1
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Ellenbogen JB, Borton MA, McGivern BB, Cronin DR, Hoyt DW, Freire-Zapata V, McCalley CK, Varner RK, Crill PM, Wehr RA, Chanton JP, Woodcroft BJ, Tfaily MM, Tyson GW, Rich VI, Wrighton KC. Methylotrophy in the Mire: direct and indirect routes for methane production in thawing permafrost. mSystems 2024; 9:e0069823. [PMID: 38063415 PMCID: PMC10805028 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00698-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
While wetlands are major sources of biogenic methane (CH4), our understanding of resident microbial metabolism is incomplete, which compromises the prediction of CH4 emissions under ongoing climate change. Here, we employed genome-resolved multi-omics to expand our understanding of methanogenesis in the thawing permafrost peatland of Stordalen Mire in Arctic Sweden. In quadrupling the genomic representation of the site's methanogens and examining their encoded metabolism, we revealed that nearly 20% of the metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) encoded the potential for methylotrophic methanogenesis. Further, 27% of the transcriptionally active methanogens expressed methylotrophic genes; for Methanosarcinales and Methanobacteriales MAGs, these data indicated the use of methylated oxygen compounds (e.g., methanol), while for Methanomassiliicoccales, they primarily implicated methyl sulfides and methylamines. In addition to methanogenic methylotrophy, >1,700 bacterial MAGs across 19 phyla encoded anaerobic methylotrophic potential, with expression across 12 phyla. Metabolomic analyses revealed the presence of diverse methylated compounds in the Mire, including some known methylotrophic substrates. Active methylotrophy was observed across all stages of a permafrost thaw gradient in Stordalen, with the most frozen non-methanogenic palsa found to host bacterial methylotrophy and the partially thawed bog and fully thawed fen seen to house both methanogenic and bacterial methylotrophic activities. Methanogenesis across increasing permafrost thaw is thus revised from the sole dominance of hydrogenotrophic production and the appearance of acetoclastic at full thaw to consider the co-occurrence of methylotrophy throughout. Collectively, these findings indicate that methanogenic and bacterial methylotrophy may be an important and previously underappreciated component of carbon cycling and emissions in these rapidly changing wetland habitats.IMPORTANCEWetlands are the biggest natural source of atmospheric methane (CH4) emissions, yet we have an incomplete understanding of the suite of microbial metabolism that results in CH4 formation. Specifically, methanogenesis from methylated compounds is excluded from all ecosystem models used to predict wetland contributions to the global CH4 budget. Though recent studies have shown methylotrophic methanogenesis to be active across wetlands, the broad climatic importance of the metabolism remains critically understudied. Further, some methylotrophic bacteria are known to produce methanogenic by-products like acetate, increasing the complexity of the microbial methylotrophic metabolic network. Prior studies of Stordalen Mire have suggested that methylotrophic methanogenesis is irrelevant in situ and have not emphasized the bacterial capacity for metabolism, both of which we countered in this study. The importance of our findings lies in the significant advancement toward unraveling the broader impact of methylotrophs in wetland methanogenesis and, consequently, their contribution to the terrestrial global carbon cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared B. Ellenbogen
- Department of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Mikayla A. Borton
- Department of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Bridget B. McGivern
- Department of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Dylan R. Cronin
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - David W. Hoyt
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Earth and Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | | | - Carmody K. McCalley
- Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, USA
| | - Ruth K. Varner
- Department of Earth Sciences and Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Patrick M. Crill
- Department of Geological Sciences, Bolin Center for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Richard A. Wehr
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Jeffrey P. Chanton
- Earth Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
| | - Ben J. Woodcroft
- Centre for Microbiome Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
| | - Malak M. Tfaily
- Department of Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - Gene W. Tyson
- Centre for Microbiome Research, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Translational Research Institute, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
| | - Virginia I. Rich
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Kelly C. Wrighton
- Department of Soil and Crop Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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2
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Borton MA, Shaffer M, Hoyt DW, Jiang R, Ellenbogen JB, Purvine S, Nicora CD, Eder EK, Wong AR, Smulian AG, Lipton MS, Krzycki JA, Wrighton KC. Targeted curation of the gut microbial gene content modulating human cardiovascular disease. mBio 2023; 14:e0151123. [PMID: 37695138 PMCID: PMC10653893 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01511-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE One of the most-cited examples of the gut microbiome modulating human disease is the microbial metabolism of quaternary amines from protein-rich foods. By-products of this microbial processing promote atherosclerotic heart disease, a leading cause of human mortality globally. Our research addresses current knowledge gaps in our understanding of this microbial metabolism by holistically inventorying the microorganisms and expressed genes catalyzing critical atherosclerosis-promoting and -ameliorating reactions in the human gut. This led to the creation of an open-access resource, the Methylated Amine Gene Inventory of Catabolism database, the first systematic inventory of gut methylated amine metabolism. More importantly, using this resource we deliver here, we show for the first time that these gut microbial genes can predict human disease, paving the way for microbiota-inspired diagnostics and interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikayla A. Borton
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Michael Shaffer
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - David W. Hoyt
- Environmental and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Ruisheng Jiang
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | | | - Samuel Purvine
- Environmental and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Carrie D. Nicora
- Environmental and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Elizabeth K. Eder
- Environmental and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Allison R. Wong
- Environmental and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - A. George Smulian
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Mary S. Lipton
- Environmental and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Joseph A. Krzycki
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Kelly C. Wrighton
- Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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3
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Di Ciaula A, Bonfrate L, Khalil M, Garruti G, Portincasa P. Contribution of the microbiome for better phenotyping of people living with obesity. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 2023; 24:839-870. [PMID: 37119391 PMCID: PMC10148591 DOI: 10.1007/s11154-023-09798-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023]
Abstract
Obesity has reached epidemic proportion worldwide and in all ages. Available evidence points to a multifactorial pathogenesis involving gene predisposition and environmental factors. Gut microbiota plays a critical role as a major interface between external factors, i.e., diet, lifestyle, toxic chemicals, and internal mechanisms regulating energy and metabolic homeostasis, fat production and storage. A shift in microbiota composition is linked with overweight and obesity, with pathogenic mechanisms involving bacterial products and metabolites (mainly endocannabinoid-related mediators, short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, catabolites of tryptophan, lipopolysaccharides) and subsequent alterations in gut barrier, altered metabolic homeostasis, insulin resistance and chronic, low-grade inflammation. Although animal studies point to the links between an "obesogenic" microbiota and the development of different obesity phenotypes, the translational value of these results in humans is still limited by the heterogeneity among studies, the high variation of gut microbiota over time and the lack of robust longitudinal studies adequately considering inter-individual confounders. Nevertheless, available evidence underscores the existence of several genera predisposing to obesity or, conversely, to lean and metabolically health phenotype (e.g., Akkermansia muciniphila, species from genera Faecalibacterium, Alistipes, Roseburia). Further longitudinal studies using metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics with exact characterization of confounders are needed in this field. Results must confirm that distinct genera and specific microbial-derived metabolites represent effective and precision interventions against overweight and obesity in the long-term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agostino Di Ciaula
- Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePre-J), University of Bari Medical School, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Leonilde Bonfrate
- Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePre-J), University of Bari Medical School, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Mohamad Khalil
- Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePre-J), University of Bari Medical School, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Gabriella Garruti
- Section of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology, Andrology and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePre-J), University of Bari Medical School, 70124 Bari, Italy
| | - Piero Portincasa
- Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, Department of Precision and Regenerative Medicine and Ionian Area (DiMePre-J), University of Bari Medical School, 70124 Bari, Italy
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4
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Holland SI, Vázquez-Campos X, Ertan H, Edwards RJ, Manefield MJ, Lee M. Metaproteomics reveals methyltransferases implicated in dichloromethane and glycine betaine fermentation by ' Candidatus Formimonas warabiya' strain DCMF. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1035247. [PMID: 36569084 PMCID: PMC9768040 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1035247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dichloromethane (DCM; CH2Cl2) is a widespread pollutant with anthropogenic and natural sources. Anaerobic DCM-dechlorinating bacteria use the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, yet dechlorination reaction mechanisms remain unclear and the enzyme(s) responsible for carbon-chlorine bond cleavage have not been definitively identified. Of the three bacterial taxa known to carry out anaerobic dechlorination of DCM, 'Candidatus Formimonas warabiya' strain DCMF is the only organism that can also ferment non-chlorinated substrates, including quaternary amines (i.e., choline and glycine betaine) and methanol. Strain DCMF is present within enrichment culture DFE, which was derived from an organochlorine-contaminated aquifer. We utilized the metabolic versatility of strain DCMF to carry out comparative metaproteomics of cultures grown with DCM or glycine betaine. This revealed differential abundance of numerous proteins, including a methyltransferase gene cluster (the mec cassette) that was significantly more abundant during DCM degradation, as well as highly conserved amongst anaerobic DCM-degrading bacteria. This lends strong support to its involvement in DCM dechlorination. A putative glycine betaine methyltransferase was also discovered, adding to the limited knowledge about the fate of this widespread osmolyte in anoxic subsurface environments. Furthermore, the metagenome of enrichment culture DFE was assembled, resulting in five high quality and two low quality draft metagenome-assembled genomes. Metaproteogenomic analysis did not reveal any genes or proteins for utilization of DCM or glycine betaine in the cohabiting bacteria, supporting the previously held idea that they persist via necromass utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie I. Holland
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Xabier Vázquez-Campos
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Haluk Ertan
- School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia,Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Richard J. Edwards
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Michael J. Manefield
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia,School of Chemical Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Matthew Lee
- Water Research Centre, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia,*Correspondence: Matthew Lee,
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5
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Singh A, Schnürer A. AcetoBase Version 2: a database update and re-analysis of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase amplicon sequencing data from anaerobic digesters. Database (Oxford) 2022; 2022:6609150. [PMID: 35708586 PMCID: PMC9216588 DOI: 10.1093/database/baac041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
AcetoBase is a public repository and database of formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS) sequences. It is the first systematic collection of bacterial FTHFS nucleotide and protein sequences from genomes and metagenome-assembled genomes and of sequences generated by clone library sequencing. At its publication in 2019, AcetoBase (Version 1) was also the first database to establish connections between the FTHFS gene, the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway and 16S ribosomal RNA genes. Since the publication of AcetoBase, there have been significant improvements in the taxonomy of many bacterial lineages and accessibility/availability of public genomics and metagenomics data. The update to the AcetoBase reference database described here (Version 2) provides new sequence data and taxonomy, along with improvements in web functionality and user interface. The evaluation of this latest update by re-analysis of publicly accessible FTHFS amplicon sequencing data previously analysed with AcetoBase Version 1 revealed significant improvements in the taxonomic assignment of FTHFS sequences. Database URL: https://acetobase.molbio.slu.se
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhijeet Singh
- Department of Molecular Sciences, BioCenter, Anaerobic Microbiology and Biotechnology Group, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , Almas Allé 5, Uppsala SE-750 07, Sweden
| | - Anna Schnürer
- Department of Molecular Sciences, BioCenter, Anaerobic Microbiology and Biotechnology Group, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , Almas Allé 5, Uppsala SE-750 07, Sweden
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6
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Abstract
The gut microbiota is now considered as one of the key elements contributing to the regulation of host health. Virtually all our body sites are colonised by microbes suggesting different types of crosstalk with our organs. Because of the development of molecular tools and techniques (ie, metagenomic, metabolomic, lipidomic, metatranscriptomic), the complex interactions occurring between the host and the different microorganisms are progressively being deciphered. Nowadays, gut microbiota deviations are linked with many diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hepatic steatosis, intestinal bowel diseases (IBDs) and several types of cancer. Thus, suggesting that various pathways involved in immunity, energy, lipid and glucose metabolism are affected.In this review, specific attention is given to provide a critical evaluation of the current understanding in this field. Numerous molecular mechanisms explaining how gut bacteria might be causally linked with the protection or the onset of diseases are discussed. We examine well-established metabolites (ie, short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, trimethylamine N-oxide) and extend this to more recently identified molecular actors (ie, endocannabinoids, bioactive lipids, phenolic-derived compounds, advanced glycation end products and enterosynes) and their specific receptors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and gamma (PPARγ), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), and G protein-coupled receptors (ie, GPR41, GPR43, GPR119, Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5).Altogether, understanding the complexity and the molecular aspects linking gut microbes to health will help to set the basis for novel therapies that are already being developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem M de Vos
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Herbert Tilg
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Matthias Van Hul
- Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), Metabolism and Nutrition research group (MNUT), UCLouvain, Université catholique de Louvain, Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and BIOtechnology (WELBIO), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Patrice D Cani
- Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), Metabolism and Nutrition research group (MNUT), UCLouvain, Université catholique de Louvain, Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and BIOtechnology (WELBIO), Brussels, Belgium
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7
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Abstract
The gut microbiota is now considered as one of the key elements contributing to the regulation of host health. Virtually all our body sites are colonised by microbes suggesting different types of crosstalk with our organs. Because of the development of molecular tools and techniques (ie, metagenomic, metabolomic, lipidomic, metatranscriptomic), the complex interactions occurring between the host and the different microorganisms are progressively being deciphered. Nowadays, gut microbiota deviations are linked with many diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, hepatic steatosis, intestinal bowel diseases (IBDs) and several types of cancer. Thus, suggesting that various pathways involved in immunity, energy, lipid and glucose metabolism are affected.In this review, specific attention is given to provide a critical evaluation of the current understanding in this field. Numerous molecular mechanisms explaining how gut bacteria might be causally linked with the protection or the onset of diseases are discussed. We examine well-established metabolites (ie, short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, trimethylamine N-oxide) and extend this to more recently identified molecular actors (ie, endocannabinoids, bioactive lipids, phenolic-derived compounds, advanced glycation end products and enterosynes) and their specific receptors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and gamma (PPARγ), aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), and G protein-coupled receptors (ie, GPR41, GPR43, GPR119, Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5).Altogether, understanding the complexity and the molecular aspects linking gut microbes to health will help to set the basis for novel therapies that are already being developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Willem M de Vos
- Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Herbert Tilg
- Department of Internal Medicine I, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Medical University Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Matthias Van Hul
- Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), Metabolism and Nutrition research group (MNUT), UCLouvain, Université catholique de Louvain, Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and BIOtechnology (WELBIO), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Patrice D Cani
- Louvain Drug Research Institute (LDRI), Metabolism and Nutrition research group (MNUT), UCLouvain, Université catholique de Louvain, Walloon Excellence in Life Sciences and BIOtechnology (WELBIO), Brussels, Belgium
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8
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Zhao M, Pi Y, Zhang L. Knowledge Discovery-Based Analysis of Health Factors of Urinary Infections in Elderly Cardiology Inpatients. JOURNAL OF HEALTHCARE ENGINEERING 2022; 2022:7037037. [PMID: 35494517 PMCID: PMC9050277 DOI: 10.1155/2022/7037037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A set of semantic similarity calculation methods combining full-text text and domain knowledge topics is proposed for the current study of entity association relations such as disease-gene in medical texts combined with topics in knowledge discovery, which is insufficient to reveal the deep semantic association relations of medical domain knowledge at topic level. Taking urinary infections in elderly inpatients as the research subject, word embedding representation of word vectors and topic vectors is performed by the TWE model, and similarity calculation is performed by combining text and domain knowledge topics based on Siamese Network framework. The urinary microbiological culture results of both groups were dominated by Escherichia coli, accounting for 34.65% and 47.92%, respectively; the use of antimicrobial drugs in the symptomatic urinary infection group was 94.19% higher than that in the asymptomatic bacteriuria group, 77.27% (x 2 = 8.158, P=0.004).
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zhao
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Chongqing Seventh People's Hospital, Chongqing 401320, China
| | - Yan Pi
- Department of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Chongqing Seventh People's Hospital, Chongqing 401320, China
| | - Longbo Zhang
- Urology Surgery, People's Hospital Affiliated to Chongqing Three Gorges Medical College, Wanzhou, Chongqing 404000, China
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9
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Feng Y, Bui TPN, Stams AJM, Boeren S, Sánchez-Andrea I, de Vos WM. Comparative genomics and proteomics of Eubacterium maltosivorans: functional identification of trimethylamine methyltransferases and bacterial microcompartments in a human intestinal bacterium with a versatile lifestyle. Environ Microbiol 2022; 24:517-534. [PMID: 34978130 PMCID: PMC9303578 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Eubacterium maltosivorans YIT is a human intestinal isolate capable of acetogenic, propionogenic and butyrogenic growth. Its 4.3-Mb genome sequence contains coding sequences for 4227 proteins, including 41 different methyltransferases. Comparative proteomics of strain YIT showed the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway proteins to be actively produced during homoacetogenic growth on H2 and CO2 while butyrogenic growth on a mixture of lactate and acetate significantly upregulated the production of proteins encoded by the recently identified lctABCDEF cluster and accessory proteins. Growth on H2 and CO2 unexpectedly induced the production of two related trimethylamine methyltransferases. Moreover, a set of 16 different trimethylamine methyltransferases together with proteins for bacterial microcompartments were produced during growth and deamination of the quaternary amines, betaine, carnitine and choline. Growth of strain YIT on 1,2-propanediol generated propionate with propanol and induced the formation of bacterial microcompartments that were also prominently visible in betaine-grown cells. The present study demonstrates that E. maltosivorans is highly versatile in converting low-energy fermentation end-products in the human gut into butyrate and propionate whilst being capable of preventing the formation of the undesired trimethylamine by converting betaine and other quaternary amines in bacterial microcompartments into acetate and butyrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Feng
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands
| | - Thi Phuong Nam Bui
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands.,Caelus Pharmaceuticals, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alfons J M Stams
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands.,Centre of Biological Engineering, IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, 4710-057, Portugal
| | - Sjef Boeren
- Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands
| | - Irene Sánchez-Andrea
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands
| | - Willem M de Vos
- Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research, Stippeneng 4, Wageningen, 6708 WE, The Netherlands.,Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
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10
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Kashyap J, Ringiesn JR, Schwab N, Ferguson DJ. Isolation and characterization of a novel choline degrading Citrobacter amalonaticus strain from the human gut. CURRENT RESEARCH IN MICROBIAL SCIENCES 2022; 3:100157. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2022.100157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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11
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The MttB superfamily member MtyB from the human gut symbiont Eubacterium limosum is a cobalamin-dependent γ-butyrobetaine methyltransferase. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:101327. [PMID: 34688665 PMCID: PMC8604678 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of trimethylamine (TMA) from quaternary amines such as l-carnitine or γ-butyrobetaine (4-(trimethylammonio)butanoate) by gut microbial enzymes has been linked to heart disease. This has led to interest in enzymes of the gut microbiome that might ameliorate net TMA production, such as members of the MttB superfamily of proteins, which can demethylate TMA (e.g., MttB) or l-carnitine (e.g., MtcB). Here, we show that the human gut acetogen Eubacterium limosum demethylates γ-butyrobetaine and produces MtyB, a previously uncharacterized MttB superfamily member catalyzing the demethylation of γ-butyrobetaine. Proteomic analyses of E. limosum grown on either γ-butyrobetaine or dl-lactate were employed to identify candidate proteins underlying catabolic demethylation of the growth substrate. Three proteins were significantly elevated in abundance in γ-butyrobetaine-grown cells: MtyB, MtqC (a corrinoid-binding protein), and MtqA (a corrinoid:tetrahydrofolate methyltransferase). Together, these proteins act as a γ-butyrobetaine:tetrahydrofolate methyltransferase system, forming a key intermediate of acetogenesis. Recombinant MtyB acts as a γ-butyrobetaine:MtqC methyltransferase but cannot methylate free cobalamin cofactor. MtyB is very similar to MtcB, the carnitine methyltransferase, but neither was detectable in cells grown on carnitine nor was detectable in cells grown with γ-butyrobetaine. Both quaternary amines are substrates for either enzyme, but kinetic analysis revealed that, in comparison to MtcB, MtyB has a lower apparent Km for γ-butyrobetaine and higher apparent Vmax, providing a rationale for MtyB abundance in γ-butyrobetaine-grown cells. As TMA is readily produced from γ-butyrobetaine, organisms with MtyB-like proteins may provide a means to lower levels of TMA and proatherogenic TMA-N-oxide via precursor competition.
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12
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Kremp F, Müller V. Methanol and methyl group conversion in acetogenic bacteria: biochemistry, physiology and application. FEMS Microbiol Rev 2021; 45:5903270. [PMID: 32901799 DOI: 10.1093/femsre/fuaa040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The production of bulk chemicals mostly depends on exhausting petroleum sources and leads to emission of greenhouse gases. Within the last decades the urgent need for alternative sources has increased and the development of bio-based processes received new attention. To avoid the competition between the use of sugars as food or fuel, other feedstocks with high availability and low cost are needed, which brought acetogenic bacteria into focus. This group of anaerobic organisms uses mixtures of CO2, CO and H2 for the production of mostly acetate and ethanol. Also methanol, a cheap and abundant bulk chemical produced from methane, is a suitable substrate for acetogenic bacteria. In methylotrophic acetogens the methyl group is transferred to the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, a pathway to reduce CO2 to acetate via a series of C1-intermediates bound to tetrahydrofolic acid. Here we describe the biochemistry and bioenergetics of methanol conversion in the biotechnologically interesting group of anaerobic, acetogenic bacteria. Further, the bioenergetics of biochemical production from methanol is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Kremp
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bioenergetics, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue Str. 9, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Volker Müller
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Bioenergetics, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Max-von-Laue Str. 9, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany
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13
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Kivenson V, Paul BG, Valentine DL. An Ecological Basis for Dual Genetic Code Expansion in Marine Deltaproteobacteria. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:680620. [PMID: 34335502 PMCID: PMC8318568 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.680620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Marine benthic environments may be shaped by anthropogenic and other localized events, leading to changes in microbial community composition evident decades after a disturbance. Marine sediments in particular harbor exceptional taxonomic diversity and can shed light on distinctive evolutionary strategies. Genetic code expansion is a strategy that increases the structural and functional diversity of proteins in cells, by repurposing stop codons to encode non-canonical amino acids: pyrrolysine (Pyl) and selenocysteine (Sec). Here, we report both a study of the microbiome at a deep sea industrial waste dumpsite and an unanticipated discovery of codon reassignment in its most abundant member, with potential ramifications for interpreting microbial interactions with ocean-dumped wastes. The genomes of abundant Deltaproteobacteria from the sediments of a deep-ocean chemical waste dump site have undergone genetic code expansion. Pyl and Sec in these organisms appear to augment trimethylamine (TMA) and one-carbon metabolism, representing an increased metabolic versatility. The inferred metabolism of these sulfate-reducing bacteria places them in competition with methylotrophic methanogens for TMA, a contention further supported by earlier isotope tracer studies and reanalysis of metatranscriptomic studies. A survey of genomic data further reveals a broad geographic distribution of a niche group of similarly specialized Deltaproteobacteria, including at sulfidic sites in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Guaymas Basin, and North Sea, as well as in terrestrial and estuarine environments. These findings reveal an important biogeochemical role for specialized Deltaproteobacteria at the interface of the carbon, nitrogen, selenium, and sulfur cycles, with their niche adaptation and ecological success potentially augmented by genetic code expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronika Kivenson
- Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - Blair G. Paul
- Department of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
| | - David L. Valentine
- Department of Earth Science and Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States
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14
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Luo J, Yu J, Peng X. Could partial nonstarch polysaccharides ameliorate cancer by altering m 6A RNA methylation in hosts through intestinal microbiota? Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2021; 62:8319-8334. [PMID: 34036843 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1927975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
There is a growing scientific view that the improvement of cancer by nonstarch polysaccharides (NSPs) is mediated by intestinal microbiota. Intestinal bacteria affect the supply of methyl donor substances and influence N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA methylation. As one of the epigenetic/epitranscriptomic modifications, m6A RNA methylation is closely related to the initiation and progression of cancers. This review summarizes the cancer-improving effects of NSPs through modulation of intestinal microbiota. It also summarizes the relationship between intestinal bacteria and the supply of methyl donor substances. Moreover, it also provides a summary of the effects of m6A RNA methylation on various types of cancer. The proposed mechanism is that, dietary consumed NSPs are utilized by specific intestinal bacteria and further reshape the microbial structure. Methyl donor substances will be directly or indirectly generated by the reshaped-microbiota, and affect the m6A RNA methylation of cancer-related and pro-carcinogenic inflammatory cytokine genes. Therefore, NSPs may change the m6A RNA methylation by affecting the methyl donor supply produced by intestinal microbiota and ameliorate cancer. This review discussed the possibility of cancer improvement of bioactive NSPs achieved by impacting RNA methylation via the intestinal microbiota, and it will offer new insights for the application of NSPs toward specific cancer prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianming Luo
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Juntong Yu
- College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xichun Peng
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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15
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Hallberg ZF, Taga ME. Taking the "Me" out of meat: A new demethylation pathway dismantles a toxin's precursor. J Biol Chem 2021; 295:11982-11983. [PMID: 32826335 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.h120.015332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Carnitine, a molecule found in red meat, is metabolized to trimethylamine (TMA) by the gut microbiota. TMA is then converted in the liver to trimethylamine oxide, a causative agent for atherosclerosis. Kountz et al have discovered an alternative pathway for carnitine metabolism in the gut bacterium Eubacterium limosum Instead of forming TMA, carnitine is demethylated by the newly discovered methyltransferase MtcB, sending one-carbon units into production of short-chain fatty acids. These results suggest that bacterial metabolic activities could promote cardiovascular health by preventing the buildup of toxin precursors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary F Hallberg
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
| | - Michiko E Taga
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
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16
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Huening KA, Jiang R, Krzycki JA. Kinetic and substrate complex characterization of RamA, a corrinoid protein reductive activase from Methanosarcina barkeri. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2020; 367:5896951. [PMID: 32840570 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnaa128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In microbial corrinoid-dependent methyltransferase systems, adventitious Co(I)-corrinoid oxidation halts catalysis and necessitates repair by ATP-dependent reductive activases. RamA, an activase with a C-terminal ferredoxin domain with two [4Fe-4S] clusters from methanogenic archaea, has been far less studied than the bacterial activases bearing an N-terminal ferredoxin domain with one [2Fe-2S] cluster. These differences suggest RamA might prove to have other distinctive characteristics. Here, we examine RamA kinetics and the stoichiometry of the corrinoid protein:RamA complex. Like bacterial activases, K+ stimulates RamA. Potassium stimulation had been questioned due to differences in the primary structure of bacterial and methanogen activases. Unlike one bacterial activase, ATP is not inhibitory allowing the first determination of apparent kinetic parameters for any corrinoid activase. Unlike bacterial activases, a single RamA monomer complexes a single corrinoid protein monomer. Alanine replacement of a RamA serine residue corresponding to the serine of one bacterial activase which ligates the corrinoid cobalt during complex formation led to only moderate changes in the kinetics of RamA. These results reveal new differences in the two types of corrinoid activases, and provide direct evidence for the proposal that corrinoid activases act as catalytic monomers, unlike other enzymes that couple ATP hydrolysis to difficult reductions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine A Huening
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Ruisheng Jiang
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Joseph A Krzycki
- Department of Microbiology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.,The Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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17
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Kountz DJ, Behrman EJ, Zhang L, Krzycki JA. MtcB, a member of the MttB superfamily from the human gut acetogen Eubacterium limosum, is a cobalamin-dependent carnitine demethylase. J Biol Chem 2020; 295:11971-11981. [PMID: 32571881 PMCID: PMC7443480 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.ra120.012934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Revised: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The trimethylamine methyltransferase MttB is the first described member of a superfamily comprising thousands of microbial proteins. Most members of the MttB superfamily are encoded by genes that lack the codon for pyrrolysine characteristic of trimethylamine methyltransferases, raising questions about the activities of these proteins. The superfamily member MtcB is found in the human intestinal isolate Eubacterium limosum ATCC 8486, an acetogen that can grow by demethylation of l-carnitine. Here, we demonstrate that MtcB catalyzes l-carnitine demethylation. When growing on l-carnitine, E. limosum excreted the unusual biological product norcarnitine as well as acetate, butyrate, and caproate. Cellular extracts of E. limosum grown on l-carnitine, but not lactate, methylated cob-(I)alamin or tetrahydrofolate using l-carnitine as methyl donor. MtcB, along with the corrinoid protein MtqC and the methylcorrinoid:tetrahydrofolate methyltransferase MtqA, were much more abundant in E. limosum cells grown on l-carnitine than on lactate. Recombinant MtcB methylates either cob(I)alamin or Co(I)-MtqC in the presence of l-carnitine and, to a much lesser extent, γ-butyrobetaine. Other quaternary amines were not substrates. Recombinant MtcB, MtqC, and MtqA methylated tetrahydrofolate via l-carnitine, forming a key intermediate in the acetogenic Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. To our knowledge, MtcB methylation of cobalamin or Co(I)-MtqC represents the first described mechanism of biological l-carnitine demethylation. The conversion of l-carnitine and its derivative γ-butyrobetaine to trimethylamine by the gut microbiome has been linked to cardiovascular disease. The activities of MtcB and related proteins in E. limosum might demethylate proatherogenic quaternary amines and contribute to the perceived health benefits of this human gut symbiont.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duncan J Kountz
- Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Edward J Behrman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Liwen Zhang
- Campus Chemical Instrument Center Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Joseph A Krzycki
- Department of Microbiology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Biochemistry Program, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
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18
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Sokolovskaya OM, Shelton AN, Taga ME. Sharing vitamins: Cobamides unveil microbial interactions. Science 2020; 369:369/6499/eaba0165. [PMID: 32631870 DOI: 10.1126/science.aba0165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Microbial communities are essential to fundamental processes on Earth. Underlying the compositions and functions of these communities are nutritional interdependencies among individual species. One class of nutrients, cobamides (the family of enzyme cofactors that includes vitamin B12), is widely used for a variety of microbial metabolic functions, but these structurally diverse cofactors are synthesized by only a subset of bacteria and archaea. Advances at different scales of study-from individual isolates, to synthetic consortia, to complex communities-have led to an improved understanding of cobamide sharing. Here, we discuss how cobamides affect microbes at each of these three scales and how integrating different approaches leads to a more complete understanding of microbial interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga M Sokolovskaya
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Amanda N Shelton
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Michiko E Taga
- Department of Plant & Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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19
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Creighbaum AJ, Ticak T, Shinde S, Wang X, Ferguson DJ. Examination of the Glycine Betaine-Dependent Methylotrophic Methanogenesis Pathway: Insights Into Anaerobic Quaternary Amine Methylotrophy. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2572. [PMID: 31787957 PMCID: PMC6855144 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.02572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies indicate that environmentally abundant quaternary amines (QAs) are a primary source for methanogenesis, yet the catabolic enzymes are unknown. We hypothesized that the methanogenic archaeon Methanolobus vulcani B1d metabolizes glycine betaine (GB) through a corrinoid-dependent GB:coenzyme M (CoM) methyl transfer pathway. The draft genome sequence of M. vulcani B1d revealed a gene encoding a predicted non-pyrrolysine MttB homolog (MV8460) with high sequence similarity to the GB methyltransferase encoded by Desulfitobacterium hafniense Y51. MV8460 catalyzes GB-dependent methylation of free cob(I)alamin indicating it is an authentic MtgB enzyme. Proteomic analysis revealed that MV8460 and a corrinoid binding protein (MV8465) were highly abundant when M. vulcani B1d was grown on GB relative to growth on trimethylamine. The abundance of a corrinoid reductive activation enzyme (MV10335) and a methylcorrinoid:CoM methyltransferase (MV10360) were significantly higher in GB-grown B1d lysates compared to other homologs. The GB:CoM pathway was fully reconstituted in vitro using recombinant MV8460, MV8465, MV10335, and MV10360. Demonstration of the complete GB:CoM pathway expands the knowledge of direct QA-dependent methylotrophy and establishes a model to identify additional ecologically relevant anaerobic quaternary amine pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J Creighbaum
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States
| | - Tomislav Ticak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, United States
| | - Shrameeta Shinde
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States
| | - Donald J Ferguson
- Department of Microbiology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States.,Department of Biological Sciences, Miami University Regionals, Hamilton, OH, United States
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