Phosphoesterases of Bacillus subtilis. II. Crystallization and properties of alkaline phosphatase

Localization in the Cell and Extraction of Alkaline Phosphatase from Bacillus subtilis

Study of protoplasts, lysed protoplasts, and cells treated with lysozyme in the absence of osmotic stabilizer suggested that the alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1.) of Bacillus subtilis is located in the protoplasmic membrane. Cytochemical evidence in support of this view is presented. The enzyme protein was strongly bound to the membrane structure and could not be solubilized by a number of treatments known to release enzymes from membranes and other lipoprotein structures. Alkaline phosphatase was, however, solubilized by treatment of intact B. subtilis cells or isolated protoplasmic membranes with strong salt solutions at pH 7.2, suggesting that electrostatic forces are responsible for the association between membrane and enzyme protein. Dialysis of alkaline phosphatase solutions against buffer of low ionic strength resulted in precipitation of the enzyme.

Phosphatases ofCoprinus lagopus: the conditions for their production and the genetics of the alkaline phosphatase

1.Coprinus lagopusproduces two non-specific phosphatases: a constitutive acid phosphatase, and an alkaline phosphatase which is repressed during growth on media with a high inorganic phosphate concentration.

2. The alkaline phosphatase is also repressed whenCoprinusis grown on an organic phosphate source; but if the acid phosphatase is selectively inhibited by fluoride the alkaline phosphatase is de-repressed and growth is comparable to that observed on an inorganic phosphate source.

3. Alkaline phosphatase is not repressed in aerial mycelium or sporophores even when grown on high phosphate medium.

4. Mutants altered in their capacity to synthesize alkaline phosphatase were selected from two compatible wild-type strains, H2 and H5.

5. Mutants producing a higher level of alkaline phosphatase than wild-type (‘regulator’ mutants) fall into four (or possibly five) complementation groups. Assuming five separate genes, two pairs are linked; the remaining one is independent and on another chromosome.

6. Mutants deficient in alkaline phosphatase synthesis fall into at least three groups. They were tested for linkage to ‘regulator’ loci but so far there is no evidence of this.

Evidence on the presence of two distinct alkaline phosphatases in Serratia marcescens

Certain strains of Serratia marcescens synthesized two different types of alkaline phosphatase (APase), constitutive (CAPase) and inducible (IAPase) APases, in low phosphate medium. Synthesis of the IAPase was repressed in the presence of high phosphate. Purification and separation of these electrophoretically distinct APases was achieved by using fractional (NH(4))(2)SO(4) precipitation, adsorption on a DEAE-cellulose column and elution of enzymes by a linear sodium chloride gradient. Starch gel electrophoresis of certain fractions revealed the separation of not only IAPase from CAPase but its separation into four distinct isozymes. CAPase gave maximum enzyme activity around pH 9.5, whereas for IAPase a broad range of enzyme activity was found between pH 8.5 and 10.5. Reversible inactivation at low pH occurred for IAPase but very little with CAPase. CAPase was more thermolabile than IAPase at 95 degrees C. The two APases were found to be distinct in their kinetic as well as immunological properties, suggesting two distinct enzyme species.

The Bacillus subtilis phoAIV gene: effects of in vitro inactivation on total alkaline phosphatase production

A degenerative oligodeoxyribonucleotide probe deduced from the first 19 amino acids of the mature alkaline phosphatase IV (APase IV) protein was used to clone a DNA fragment internal to the coding region of the phoAIV gene of Bacillus subtilis. An insertional mutation was constructed in the phoAIV locus using the integrative plasmid, pJM103, containing the cloned DNA fragment. The strain with the interrupted phoAIV gene showed no detectable APase IV product on Western-blot analysis. The impact of the phoAIV interruption on total APase production in B. subtilis 168 was analyzed under both phosphate starvation and sporulation culturing conditions. The mutation in phoAIV reduced total APase-specific activity by 75% in phosphate-starved cells, and resulted in the elimination of a salt-extractable membrane APase, as well as the secreted APase IV. Analysis of this membrane APase indicated that it is a phoAIV gene product which is localized within the membrane fraction of the lysed cell and not secreted. There was no effect on the production of sporulation APase. The phoAIV::pJM103 insertion was mapped and determined to be located at approx. 73 degrees on the B. subtilis 360 degrees chromosome.

Evidence for two structural genes for alkaline phosphatase in Bacillus subtilis

Two secreted alkaline phosphatase proteins were purified from cultures of Bacillus subtilis JH646MS. The two proteins showed slight differences in subunit molecular weight, substrate specificity, and charge characteristics. A total of 62% of the first 22 amino-terminal amino acids were identical. Both sequences showed conservation of structural features identified in Escherichia coli and human alkaline phosphatases. One alkaline phosphatase was a monomer and the other was a dimer. Southern analysis of genomic DNA with degenerative oligomers based on the amino acid sequences suggest that there are two structural genes for alkaline phosphatase in the genome of B. subtilis.

Critical roles of spo0A and spo0H in vegetative alkaline phosphatase production in Bacillus subtilis

Growth conditions established to optimize vegetative alkaline phosphatase production and stability in Bacillus subtilis were used to compare alkaline phosphatase synthesis and secretion in isogenic strains JH646 (spo0A12) and JH646MS (spo0A12 abrB15). A mutation in spo0A blocked vegetative alkaline phosphatase production, and a second mutation at the abrB locus resulted in hyperinduction of vegetative alkaline phosphatase. Phosphate regulation of vegetative alkaline phosphatase synthesis was unaffected in the double mutant. spo0H, on a multicopy plasmid, partially overcame the spo0A effect.

Glyceride-cysteine lipoproteins and secretion by Gram-positive bacteria

The membrane penicillinases of Bacillus licheniformis and Bacillus cereus are lipoproteins with N-terminal glyceride thioether modification identical to that of the Escherichia coli outer membrane lipoprotein. They are readily labeled with [3H]palmitate present during exponential growth. At the same time, a few other proteins in each organism become labeled and can be detected by fluorography after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of total membrane proteins. We distinguish these proteins from the O-acyl proteolipids by demonstrating the formation of glyceryl cysteine sulfone after performic acid oxidation and hydrolysis of the protein. By this criterion, B. licheniformis and B. cereus contain sets of lipoproteins larger in average molecular weight than that of E. coli. Members of the sets probably are under a variety of physiological controls, as indicated by widely differing relative labeling intensity in different media. The set in B. licheniformis shares with membrane penicillinase a sensitivity to release from protoplasts by mild trypsin treatment, which suggests similar orientation on the outside of the membrane. At least one protein is the membrane-bound partner of an extracellular hydrophilic protein, the pair being related as membrane and exopenicillinases are. We propose that the lipoproteins of gram-positive organisms are the functional equivalent of periplasmic proteins in E. coli and other gram-negative bacteria, prevented from release by anchorage to the membrane rather than by a selectively impermeable outer membrane.

Alkaline phosphatase from Bacillus licheniformis. Solubility dependent on magnesium, purification and characterization

The membrane-associated alkaline phosphatase (orthophosphoric-monoester phosphohydrolase (alkaline optimum), EC 3.1.3.1) from Bacillus licheniformis MC14, a facultative thermophile, was purified to homogeneity in buffer containing 0.2 M Mg2+. The alkaline phosphatase purified in this manner is insoluble upon removal of the magnesium by dialysis. This insoluble alkaline phosphatase has been characterized and compared to the previously purified heat-solubilized enzyme (Hulett-Cowling, F.M. and Campbell, L.L. (1971) Biochemistry 10, 1364--1371).

Alkaline phosphatase possessing alkaline phosphodiesterase activity and other phosphodiesterases in Bacillus subtilis

In Bacillus subtilis Marburg strain, single-point mutations in the phoP locus brought about simultaneous losses of the major activities of alkaline phosphatase (APase) and alkaline phosphodiesterase (APDase). Revertants recovered the two activities. APases with APDase activity were purified from the membrane fraction of B. subtilis 6160-BC6 and from the culture fluid of an APase-secreting B. subtilis mutant strain, RAN 1. In addition to these major APases with APDase activity, at least two kinds of phosphodiesterase (PDase) without phosphatase activity were found in the cytoplasmic supernatants of RAN 1 and an APase-less B. subtilis mutant strain, SP25. Another minor APase with a molecular weight of about 80,000, which had almost no PDase activity, was isolated from the membrane fraction of strain 6160-BC6. Enzyme distribution in subcellular fractions from various strains cultured in high- and low-phosphate media was analyzed. The PDases did not cross-react with rabbit antiserum against the RAN 1 APase with APDase activity. The main component of the PDases had a molecular weight of about 80,000 and was most active at pH 8.0. These results suggest that APase with APDase activity is different from PDases detected in cytoplasmic supernatants and that phoP is the structural gene for the phosphate-repressible APase with APDase activity.

Purification and characterization of extracellular soluble and membrane-bound insoluble alkaline phosphatases possessing phosphodiesterase activities in Bacillus subtilis

A membrane-bound insoluble alkaline phosphatase (APase) and an extracellular soluble APase were purified, respectively, from a membrane preparation of Bacillus subtilis 6160-BC6, which carries a mutation to produce APase constitutively, and from a culture fluid of a mutant strain. RAN 1, isolated from strain 6160-BC6, which produces an extracellular soluble APase. The two preparations were homogeneous, as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate discontinuous gel electrophoresis and by gel electrophoreses in the presence of 8 M urea at pH 9.3 and 4.3. RAN 1 APase was crystallized. Both preparations possessed phosphatase and phosphodiesterase activities, and their pH optima were both at 9.5. They were competitively inhibited by phosphate or arsenate and were activated by the addition of Ca2+ but not by Zn2+. The APase and alkaline phosphodiesterase activities seemed to be contained in the same protein molecule. The molecular weight of 6160-BC6 APase was estimated to be 46,000 +/- 1,000, and that of RAN 1 APase was estimated to be 45,000 +/- 1,000. The largest difference between the 6160-BC6 and RAN 1 APase's was in solubility in low-ionic-strength solutions. Present results suggest that each enzyme is composed of a single polypeptide chain and that 6160-BC6 APase aggregates in solutions of low ionic strength.

Biochemical and physiological properties of alkaline phosphatases in five isolates of marine bacteria

The alkaline phosphatase activities of five unique isolates of marine bacteria were found to be associated with the periplasmic space; however, the enzymes from these isolates differed with respect to their repressibility, the apparent number of isoenzymes, the necessity for Mg2 for activity, and the conditions required for their release. With three of the isolates, the enzyme was released when cells that had been washed in 0.5 M NaCl were suspended in sucrose; however, with the other two isolates, one required the additional presence of tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane and the other required the presence of lysozyme and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. In two isolates the activity was constitutive, in two it was partially repressed, and in one it was completely repressed by inorganic phosphate. The repression of activity was associated with corresponding changes of activity bands as seen by acrylamide gel electrophoresis.

Factors affecting the activity and stability of alkaline phosphatase in a marine pseudomonad

Conditions optimum for the assay of alkaline phosphatase of marine pseudomonad B-16 (ATCC 19855) and for maintaining the activity of the enzyme have been determined. The pH for optimal activity of the cell-bound enzyme was 9.0, whereas that for the enzyme after its release from the cells exceeded 9.4. Release was effected by first washing the cells in 0.5 M NaCl and then suspending them in 0.5 M sucrose. In the absence of salts, the activity of the cell-bound enzyme decreased rapidly at 25 C and less rapidly at 4 C. This loss of activity could be arrested but not restored by adding Mg(2+). In the presence of Na(+), activity of the cell-bound enzyme dropped to about 50% of that prevailing initially, but in this case adding Mg(2+) restored enzyme activity completely. The activity of the enzyme after its release from the cells into 0.5 M sucrose was approximately 50% of that of the equivalent amount of enzyme in the original cells. This activity was relatively stable at both 25 and 4 C. Adding Mg(2+) to the released enzyme restored its activity to that of the cell-bound form. The synthesis of alkaline phosphatase by the cells was not affected by adding 50 mM inorganic phosphate to the growth medium. The K(m) of the released enzyme for p-nitrophenyl phosphate was found to be 6.1 x 10(-5) M.

Distribution of the sites of alkaline phosphatase(s) activity in vegetative cells of Bacillus subtilis

Sites of alkaline phosphatase activity have been located by an electron microscopic histochemical (Gomori) technique in vegetative cells of a repressible strain SB15 of Bacillus subtilis, derepressed and repressed by inorganic phosphate, and in a mutant SB1004 which forms alkaline phosphatase in a medium high in phosphate. The sites of enzyme activity were revealed as discrete, dense, and largely spherical bodies of varying sizes (20 to 150 nm). Cells of both repressible and repression-resistant strains acted on a wide variety of phosphate esters (p-nitrophenylphosphate, beta-glycerophosphate, adenosine-5'-phosphate, glucose-6-phosphate, glucose-l-phosphate, adenosine triphosphate, and sodium pyrophosphate) to produce inorganic phosphorus under conditions of alkaline phosphatase assay [0.05 m tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer (pH 8.4) containing 2 mm MgCl(2)]. The purified alkaline phosphatase also acted on all these esters, although much less effectively on adenosine triphosphate and sodium pyrophosphate than did the cells. Comparison of the relative utilization of the various substrates by repressed and derepressed cells and purified enzyme suggested the presence of multiple enzymes in the cells. Thus, the cytochemical method of trapping the newly generated inorganic phosphorus determines the location of an alkaline phosphatase of broad substrate profile, and in addition locates the sites of other enzymes generating inorganic phosphorus under identical conditions of assay. It is intriguing that all of these enzymes usually exist in a few clusters attached to the peripheral plasma membrane. In addition to this predominant location, there were a few sites of enzyme activity in the cytoplasm unattached to any discernible structure, and also in the cell wall of the repression-resistant and of the derepressed, repressible strains.

Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis 168. Comparison of alkaline phosphatase from sporulating and vegetative cells

1. The purification of the ;vegetative' alkaline phosphatase of Bacillus subtilis 168 was simplified by ionic elution of the enzyme from intact cells. 2. The enzyme has a molecular weight of about 70000 and treatment of the enzyme with 10mm-hydrochloric acid or 6.0m-guanidine hydrochloride, beta-mercaptoethanol (0.1m) gives rise to enzymically inactive subunits. 3. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was determined. The N-terminal residue determined by the DNS chloride method is glycine. 4. The properties of this enzyme were compared with the ;sporulation' alkaline phosphatase of the same strain. 5. Although the ;sporulation' enzyme differs from the ;vegetative' enzyme in its physiology of appearance and apparent mRNA stability, an examination of properties of the enzymes revealed no differences. 6. The enzyme from both cell forms is bound to the particulate fraction of cell extracts, but can be solubilized by high concentrations of magnesium chloride; removal of the magnesium chloride, by dialysis, results in precipitation of both enzymes. Both enzymes can be removed from intact cells by ionic elution. 7. The ;vegetative' and ;sporulation' enzymes have identical pH optima, K(m) and K(i) values and electrophoretic mobilities in cellulose acetate. 8. Their half-life is 28min at 65 degrees C and their Q(10) is 1.25. 9. The molecular size determined by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100 is about 69000. 10. ;Vegetative' and ;sporulation' forms gave precipitin lines that were continuous and non-spurred when tested against antiserum prepared against the ;vegetative' enzyme. 11. The ;sporulation' alkaline phosphatase appears to be associated with stage II of sporulation and appears to be induced by something specifically concerned in sporulation and not by phosphate starvation.

Staphylococcal acid phosphatase: preliminary physical and chemical characterization of the loosely bound enzyme

At temperatures between 45 and 50 C, staphylococcal acid phosphatase purified 44-fold had maximal activity at pH 5.2 to 5.3. However, the enzyme was most stable in the alkaline range (pH 8.5 to 9.5) at temperatures below 50 C. Iodoacetate and ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid were effective inhibitors, whereas mercaptoethanol and Cu(2+) acted as stimulators. The energy of activation for hydrolytic cleavage of the synthetic substrate, p-nitrophenyl phosphate, was 19.5 Kcal/mole. K(m) for the same substrate was 4.5 x 10(-4)m. The purified enzyme was most active against the substrates p-nitrophenyl phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate.