecological role, that other bacteria in the environment would benefit from its extracellular nitrogen source secretion and nitrite consumption characteristics.

The nitrite reductase encoded by nirBDs in Pseudomonas putida Y-9 influences ammonium transformation

It is unknown whether nirBDs, which conventionally encode an NADH nitrite reductase, play other novel roles in nitrogen cycling. In this study, we explored the role of nirBDs in the nitrogen cycling of Pseudomonas putida Y-9. nirBDs had no effect on organic nitrogen transformation by strain Y-9. The △nirBD strain exhibited higher ammonium removal efficiency (90.7%) than the wild-type strain (76.1%; P < 0.05) and lower end gaseous nitrogen (N2O) production. Moreover, the expression of glnA (control of the ammonium assimilation) in the △nirBD strain was higher than that in the wild-type strain (P < 0.05) after being cultured in ammonium-containing medium. Furthermore, nitrite noticeably inhibited the ammonium elimination of the wild-type strain, with a corresponding removal rate decreasing to 44.8%. However, no similar impact on ammonium transformation was observed for the △nirBD strain, with removal efficiency reaching 97.5%. In conclusion, nirBDs in strain Y-9 decreased the ammonium assimilation and increased the ammonium oxidation to nitrous oxide.

A Role for Secreted Immune Effectors in Microbial Biofilm Formation Revealed by Simple In Vitro Assays

The formation of biofilms is critical for the successful and stable colonization of mucosal surfaces by microbes, which often build three-dimensional environments by exuding exopolysaccharides and other macromolecules such as proteins, lipids, and even DNA. It is not just bacteria, but fungi such as yeast, that form these adherent interacting communities. Historically, biofilms have been studied in the context of pathogenesis, but only recently it has been recognized that important relationships among members of host-associated microbiomes are maintained within the context of biofilms. Host immune responses impact biofilm formation in various ways; for example, it is likely that formation of stable biofilms by non-pathogens improves barrier defenses by not just filling available niche spaces but also by helping to ward off pathogens directly. Recently, it was found that soluble immune effector molecules such as immunoglobulin A (IgA) in mammals serve essential roles in modulating complex biofilm communities in ways that benefit the host. Additional lines of evidence from other secreted immune effectors, such as the variable region-containing chitin-binding proteins (VCBPs) in protochordates, now suggest that this phenomenon is much more widespread than previously recognized. The activity of these immune molecules also likely serves roles beyond those of simple defense strategies; rather, they may be improving the outcome of symbiotic interactions benefiting the host. Thus, traditional immune assays that are aimed at studying the function of secreted immune effectors, such as agglutination assays, should take into account the possibility that the first observation may not be the last if the microbes under study are not directly killed. Here, we describe a series of simple approaches to characterize biofilm formation when bacteria (or yeast) are cultured in the presence of a secreted immune effector. To model this approach, we use microbes isolated from the gut of Ciona robusta, each grown in the presence or absence of VCBPs. The approaches defined here are amenable to diverse model systems and their microbes.

Coelimycin Synthesis Activatory Proteins Are Key Regulators of Specialized Metabolism and Precursor Flux in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Many microbial specialized metabolites are industrially relevant agents but also serve as signaling molecules in intra-species and even inter-kingdom interactions. In the antibiotic-producing Streptomyces, members of the SARP (Streptomyces antibiotic regulatory proteins) family of regulators are often encoded within biosynthetic gene clusters and serve as their direct activators. Coelimycin is the earliest, colored specialized metabolite synthesized in the life cycle of the model organism Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2). Deletion of its two SARP activators cpkO and cpkN abolished coelimycin synthesis and resulted in dramatic changes in the production of the later, stationary-phase antibiotics. The underlying mechanisms of these phenotypes were deregulation of precursor flux and quorum sensing, as shown by label-free, bottom-up shotgun proteomics. Detailed profiling of promoter activities demonstrated that CpkO is the upper-level cluster activator that induces CpkN, while CpkN activates type II thioesterase ScoT, necessary for coelimycin synthesis. What is more, we show that cpkN is regulated by quorum sensing gamma-butyrolactone receptor ScbR.

Cryptic Sulfur Incorporation in Thioangucycline Biosynthesis

Sulfur incorporation into natural products is a critical area of biosynthetic studies. Recently, a subset of sulfur-containing angucyclines has been discovered, and yet, the sulfur incorporation step is poorly understood. In this work, a series of thioether-bridged angucyclines were discovered, and a cryptic epoxide Michael acceptor intermediate was revealed en route to thioangucyclines (TACs) A and B. However, systematic gene deletion of the biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) by CRISPR/Cas9 could not identify any gene responsible for the conversion of the epoxide intermediate to TACs. Instead, a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments conclusively showed that the conversion is the result of two non-enzymatic steps, possibly mediated by endogenous hydrogen sulfide. Therefore, the TACs are proposed to derive from a detoxification process. These results are expected to contribute to the study of both angucyclines and the utilization of inorganic sulfur in natural product biosynthesis.

Nitrate assimilation, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium, and denitrification coexist in Pseudomonas putida Y-9 under aerobic conditions

The specific nitrate reduction pathway in Pseudomonas putida Y-9 under aerobic conditions was studied. Strain Y-9 removed 82% of the nitrate accompanied by an accumulation of ammonium and a decrease of total nitrogen. Ammonium inhibited nitrate transformation (removal efficiency was 22.65%), illustrating that nitrate assimilation exists in strain Y-9. The detectable ammonium in the supernatant during the nitrate reduction process came from intracellular locations in strain Y-9. The nirBD that encodes nitrite reductase had an important role in strain growth and ammonium production. A ¹⁵N isotope experiment demonstrated that strain Y-9 can conduct dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and nirBD controls this process. This further indicated that the loss of total nitrogen is due to denitrification. All results highlighted that strain Y-9 performs simultaneous nitrate assimilation, DNRA, and denitrification under aerobic conditions, and nirBD controls the assimilation and DNRA process. Thereinto, nitrate assimilation dominates the removal of nitrate.

The Streptomyces coelicolor Small ORF trpM Stimulates Growth and Morphological Development and Exerts Opposite Effects on Actinorhodin and Calcium-Dependent Antibiotic Production

In actinomycetes, antibiotic production is often associated with a morpho-physiological differentiation program that is regulated by complex molecular and metabolic networks. Many aspects of these regulatory circuits have been already elucidated and many others still deserve further investigations. In this regard, the possible role of many small open reading frames (smORFs) in actinomycete morpho-physiological differentiation is still elusive. In Streptomyces coelicolor, inactivation of the smORF trpM (SCO2038) – whose product modulates L-tryptophan biosynthesis – impairs production of antibiotics and morphological differentiation. Indeed, it was demonstrated that TrpM is able to interact with PepA (SCO2179), a putative cytosol aminopeptidase playing a key role in antibiotic production and sporulation. In this work, a S. coelicolor trpM knock-in (Sco-trpMKI) mutant strain was generated by cloning trpM into overexpressing vector to further investigate the role of trpM in actinomycete growth and morpho-physiological differentiation. Results highlighted that trpM: (i) stimulates growth and actinorhodin (ACT) production; (ii) decreases calcium-dependent antibiotic (CDA) production; (iii) has no effect on undecylprodigiosin production. Metabolic pathways influenced by trpM knock-in were investigated by combining two-difference in gel electrophoresis/nanoliquid chromatography coupled to electrospray linear ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (2D-DIGE/nanoLC-ESI-LIT-MS/MS) and by LC-ESI-MS/MS procedures, respectively. These analyses demonstrated that over-expression of trpM causes an over-representation of factors involved in protein synthesis and nucleotide metabolism as well as a down-representation of proteins involved in central carbon and amino acid metabolism. At the metabolic level, this corresponded to a differential accumulation pattern of different amino acids – including aromatic ones but tryptophan – and central carbon intermediates. PepA was also down-represented in Sco-trpMKI. The latter was produced as recombinant His-tagged protein and was originally proven having the predicted aminopeptidase activity. Altogether, these results highlight the stimulatory effect of trpM in S. coelicolor growth and ACT biosynthesis, which are elicited through the modulation of various metabolic pathways and PepA representation, further confirming the complexity of regulatory networks that control antibiotic production in actinomycetes.

Bacterial contamination of packaged smokeless tobacco sold in India

INTRODUCTION

About 21.4% of India's population uses smokeless tobacco products (SLT), yet limited data are available on their microbial contamination. To understand the potential microbiological risks associated with SLT use, the present study aims to investigate bacterial contamination of tobacco and the types of microbes that could be cultured from SLT products.

METHODS

Twenty-two brands of SLT products, including paan masala, khaini, gutka and tobacco-containing dentifrices were examined and cultured by using appropriate selective and differential media including MacConkey agar and CLED agar. This was followed by a sequence of further identification by biochemical tests.

RESULTS

All 22 types of SLT products showed growth of aerobic bacteria. The most common bacteria isolated were Pseudomonas aeruginosa followed by Streptococcus faecalis. Other bacteria that were isolated from products, in traces, included Klebsiella spp., E. coli, and Bacillus subtilus.

CONCLUSIONS

This study raises and addresses the issue of bacterial contamination of packaged SLT products. SLT users might be subjected to a significant health hazard, especially those who are immunocompromised.

Alpha-ketoglutarate protects Streptomyces coelicolor from visible light-induced phototoxicity

It has been known that some Streptomyces species, including the model strain Streptomyces coelicolor, are vulnerable to visible light. Much evidence demonstrated that the phototoxicity induced by visible light is a consequence of the formation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are potentially harmful to cells. In this study, we found that α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) has a protective role against the phototoxicity in S. coelicolor. It could be because that α-KG can detoxify the ROS with the concomitant formation of succinate, which mediates the cells getting into anaerobiosis to produce more NADH and maintain intracellular redox homeostasis, a situation that was demonstrated by overexpressing gdhA in S. coelicolor. This finding, therefore, connects the central metabolites with the bacterial resistance against phototoxicity effect induced by visible light.

•

Streptomyces coelicolor is sensitive to visible light induced phototoxicity.

•

α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) has a protective role against phototoxicity in S. coelicolor.

•

α-KG maintains intracellular NAD/NADH redox homeostasis to resist phototoxicity.

Streptomyces tsukubaensis as a new model for carbon repression: transcriptomic response to tacrolimus repressing carbon sources

In this work, we identified glucose and glycerol as tacrolimus repressing carbon sources in the important species Streptomyces tsukubaensis. A genome-wide analysis of the transcriptomic response to glucose and glycerol additions was performed using microarray technology. The transcriptional time series obtained allowed us to compare the transcriptomic profiling of S. tsukubaensis growing under tacrolimus producing and non-producing conditions. The analysis revealed important and different metabolic changes after the additions and a lack of transcriptional activation of the fkb cluster. In addition, we detected important differences in the transcriptional response to glucose between S. tsukubaensis and the model species Streptomyces coelicolor. A number of genes encoding key players of morphological and biochemical differentiation were strongly and permanently downregulated by the carbon sources. Finally, we identified several genes showing transcriptional profiles highly correlated to that of the tacrolimus biosynthetic pathway regulator FkbN that might be potential candidates for the improvement of tacrolimus production.

Spatial distribution of vanadium and microbial community responses in surface soil of Panzhihua mining and smelting area, China

Spatial distribution of vanadium in surface soils from different processing stages of vanadium-bearing titanomagnetite in Panzhihua mining and smelting area (China) as well as responses of microbial communities including bacteria and fungi to vanadium were investigated by fieldwork and laboratory incubation experiment. The vanadium contents in this region ranged from 149.3 to 4793.6 mg kg^-1, exceeding the soil background value of vanadium in China (82 mg kg^-1) largely. High-throughput DNA sequencing results showed bacterial communities from different manufacturing locations were quite diverse, but Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria were abundant in all samples. The contents of organic matter, available P, available S and vanadium had great influences on the structures of bacterial communities in soils. Bacterial communities converged to similar structure after long-term (240 d) cultivation with vanadium containing medium, dominating by bacteria which can tolerate or reduce toxicities of heavy metals. Fungal diversities decreased after cultivation, but Ascomycota and Ciliophora were still the most abundant phyla as in the original soil samples. Results in this study emphasize the urgency of investigating vanadium contaminations in soils and provide valuable information on how vanadium contamination influences bacterial and fungal communities.

Assessment of the Potential Role of Streptomyces in Cave Moonmilk Formation

Moonmilk is a karstic speleothem mainly composed of fine calcium carbonate crystals (CaCO₃) with different textures ranging from pasty to hard, in which the contribution of biotic rock-building processes is presumed to involve indigenous microorganisms. The real microbial input in the genesis of moonmilk is difficult to assess leading to controversial hypotheses explaining the origins and the mechanisms (biotic vs. abiotic) involved. In this work, we undertook a comprehensive approach in order to assess the potential role of filamentous bacteria, particularly a collection of moonmilk-originating Streptomyces, in the genesis of this speleothem. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed that indigenous filamentous bacteria could indeed participate in moonmilk development by serving as nucleation sites for CaCO₃ deposition. The metabolic activities involved in CaCO₃ transformation were furthermore assessed in vitro among the collection of moonmilk Streptomyces, which revealed that peptides/amino acids ammonification, and to a lesser extend ureolysis, could be privileged metabolic pathways participating in carbonate precipitation by increasing the pH of the bacterial environment. Additionally, in silico search for the genes involved in biomineralization processes including ureolysis, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia, active calcium ion transport, and reversible hydration of CO₂ allowed to identify genetic predispositions for carbonate precipitation in Streptomyces. Finally, their biomineralization abilities were confirmed by environmental SEM, which allowed to visualize the formation of abundant mineral deposits under laboratory conditions. Overall, our study provides novel evidences that filamentous Actinobacteria could be key protagonists in the genesis of moonmilk through a wide spectrum of biomineralization processes.

Heteroatom-Heteroatom Bond Formation in Natural Product Biosynthesis

Natural products that contain functional groups with heteroatom-heteroatom linkages (X-X, where X = N, O, S, and P) are a small yet intriguing group of metabolites. The reactivity and diversity of these structural motifs has captured the interest of synthetic and biological chemists alike. Functional groups containing X-X bonds are found in all major classes of natural products and often impart significant biological activity. This review presents our current understanding of the biosynthetic logic and enzymatic chemistry involved in the construction of X-X bond containing functional groups within natural products. Elucidating and characterizing biosynthetic pathways that generate X-X bonds could both provide tools for biocatalysis and synthetic biology, as well as guide efforts to uncover new natural products containing these structural features.

Heterologous expression and biochemical characterization of assimilatory nitrate and nitrite reductase reveals adaption and potential of Bacillus megaterium NCT-2 in secondary salinization soil

Large accumulation of nitrate in soil has resulted in "salt stress" and soil secondary salinization. Bacillus megaterium NCT-2 which was isolated from secondary salinization soil showed high capability of nitrate reduction. The genes encoding assimilatory nitrate and nitrite reductase from NCT-2 were cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli. The optimum co-expression condition was obtained with E. coli BL21 (DE3) and 0.1mM IPTG for 10h when expression was carried out at 20°C and 120rpm in Luria-Bertani (LB) medium. The molecular mass of nitrate reductase was 87.3kDa and 80.5kDa for electron transfer and catalytic subunit, respectively. The large and small subunit of nitrite reductase was 88kDa and 11.7kDa, respectively. The purified recombinant enzymes showed broad activity range of temperature and pH. The maximum activities were obtained at 35°C and 30°C, pH 6.2 and 6.5, which was similar to the condition of greenhouse soils. Maximum stimulation of the enzymes occurred with addition of Fe³⁺, while Cu²⁺ caused the maximum inhibition. The optimum electron donor was MV+Na₂S₂O₄+EDTA and MV+Na₂S₂O₄, respectively. Kinetic parameters of K_m and V_max were determined to be 670μM and 58U/mg for nitrate reductase, and 3100μM and 5.2U/mg for nitrite reductase. Results of quantitative real-time PCR showed that the maximum expression levels of nitrate and nitrite reductase were obtained at 50mM nitrate for 8h and 12h, respectively. These results provided information on novel assimilatory nitrate and nitrite reductase and their properties presumably revealed adaption of B. megaterium NCT-2 to secondary salinization condition. This study also shed light on the role played by the nitrate assimilatory pathway in B. megaterium NCT-2.

A role of nitrite reductase (NirBD) for NO homeostatic regulation in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Although nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule in bacteria and higher organisms, excessive intracellular NO is highly reactive and dangerous. Therefore, living cells need strict regulation systems for cellular NO homeostasis. Recently, we discovered that Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) retains the nitrogen oxide cycle (NO₃^-→NO₂^-→NO→NO₃^-) and nitrite removal system. The nitrogen oxide cycle regulates cellular NO levels, thereby controlling secondary metabolism initiation (red-pigmented antibiotic, RED production) and morphological differentiation. Nitrite induces gene expression in neighboring cells, suggesting another role for this cycle as a producer of transmittable intercellular communication molecules. Here, we demonstrated that ammonium-producing nitrite reductase (NirBD) is involved in regulating NO homeostasis in S. coelicolor A3(2). NirBD was constitutively produced in culture independently of GlnR, a known transcriptional factor. NirBD cleared the accumulated nitrite from the medium. Nir deletion mutants showed increased NO-dependent gene expression at later culture stages, whereas the wild-type M145 showed decreased expression, suggesting that high NO concentration was maintained in the mutant. Moreover, the nir deletion mutant produced more RED than that produced by the wild-type M145. These results suggest that NO₂^- removal by NirBD is important to regulate NO homeostasis and to complete NO signaling in S. coelicolor.

Deciphering the Transcriptional Response Mediated by the Redox-Sensing System HbpS-SenS-SenR from Streptomycetes

The secreted protein HbpS, the membrane-embedded sensor kinase SenS and the cytoplasmic response regulator SenR from streptomycetes have been shown to form a novel type of signaling pathway. Based on structural biology as well as different biochemical and biophysical approaches, redox stress-based post-translational modifications in the three proteins were shown to modulate the activity of this signaling pathway. In this study, we show that the homologous system, named here HbpSc-SenSc-SenRc, from the model species Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) provides this bacterium with an efficient defense mechanism under conditions of oxidative stress. Comparative analyses of the transcriptomes of the Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) wild-type and the generated hbpSc-senSc-senRc mutant under native and oxidative-stressing conditions allowed to identify differentially expressed genes, whose products may enhance the anti-oxidative defense of the bacterium. Amongst others, the results show an up-regulated transcription of genes for biosynthesis of cysteine and vitamin B₁₂, transport of methionine and vitamin B₁₂, and DNA synthesis and repair. Simultaneously, transcription of genes for degradation of an anti-oxidant compound is down-regulated in a HbpSc-SenSc-SenRc-dependent manner. It appears that HbpSc-SenSc-SenRc controls the non-enzymatic response of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) to counteract the hazardous effects of oxidative stress. Binding of the response regulator SenRc to regulatory regions of some of the studied genes indicates that the regulation is direct. The results additionally suggest that HbpSc-SenSc-SenRc may act in concert with other regulatory modules such as a transcriptional regulator, a two-component system and the Streptomyces B₁₂ riboswitch. The transcriptomics data, together with our previous in vitro results, enable a profound characterization of the HbpS-SenS-SenR system from streptomycetes. Since homologues to HbpS-SenS-SenR are widespread in different actinobacteria with ecological and medical relevance, the data presented here will serve as a basis to elucidate the biological role of these homologues.

Oxygen and Nitrate Respiration in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2)

Streptomyces species belong to the phylum Actinobacteria and can only grow with oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor. Like other members of this phylum, such as corynebacteria and mycobacteria, the aerobic respiratory chain lacks a soluble cytochrome c. It is therefore implicit that direct electron transfer between the cytochrome bc1 and the cytochrome aa3 oxidase complexes occurs. The complex developmental cycle of streptomycetes manifests itself in the production of spores, which germinate in the presence of oxygen into a substrate mycelium that greatly facilitates acquisition of nutrients necessary to support their saprophytic lifestyle in soils. Due to the highly variable oxygen levels in soils, streptomycetes have developed means of surviving long periods of hypoxia or even anaerobiosis but they fail to grow under these conditions. Little to nothing is understood about how they maintain viability under conditions of oxygen limitation. It is assumed that they can utilise a number of different electron acceptors to help them maintain a membrane potential, one of which is nitrate. The model streptomycete remains Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), and it synthesises three nonredundant respiratory nitrate reductases (Nar). These Nar enzymes are synthesised during different phases of the developmental cycle and they are functional only under oxygen-limiting (<5% oxygen in air) conditions. Nevertheless, the regulation of their synthesis does not appear to be responsive to nitrate and in the case of Nar1, it appears to be developmentally regulated. This review highlights some of the novel aspects of our current, but somewhat limited, knowledge of respiration in these fascinating bacteria.

Genome-scale analysis reveals a role for NdgR in the thiol oxidative stress response in Streptomyces coelicolor

BACKGROUND

NdgR is an IclR-type transcription factor that regulates leucine biosynthesis and other metabolic pathways in Streptomyces coelicolor. Recent study revealed that NdgR is one of the regulatory targets of SigR, an oxidative stress response sigma factor, suggesting that the NdgR plays an important physiological role in response to environmental stresses. Although the regulatory functions of NdgR were partly characterized, determination of its regulon is required for better understanding of the transcriptional regulatory network related with the oxidative stress response.

RESULTS

We determined genome-wide binding loci of NdgR by using chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with sequencing (ChIP-seq) and explored its physiological roles. The ChIP-seq profiles revealed 19 direct binding loci with a 15-bp imperfect palindromic motif, including 34 genes in their transcription units. Most genes in branched-chain amino acid and cysteine biosynthesis pathways were involved in the NdgR regulon. We proved that ndgR is induced by SigR under the thiol oxidation, and that an ndgR mutant strain is sensitive to the thiol oxidizing agent, diamide. Through the expression test of NdgR and the target genes for NdgR under diamide treatment, regulatory motifs were suggested. Interestingly, NdgR constitutes two regulatory motifs, coherent and incoherent feed-forward loops (FFL), in order to control its regulon under the diamide treatment. Using the regulatory motifs, NdgR regulates cysteine biosynthesis in response to thiol oxidative stress, enabling cells to maintain sulfur assimilation with homeostasis under stress conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis revealed that NdgR is a global transcriptional regulator involved in the regulation of branched-chain amino acids biosynthesis and sulphur assimilation. The identification of the NdgR regulon broadens our knowledge regarding complex regulatory networks governing amino acid biosynthesis in the context of stress responses in S. coelicolor.

Identification and characterization of the 'missing' terminal enzyme for siroheme biosynthesis in α-proteobacteria

It has recently been shown that the biosynthetic route for both the d1 -haem cofactor of dissimilatory cd1 nitrite reductases and haem, via the novel alternative-haem-synthesis pathway, involves siroheme as an intermediate, which was previously thought to occur only as a cofactor in assimilatory sulphite/nitrite reductases. In many denitrifiers (which require d1 -haem), the pathway to make siroheme remained to be identified. Here we identify and characterize a sirohydrochlorin-ferrochelatase from Paracoccus pantotrophus that catalyses the last step of siroheme synthesis. It is encoded by a gene annotated as cbiX that was previously assumed to be encoding a cobaltochelatase, acting on sirohydrochlorin. Expressing this chelatase from a plasmid restored the wild-type phenotype of an Escherichia coli mutant-strain lacking sirohydrochlorin-ferrochelatase activity, showing that this chelatase can act in the in vivo siroheme synthesis. A ΔcbiX mutant in P. denitrificans was unable to respire anaerobically on nitrate, proving the role of siroheme as a precursor to another cofactor. We report the 1.9 Å crystal structure of this ferrochelatase. In vivo analysis of single amino acid variants of this chelatase suggests that two histidines, His127 and His187, are essential for siroheme synthesis. This CbiX can generally be identified in α-proteobacteria as the terminal enzyme of siroheme biosynthesis.

Microbial sulfite respiration

Despite its reactivity and hence toxicity to living cells, sulfite is readily converted by various microorganisms using distinct assimilatory and dissimilatory metabolic routes. In respiratory pathways, sulfite either serves as a primary electron donor or terminal electron acceptor (yielding sulfate or sulfide, respectively), and its conversion drives electron transport chains that are coupled to chemiosmotic ATP synthesis. Notably, such processes are also seen to play a general role in sulfite detoxification, which is assumed to have an evolutionary ancient origin. The diversity of sulfite conversion is reflected by the fact that the range of microbial sulfite-converting enzymes displays different cofactors such as siroheme, heme c, or molybdopterin. This chapter aims to summarize the current knowledge of microbial sulfite metabolism and focuses on sulfite catabolism. The structure and function of sulfite-converting enzymes and the emerging picture of the modular architecture of the corresponding respiratory/detoxifying electron transport chains is emphasized.

A universally applicable and rapid method for measuring the growth of streptomyces and other filamentous microorganisms by methylene blue adsorption-desorption

Quantitative assessment of growth of filamentous microorganisms, such as streptomycetes, is generally restricted to determination of dry weight. Here, we describe a straightforward methylene blue-based sorption assay to monitor microbial growth quantitatively, simply, and rapidly. The assay is equally applicable to unicellular and filamentous bacterial and eukaryotic microorganisms.