Global regulation of photosynthesis and respiration by FnrL: the first two targets in the tetrapyrrole pathway

High-yield porphyrin production through metabolic engineering and biocatalysis

Porphyrins and their derivatives find extensive applications in medicine, food, energy and materials. In this study, we produced porphyrin compounds by combining Rhodobacter sphaeroides as an efficient cell factory with enzymatic catalysis. Genome-wide CRISPRi-based screening in R. sphaeroides identifies hemN as a target for improved coproporphyrin III (CPIII) production, and exploiting phosphorylation of PrrA further improves the production of bioactive CPIII to 16.5 g L-1 by fed-batch fermentation. Subsequent screening and engineering high-activity metal chelatases and coproheme decarboxylase results in the synthesis of various metalloporphyrins, including heme and the anti-tumor agent zincphyrin. After pilot-scale fermentation (200 L) and setting up the purification process for CPIII (purity >95%), we scaled up the production of heme and zincphyrin through enzymatic catalysis in a 5-L bioreactor, with CPIII achieving respective enzyme conversion rates of 63% and 98% and yielding 10.8 g L-1 and 21.3 g L-1, respectively. Our strategy offers a solution for high-yield bioproduction of heme and other valuable porphyrins with substantial industrial and medical applications.

RegAB Homolog of Burkholderia pseudomallei is the Master Regulator of Redox Control and involved in Virulence

Burkholderia pseudomallei, the etiological agent of melioidosis in humans and animals, often occupies environmental niches and infection sites characterized by limited concentrations of oxygen. Versatile genomic features enable this pathogen to maintain its physiology and virulence under hypoxia, but the crucial regulatory networks employed to switch from oxygen dependent respiration to alternative terminal electron acceptors (TEA) like nitrate, remains poorly understood. Here, we combined a Tn5 transposon mutagenesis screen and an anaerobic growth screen to identify a two-component signal transduction system with homology to RegAB. We show that RegAB is not only essential for anaerobic growth, but also for full virulence in cell lines and a mouse infection model. Further investigations of the RegAB regulon, using a global transcriptomic approach, identified 20 additional regulators under transcriptional control of RegAB, indicating a superordinate role of RegAB in the B. pseudomallei anaerobiosis regulatory network. Of the 20 identified regulators, NarX/L and a FNR homolog were selected for further analyses and a role in adaptation to anaerobic conditions was demonstrated. Growth experiments identified nitrate and intermediates of the denitrification process as the likely signal activateing RegAB, NarX/L, and probably of the downstream regulators Dnr or NsrR homologs. While deletions of individual genes involved in the denitrification process demonstrated their important role in anaerobic fitness, they showed no effect on virulence. This further highlights the central role of RegAB as the master regulator of anaerobic metabolism in B. pseudomallei and that the complete RegAB-mediated response is required to achieve full virulence. In summary, our analysis of the RegAB-dependent modulon and its interconnected regulons revealed a key role for RegAB of B. pseudomallei in the coordination of the response to hypoxic conditions and virulence, in the environment and the host.

Lysine acetylation regulates the function of the global anaerobic transcription factor FnrL in Rhodobacter sphaeroides

The metabolism of the purple non-sulfur bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides is versatile and it can grow under various conditions. Here, we report evidence that the anaerobic photosynthetic metabolism of R. sphaeroides is regulated by protein lysine acetylation. Using a proteomic approach, 59 acetylated peptides were detected. Among them is the global anaerobic transcription factor FnrL, which regulates the biosynthetic pathway of tetrapyrroles and synthesis of the photosynthetic apparatus. Lysine 223 of FnrL was identified as acetylated. We show that all three lysines in the DNA binding domain (K223, K213 and K175) of FnrL can be acetylated by acetyl-phosphate in vitro. A bacterial deacetylase homolog, RsCobB can deacetylate FnrL in vitro. The transcription of genes downstream of FnrL decreased when the DNA binding domain of FnrL was acetylated, as revealed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and acetylation-mimicking mutagenesis. An increasing number of acetylated lysines resulted in a further decrease in DNA binding ability. These results demonstrate that the lysine acetylation can fine tune the function of the oxygen-sensitive FnrL; thus, it might regulate anaerobic photosynthetic metabolism of R. sphaeroides.

Evolutionary Aspects and Regulation of Tetrapyrrole Biosynthesis in Cyanobacteria under Aerobic and Anaerobic Environments

Chlorophyll a (Chl) is a light-absorbing tetrapyrrole pigment that is essential for photosynthesis. The molecule is produced from glutamate via a complex biosynthetic pathway comprised of at least 15 enzymatic steps. The first half of the Chl pathway is shared with heme biosynthesis, and the latter half, called the Mg-branch, is specific to Mg-containing Chl a. Bilin pigments, such as phycocyanobilin, are additionally produced from heme, so these light-harvesting pigments also share many common biosynthetic steps with Chl biosynthesis. Some of these common steps in the biosynthetic pathways of heme, Chl and bilins require molecular oxygen for catalysis, such as oxygen-dependent coproporphyrinogen III oxidase. Cyanobacteria thrive in diverse environments in terms of oxygen levels. To cope with Chl deficiency caused by low-oxygen conditions, cyanobacteria have developed elaborate mechanisms to maintain Chl production, even under microoxic environments. The use of enzymes specialized for low-oxygen conditions, such as oxygen-independent coproporphyrinogen III oxidase, constitutes part of a mechanism adapted to low-oxygen conditions. Another mechanism adaptive to hypoxic conditions is mediated by the transcriptional regulator ChlR that senses low oxygen and subsequently activates the transcription of genes encoding enzymes that work under low-oxygen tension. In diazotrophic cyanobacteria, this multilayered regulation also contributes in Chl biosynthesis by supporting energy production for nitrogen fixation that also requires low-oxygen conditions. We will also discuss the evolutionary implications of cyanobacterial tetrapyrrole biosynthesis and regulation, because low oxygen-type enzymes also appear to be evolutionarily older than oxygen-dependent enzymes.

Role of HemF and HemN in the heme biosynthesis of Vibrio vulnificus under S-adenosylmethionine-limiting conditions

Vibrio vulnificus contains two coproporphyrinogen III oxidases (CPOs): O2-dependent HemF and O2-independent HemN. The growth of the hemF mutant HF1 was similar to wild-type cells at pH 7.5 under 2% O2 conditions where HemN was active and had a half-life of 64 min. However, HF1 did not grow when the medium pH decreased to pH 5.0, where oxidative stress affects endogenous S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) levels. The growth of HF1 was restored not only by elevating the expression of MnSOD but also through the exogenous addition of SAM. For HF1 to grow under these SAM-limiting conditions, a mutation arose in hemN, encoding HemNY74F . Refolding of the denatured enzymes in vitro revealed that the apparent binding affinity of HemNY74F for the cofactor SAM1, which coordinates the 4Fe-4S cluster, was approximately sixfold higher than that of HemN. The Km of HemNY74F for the co-substrate SAM2, which provides radicals for CPO reactions, was threefold lower than that of HemN. Thus, affinities for both SAM1 and SAM2 were higher with the Y74F mutation. Taken together, when SAM is limiting, HemN is apparently nonfunctional, and heme synthesis is continued by HemF.

Coproporphyrin III excretion identifies the anaerobic coproporphyrinogen III oxidase HemN as a copper target in the Cu⁺-ATPase mutant copA⁻ of Rubrivivax gelatinosus

Two genes encoding structurally similar Copper P1B -type ATPases can be identified in several genomes. Notwithstanding the high sequence and structural similarities these ATPases held, it has been suggested that they fulfil distinct physiological roles. In deed, we have shown that the Cu(+) -ATPase CtpA is required only for the activity of cuproproteins in the purple bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus; herein, we show that CopA is not directly required for cytochrome c oxidase but is vital for copper tolerance. Interestingly, excess copper in the copA(-) mutant resulted in a substantial decrease of the cytochrome c oxidase and the photosystem under microaerobic and anaerobic conditions together with the extrusion of coproporphyrin III. The data indicated that copper targeted the tetrapyrrole biosynthesis pathway at the level of the coproporphyrinogen III oxidase HemN and thereby affects the oxidase and the photosystem. This is the first in vivo demonstration that copper, like oxygen, affects tetrapyrrole biosynthesis presumably at the level of the SAM and [4Fe-4S] containing HemN enzyme. In light of these results and similar findings in Escherichia coli, the potential role of copper ions in the evolution of [4Fe-4S] enzymes and the Cu(+) -ATPases is discussed.

FxkR provides the missing link in the fixL-fixK signal transduction cascade in Rhizobium etli CFN42

Transcriptional control of the fixK gene in Rhizobium etli and R. leguminosarum bv. viciae is governed by a two-component signal transduction system that diverts from the conventional FixL-FixJ cascade that occurs in model rhizobia. Although a fixL gene, encoding a hybrid histidine kinase (hFixL), is present in R. etli, no fixJ, the cognate response regulator, has been identified. In this work, we present evidence that the pRet42f-located open reading frame RHE_PF00530 (fxkR) encodes a novel response regulator indispensable for fixKf activation under microaerobic growth. Moreover, results from complementation assays demonstrate that the activation of fixKf expression requires the presence of both hFixL and FxkR, and that the fxkR ortholog from R. leguminosarum bv. viciae is able to substitute for FxkR transcriptional control in R. etli. In addition, in these two organisms, hFixL- and FxkR-related proteins were identified in other bacteria, located in close proximity to a fixK-related gene. Using reporter fusions, site-directed mutagenesis, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we identified the FxkR binding site upstream from the transcriptional start site of fixKf. Similar to our previous observations for fixL and fixKf mutants, a null mutation in fxkR does not affect the symbiotic effectiveness of the strain. Thus, our findings reveal that FxkR is the long-standing missing key regulator that allows the transduction of the microaerobic signal for the activation of the FixKf regulon.

The periplasmic nitrate reductase nap is required for anaerobic growth and involved in redox control of magnetite biomineralization in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense

The magnetosomes of many magnetotactic bacteria consist of membrane-enveloped magnetite crystals, whose synthesis is favored by a low redox potential. However, the cellular redox processes governing the biomineralization of the mixed-valence iron oxide have remained unknown. Here, we show that in the alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense, magnetite biomineralization is linked to dissimilatory nitrate reduction. A complete denitrification pathway, including gene functions for nitrate (nap), nitrite (nir), nitric oxide (nor), and nitrous oxide reduction (nos), was identified. Transcriptional gusA fusions as reporters revealed that except for nap, the highest expression of the denitrification genes coincided with conditions permitting maximum magnetite synthesis. Whereas microaerobic denitrification overlapped with oxygen respiration, nitrate was the only electron acceptor supporting growth in the entire absence of oxygen, and only the deletion of nap genes, encoding a periplasmic nitrate reductase, and not deletion of nor or nos genes, abolished anaerobic growth and also delayed aerobic growth in both nitrate and ammonium media. While loss of nosZ or norCB had no or relatively weak effects on magnetosome synthesis, deletion of nap severely impaired magnetite biomineralization and resulted in fewer, smaller, and irregular crystals during denitrification and also microaerobic respiration, probably by disturbing the proper redox balance required for magnetite synthesis. In contrast to the case for the wild type, biomineralization in Δnap cells was independent of the oxidation state of carbon substrates. Altogether, our data demonstrate that in addition to its essential role in anaerobic respiration, the periplasmic nitrate reductase Nap has a further key function by participating in redox reactions required for magnetite biomineralization.

CtpA, a copper-translocating P-type ATPase involved in the biogenesis of multiple copper-requiring enzymes

The ctpA (ccoI) gene product, a putative inner membrane copper-translocating P1B-type ATPase present in many bacteria, has been shown to be involved only in the cbb(3) assembly in Rhodobacter capsulatus and Bradyrhizobium japonicum. ctpA was disrupted in Rubrivivax gelatinosus, and the mutants showed a drastic decrease in both cbb(3) and caa(3) oxidase activities. Inactivation of ctpA results also in a decrease in the amount of the nitrous oxide reductase, NosZ. This pleiotropic phenotype could be partially rescued by excess copper in the medium, indicating that CtpA is likely a copper transporter that supplies copper-requiring proteins in the membrane with this metal. Although CtpA shares significant sequence homologies with the homeostasis copper efflux P1B-type ATPases including the bacterial CopA and the human ATP7A and ATP7B, disruption of ctpA did not result in any sensitivity to excess copper. This indicates that the CtpA is not crucial for copper tolerance but is involved in the assembly of membrane and periplasmic copper enzymes in this bacterium. The potential roles of CtpA in bacteria in comparison with CopA are discussed.

Functional differentiation of two analogous coproporphyrinogen III oxidases for heme and chlorophyll biosynthesis pathways in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Coproporphyrinogen III oxidase (CPO) catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of coproporphyrinogen III to form protoporphyrinogen IX in heme biosynthesis and is shared in chlorophyll biosynthesis in photosynthetic organisms. There are two analogous CPOs, oxygen-dependent (HemF) and oxygen-independent (HemN) CPOs, in various organisms. Little information on cyanobacterial CPOs has been available to date. In the genome of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 there is one hemF-like gene, sll1185, and two hemN-like genes, sll1876 and sll1917. The three genes were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. Sll1185 showed CPO activity under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. While Sll1876 and Sll1917 showed absorbance spectra indicative of Fe-S proteins, only Sll1876 showed CPO activity under anaerobic conditions. Three mutants lacking one of these genes were isolated. The Deltasll1185 mutant failed to grow under aerobic conditions, with accumulation of coproporphyrin III. This growth defect was restored by cultivation under micro-oxic conditions. The growth of the Deltasll1876 mutant was significantly slower than that of the wild type under micro-oxic conditions, while it grew normally under aerobic conditions. Coproporphyrin III was accumulated at a low but significant level in the Deltasll1876 mutant grown under micro-oxic conditions. There was no detectable phenotype in Deltasll1917 under the conditions we examined. These results suggested that sll1185 encodes HemF as the sole CPO under aerobic conditions and that sll1876 encodes HemN operating under micro-oxic conditions, together with HemF. Such a differential operation of CPOs would ensure the stable supply of tetrapyrrole pigments under environments where oxygen levels fluctuate greatly.

Adaptation to oxygen: role of terminal oxidases in photosynthesis initiation in the purple photosynthetic bacterium, Rubrivivax gelatinosus

The appearance of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere via oxygenic photosynthesis required strict anaerobes and obligate phototrophs to cope with the presence of this toxic molecule. Here we show that in the anoxygenic phototroph Rubrivivax gelatinosus, the terminal oxidases (cbb(3), bd, and caa(3)) expand the range of ambient oxygen tensions under which the organism can initiate photosynthesis. Unlike the wild type, the cbb(3)(-)/bd(-) double mutant can start photosynthesis only in deoxygenated medium or when oxygen is removed, either by sparging cultures with nitrogen or by co-inoculation with strict aerobes bacteria. In oxygenated environments, this mutant survives nonphotosynthetically until the O(2) tension is reduced. The cbb(3) and bd oxidases are therefore required not only for respiration but also for reduction of the environmental O(2) pressure prior to anaerobic photosynthesis. Suppressor mutations that restore respiration simultaneously restore photosynthesis in nondeoxygenated medium. Furthermore, induction of photosystem in the cbb(3)(-) mutant led to a highly unstable strain. These results demonstrate that photosynthetic metabolism in environments exposed to oxygen is critically dependent on the O(2)-detoxifying action of terminal oxidases.

The tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway and its regulation in Rhodobacter capsulatus

The purple anoxygenic photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus is capable of growing in aerobic or anaerobic conditions, in the dark or using light, etc. Achieving versatile metabolic adaptations from respiration to photosynthesis requires the use of tetrapyrroles such as heme and bacteriochlorophyll, in order to carry oxygen, to transfer electrons, and to harvest light energy. A third tetrapyrrole, cobalamin (vitamin B(12)), is synthesized and used as a cofactor for many enzymes. Heme, bacteriochlorophyll, and vitamin B(12) constitute three major end products of the tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway in purple bacteria. Their respective synthesis involves a plethora of enzymes, several that have been characterized and several that are uncharacterized, as described in this review. To respond to changes in metabolic requirements, the pathway undergoes complex regulation to direct the flow of tetrapyrrole intermediates into a specific branch(s) at the expense of other branches of the pathway. Transcriptional regulation of the tetrapyrrole synthesizing enzymes by redox conditions and pathway intermediates is reviewed. In addition, we discuss the involvement of several transcription factors (RegA, CrtJ, FnrL, AerR, HbrL, Irr) as well as the role of riboswitches. Finally, the interdependence of the tetrapyrrole branches on each other synthesis is discussed.

Role of the global transcriptional regulator PrrA in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1: combined transcriptome and proteome analysis

The PrrBA two-component regulatory system is a major global regulator in Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1. Here we have compared the transcriptome and proteome profiles of the wild-type (WT) and mutant PrrA2 cells grown anaerobically in the dark with dimethyl sulfoxide as an electron acceptor. Approximately 25% of the genes present in the PrrA2 genome are regulated by PrrA at the transcriptional level, either directly or indirectly, by twofold or more relative to the WT. The genes affected are widespread throughout all COG (cluster of orthologous group) functional categories, with previously unsuspected "metabolic" genes affected in PrrA2 cells. PrrA was found to act as both an activator and a repressor of transcription, with more genes being repressed in the presence of PrrA (9:5 ratio). An analysis of the genes encoding the 1,536 peptides detected through our chromatographic study, which corresponds to 36% coverage of the genome, revealed that approximately 20% of the genes encoding these proteins were positively regulated, whereas approximately 32% were negatively regulated by PrrA, which is in excellent agreement with the percentages obtained for the whole-genome transcriptome profile. In addition, comparison of the transcriptome and proteome mean parameter values for WT and PrrA2 cells showed good qualitative agreement, indicating that transcript regulation paralleled the corresponding protein abundance, although not one for one. The microarray analysis was validated by direct mRNA measurement of randomly selected genes that were both positively and negatively regulated. lacZ transcriptional and kan translational fusions enabled us to map putative PrrA binding sites and revealed potential gene targets for indirect regulation by PrrA.

Identification of two homologous genes, chlAI and chlAII, that are differentially involved in isocyclic ring formation of chlorophyll a in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The isocyclic ring (E-ring) is a common structural feature of chlorophylls. The E-ring is formed by two structurally unrelated Mg-protoporphyrin IX monomethylester (MPE) cyclase systems, oxygen-dependent (AcsF), and oxygen-independent (BchE) systems, which involve incorporation of an oxygen atom from molecular oxygen and water into the C-13(1) position of MPE, respectively. Which system operates in cyanobacteria that can thrive in a variety of anaerobic environments remains an open question. The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has two acsF-like genes, sll1214 (chlA(I)) and sll1874 (chlA(II)), and three bchE-like genes, slr0905, sll1242, and slr0309. Five mutants lacking one of these genes were isolated. The DeltachlA(I) mutant failed to grow under aerobic conditions with anomalous accumulation of a pigment with fluorescence emission peak at 595 nm, which was identified 3,8-divinyl MPE by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The growth defect of DeltachlA(I) was restored by the cultivation under oxygen-limited (micro-oxic) conditions. MPE accumulation was also detected in DeltachlA(II) grown under microoxic conditions, but not in any of the bchE mutants. The phenotype was consistent with the expression pattern of two chlA genes: chlA(II) was induced under micro-oxic conditions in contrast to the constitutive expression of chlA(I). These findings suggested that ChlA(I) is the sole MPE cyclase system under aerobic conditions and that the induced ChlA(II) operates together with ChlA(I) under micro-oxic conditions. In addition, the accumulation of 3,8-divinyl MPE in the DeltachlA mutants suggested that the reduction of 8-vinyl group occurs after the formation of E-ring in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.