Isolation, purification and characterization of the ATPase complex from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716

Remarkable stability of the proton translocating F1FO-ATP synthase from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1

For functional characterization, we isolated the F1FO-ATP synthase of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus. Because of the high content of phycobilisomes, a combination of dye-ligand chromatography and anion exchange chromatography was necessary to yield highly pure ATP synthase. All nine single F1FO subunits were identified by mass spectrometry. Western blotting revealed the SDS stable oligomer of subunits c in T. elongatus. In contrast to the mass archived in the database (10,141 Da), MALDI-TOF-MS revealed a mass of the subunit c monomer of only 8238 Da. A notable feature of the ATP synthase was its ability to synthesize ATP in a wide temperature range and its stability against chaotropic reagents. After reconstitution of F1FO into liposomes, ATP synthesis energized by an applied electrochemical proton gradient demonstrated functional integrity. The highest ATP synthesis rate was determined at the natural growth temperature of 55 degrees C, but even at 95 degrees C ATP production occurred. In contrast to other prokaryotic and eukaryotic ATP synthases which can be disassembled with Coomassie dye into the membrane integral and the hydrophilic part, the F1FO-ATP synthase possessed a particular stability. Also with the chaotropic reagents sodium bromide and guanidine thiocyanate, significantly harsher conditions were required for disassembly of the thermophilic ATP synthase.

Specific heterodimer formation by the cytoplasmic domains of the b and b' subunits of cyanobacterial ATP synthase

The soluble domains of the b and b' subunits of the ATP synthase of the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 were expressed with His tags attached to their N-termini. Following purification, the polypeptides were characterized by chemical cross-linking, analytical ultracentrifugation, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. Treatment of a mixture of the soluble b and b' domains with a chemical cross-linking agent led to substantial formation of cross-linked dimers, whereas similar treatment of either domain by itself resulted in only trace formation of cross-linked species. The molecular weights of the domains of b and b' in solution at 20 degrees C, measured by sedimentation equilibrium, were 17 800+/-700 and 16 300+/-400, respectively, compared to calculated polypeptide molecular weights of 16 635 and 15 422, whereas a mixture of b and b' gave a molecular weight of 29 800+/-800. The sedimentation coefficient of an equimolar mixture was 1.73+/-0.03. The circular dichroism spectra of the individual polypeptides indicated helical contents in the range of 40-50%; the spectrum of the mixture revealed changes indicative of coiled-coil formation and a helical content of 60%. The results indicate that the cytosolic domains of the b and b' subunits exist individually as monomers but form a highly extended heterodimer when they are mixed together.

Reassembly of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 F1-ATPase from its over-expressed subunits

Subunits alpha, beta, and gamma of the F1-part of cyanobacterial F0F1-ATPase have been cloned into expression vectors. Over-expressed subunit beta was found soluble in the cytoplasmic fraction of Escherichia coli cells under appropriate culture and induction conditions and was purified from cell extracts. Recombinant alpha and gamma subunits precipitated into inclusion bodies and had to be solubilized, purified and refolded. The correct folding and functional integrity of the alpha and beta subunits was monitored by their ability to bind nucleotides. Active cyanobacterial F1-ATPase was assembled from its purified subunits alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon. The reassembled enzyme reconstituted ATP synthesis in F1-depleted thylakoid membranes of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and hydrolyzed ATP.

Organization and sequences of genes for the subunits of ATP synthase in the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716

The sequences of the genes for the nine subunits of ATP synthase in the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716 have been determined. The genes were identified by comparison of the encoded proteins with sequences of ATP synthase subunits in other species, and confirmed for subunits alpha, beta, delta and epsilon, by determining their N-terminal sequences. They are arranged at three separate loci. Six of them are in one cluster in the order a: c: b': b: delta: alpha, and those for the beta and epsilon subunits form a second and separate cluster. The gene for the gamma-subunit is at a third site. As in other bacteria, the gene for subunit a is immediately preceded by a gene coding for a small hydrophobic protein of unknown function, known as uncI in Escherichia coli. The gene orders in Synechococcus 6716 are related to the orders of ATP synthase genes in the plastid genomes of higher plants, and particularly of a red alga and a diatom. The sequences of the subunits are similar to those of chloroplast ATP synthase, the alpha, beta and c subunits being particularly well conserved. Differences in the primary structures of the Synechococcus 6716 and chloroplast gamma subunits probably underlie different mechanisms of activation of ATP synthase. The nucleotide sequences that are presented also contain 12 other open reading frames. One of them encodes a protein sequence related to the E. coli DNA repair enzyme, photolyase, and another codes for a protein that contains internal repeats related to sequences in the myosin heavy chain.

Structure, organization and expression of cyanobacterial ATP synthase genes

The genes encoding the nine polypeptides of the ATP synthase from Synechococcus sp. PCC 6301, a unicellular cyanobacterium, and Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, a filamentous cyanobacterium, have recently been isolated and their sequences determined. These represent the first such sequences available from procaryotic organisms that perform oxygenic photosynthesis. Similar to the organization in chloroplasts, the ATP synthase genes of both cyanobacteria are arranged in two gene clusters which are not closely linked in the chromosome. Three of the genes located in one cluster in cyanobacteria, however, are localized in the nuclear rather than the chloroplast genomes of plants. The cyanobacterial ATP synthase genes are ordered in the same manner as those in the single gene cluster of Escherichia coli. Cyanobacteria contain an additional gene denoted atpG which appears to be a duplicated and diverged from of the atpF gene. The larger cyanobacterial cluster, atp 1, is comprised of eight ATP synthase subunit genes arranged in the order atpI-atpH-atpG-atpF-atpD-atpA-atpC. An overlap between the atpF and atpD gene coding regions observed in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is absent in both Synechococcus sp. PCC 6301 and E. coli. The second cluster of genes, atp 2, contains the remaining two ATP synthase genes in the order atpB-atpE. Unlike the situation in many chloroplast genomes, this gene pair does not overlap in either cyanobacterial species. In Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, atp 1 and atp 2 each comprise an operon and the transcription initiation sites for each gene cluster have been identified. The cyanobacterial ATP synthase subunits are much more closely related in sequence to the equivalent polypeptides from chloroplasts than they are to those of E. coli. The similarity in chloroplast and cyanobacterial ATP synthase subunit sequences and gene oreganization argue strongly for an endosymbiotic origin for plant chloroplasts.

DNA sequence of a gene cluster coding for subunits of the F0 membrane sector of ATP synthase in Rhodospirillum rubrum. Support for modular evolution of the F1 and F0 sectors

A region was cloned from the genome of the purple non-sulphur photobacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum that contains genes coding for the membrane protein subunits of the F0 sector of ATP synthase. The clone was identified by hybridization with a synthetic oligonucleotide designed on the basis of the known protein sequence of the dicyclohexylcarbodi-imide-reactive proteolipid, or subunit c. The complete nucleotide sequence of 4240 bp of this region was determined. It is separate from an operon described previously that encodes the five subunits of the extrinsic membrane sector of the enzyme, F1-ATPase. It contains a cluster of structural genes encoding homologues of all three membrane subunits a, b and c of the Escherichia coli ATP synthase. The order of the genes in Rsp. rubrum is a-c-b'-b where b and b' are homologues. A similar gene arrangement for F0 subunits has been found in two cyanobacteria, Synechococcus 6301 and Synechococcus 6716. This suggests that the ATP synthase complexes of all these photosynthetic bacteria contain nine different polypeptides rather than eight found in the E. coli enzyme; the chloroplast ATP synthase complex is probably similar to the photosynthetic bacterial enzymes in this respect. The Rsp. rubrum b subunit is modified after translation. As shown by N-terminal sequencing of the protein, the first seven amino acid residues are removed before or during assembly of the ATP synthase complex. The subunit-a gene is preceded by a gene coding for a small hydrophobic protein, as has been observed previously in the atp operons in E. coli, bacterium PS3 and cyanobacteria. A number of features suggest that the Rsp. rubrum cluster of F0 genes is an operon. On its 5' side are found sequences resembling the -10 (Pribnow) and -35 boxes of E. coli promoters, and the gene cluster is followed by a sequence potentially able to form a stable stem-loop structure, suggesting that it acts as a rho-independent transcription terminator. These features and the small intergenic non-coding sequences suggest that the genes are cotranscribed, and so the name atp2 is proposed for this second operon coding for ATP synthase subunits in Rsp. rubrum. The finding that genes for the F0 and F1 sectors of the enzyme are in separate clusters supports the view that these represent evolutionary modules.

Genes encoding the alpha, gamma, delta, and four F0 subunits of ATP synthase constitute an operon in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120

A cluster of genes encoding subunits of ATP synthase of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 was cloned, and the nucleotide sequences of the genes were determined. This cluster, denoted atp1, consists of four F0 genes and three F1 genes encoding the subunits a (atpI), c (atpH), b' (atpG), b (atpF), delta (atpD), alpha (aptA), and gamma (atpC) in that order. Closely linked upstream of the ATP synthase subunit genes is an open reading frame denoted gene 1, which is equivalent to the uncI gene of Escherichia coli. The atp1 gene cluster is at least 10 kilobase pairs distant in the genome from apt2, a cluster of genes encoding the beta (atpB) and epsilon (atpE) subunits of the ATP synthase. This two-clustered ATP synthase gene arrangement is intermediate between those found in chloroplasts and E. coli. A unique feature of the Anabaena atp1 cluster is overlap between the coding regions for atpF and atpD. The atp1 cluster is transcribed as a single 7-kilobase polycistronic mRNA that initiates 140 base pairs upstream of gene 1. The deduced translation products for the Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 subunit genes are more similar to chloroplast ATP synthase subunits than to those of E. coli.

Bacterial adenosine 5'-triphosphate synthase (F1F0): purification and reconstitution of F0 complexes and biochemical and functional characterization of their subunits

Images

The organization and sequence of the genes for ATP synthase subunits in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6301. Support for an endosymbiotic origin of chloroplasts

The nucleotide sequence has been determined of two regions of DNA cloned from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6301. The larger, 8890 base-pairs in length, contains a cluster of seven genes for subunits of ATP synthase. The order of the genes is a:c:b':b:delta:alpha:gamma, b' being a duplicated and diverged form of b. As in the Escherichia coli unc operon, the a gene is preceded by a gene for a small hydrophobic and basic protein. The hydrophobic profile of the potential gene product suggests that its secondary structure is similar to the uncI protein. The smaller DNA fragment, 4737 base-pairs in length, is separated from the larger by at least 15 X 10(3) base-pairs of DNA. It contains a cluster of two genes encoding ATP synthase subunits beta and epsilon. Both clusters of ATP synthase genes are preceded by sequences resembling the -10 (Pribnow) box of E. coli promoters and are followed by sequences able to form stable stem-loop structures that might serve to terminate transcription. These features and the small intergenic non-coding sequences suggest that the clusters are operons, for which the names atp1 and atp2 are proposed. The order of genes within the two clusters is very similar to the gene order in the E. coli unc operon. However, it is most closely related to the arrangement of genes for ATP synthetase subunits a:c:b:alpha and beta:epsilon in two clusters in pea chloroplast DNA. This close relationship between chloroplasts and the cyanobacterium is also evident from comparisons of the sequences of ATP synthase subunits; the Synechococcus proteins are much more closely related to chloroplast homologues than to those in other bacteria or in mitochondria. It is further supported by the cyanobacterial b and b' proteins which, in common with their chloroplast counterpart, subunit I, have extra amino-terminal extensions relative to the E. coli b protein. This extension is known to be removed by post-translational processing in the chloroplast, but its function is obscure. It also seems likely that the cyanobacterial and chloroplast ATP synthases have important similarities in subunit composition. For example, the presence of two related genes, b and b', in the cyanobacterium suggests that its ATP synthase is a complex of nine polypeptides, and that it may have single copies of related b and b' proteins rather than two copies of identical b subunits as found in the E. coli enzyme.4+off

Properties of the cyanobacterial coupling factor ATPase from Spirulina platensis. I. Electrophoretic characterization and reconstitution of photophosphorylation

The coupling factor ATPase (F1) from photosynthetic membranes of the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis was purified to homogeneity by a combination of ion-exchange chromatography and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The ATPase activity of purified Spirulina F1 is latent but can be elicited by trypsin treatment, resulting in specific activities (CaATPase) of 27-37 mumol Pi min-1 mg protein-1. On denaturing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gradient gels, Spirulina F1 is resolved into five subunits with molecular weights of 53,400, 51,600, 36,000, 21,100, and 14,700, similar to the molecular weights of the subunits of spinach chloroplast coupling factor (CF1). As determined by native polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis, the molecular weight of the Spirulina F1 holoenzyme was estimated to be 320,000, somewhat smaller than the estimated molecular weight of spinach CF1 (392,000). Spirulina F1 was shown to be an active coupling factor by its ability to reconstitute phenazine methosulfate-dependent cyclic photophosphorylation in membrane vesicles which had been depleted of coupling factor content by 2 M NaBr treatment. We estimate the Spirulina F1 content of membrane vesicles to be 1 F1 per 830 chlorophylls or 0.12 mol F1 mol P700(-1), based on the specific ATPase activities of the membrane vesicles and the purified Spirulina F1, the molecular weight of F1, and the P700 content of the vesicles.

Membrane electrogenesis and sodium transport in filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria

Transport of Na+ and its relationship with membrane potential (delta psi m) was examined in Anabaena L-31 (a fresh water cyanobacterium) and Anabaena torulosa (a brackish water cyanobacterium) which require Na+ for diazotrophic growth. The data on the effect of N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide indicated that delta psi m was generated by electrogenic proton extrusion predominantly mediated by ATPase(s). In addition, operation of a plasmalemmabound, non-ATP-requiring, H+-pumping terminal oxidase was suggested by the sensitivity of delta psi m to anaerobiosis, cyanide and azide, all of which inhibit aerobic respiration. The response of delta psi m to external pH and external Na+ or K+ concentrations indicated that a diffusion potential of Na+ or K+ may not contribute significantly to delta psi m. Kinetic studies showed that Na+ influx was unlikely to be a result of Na+/NA+ exchange but was a carrier-mediated secondary active transport insensitive to low concentrations (less than 10 mM) of external K+. There was a close correspondence between changes in delta psi m and Na+ influx; all the treatments which caused depolarisation (such as low temperature, dark, cyanide, azide, anaerobiosis, ATPase inhibitors) lowered Na+ influx whereas treatments which caused hyperpolarisation (such as 2,4-dinitrophenol, nigericin) enhanced Na+ influx. Remarkably low intracellular Na+ concentrations were maintained by these cyanobacteria by means of active efflux of the cation. The basic mechanism of Na+ transport in the fresh water and the brackish water cyanobacterium was similar but the latter demonstrated less influx, more efficient efflux, more affinity of carriers for Na+ and less accumulation of Na+, all attributes favouring salt tolerance.

Lipid specificity for the reconstitution of well-coupled ATPase proteoliposomes and a new method for lipid isolation from photosynthetic membranes

The lipid specificity for the enzymatic and proton-translocating functions of a reconstituted thermophilic ATPase complex has been investigated. The proteoliposomes were prepared from the ATPase complex of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716 and various lipids and lipid mixtures extracted from this organism and from a related mesophilic strain. Some commercial lipids were used as well. An improved method of lipid extraction from chlorophyll-containing membranes is presented. This method is based on acetone extraction and additional chlorophyll separation and results in higher yields, less chlorophyll contamination and a simpler procedure than the conventional methods based on chloroform/methanol extraction. The lipids of Synechococcus 6716 thus extracted were fractionated by thin-layer chromatography. The fatty acyl chain composition of the separated lipids was analyzed by gas chromatography. The coupling quality of the reconstituted ATPase proteoliposomes made of different lipids was tested by a membrane-bound fluorescent probe and uncoupler stimulation of ATP hydrolysis. None of the separated lipids alone was able to produce a well-coupled system. The best results were obtained with the native lipid mixture. The minimum requirement was the combination of a typical bilayer-forming lipid and the non-bilayer (hexagonal II structure)-forming monogalactosyldiacylglycerol. Lipids from the mesophilic Synechococcus 6301 and commercial lipids (also mesophilic) produced poorly coupled vesicles but significant improvement was obtained when thermophilic monogalactosyldiacylglycerol was included. Both the reconstituted and solubilized ATPase complex have a sharp temperature optimum at 50 degrees C. The effect of reconstitution and measurement temperatures on the yield of well-coupled vesicles from different lipid sources was also studied.

Proton movements and electric potential generation in reconstituted ATPase proteoliposomes from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716

ATP hydrolysis-induced proton translocation and electric potential generation have been studied in ATPase proteoliposomes by means of various optical probes. The proteoliposomes consisted of reconstituted ATPase complex and native lipid mixture isolated from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716 [Van Walraven et al. (1983) Eur. J. Biochem. 137, 101-106]. The native cartenoids and added oxonol VI served as probes for the electric membrane potential generated by the net charge separation (negative outside, positive inside). Their responses, with similar half-times as 9-tetradecylamino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine, are sensitive to valinomycin and stimulated by nigericin, as expected. The proton concentrations of extraliposomal and intraliposomal aqueous spaces were monitored by neutral red and cresol red; for internal measurements these pH indicators were trapped inside the vesicles during detergent dialysis. Internal acidification and external alkalinization induced by ATP hydrolysis are inhibited by nigericin and enhanced by valinomycin; at the commonly used higher valinomycin concentrations the neutral red response becomes transient, while the much slower cresol red response is diminished right from its onset. At smaller preset pH gradients both ATP hydrolysis activity and neutral red response are diminished. At increasing MgCl2 concentrations the neutral red responses are slowed down and the cresol red responses are slightly enhanced; this is observed for both internal and external dye responses. Neutral red permeation through the membrane is insignificant under our experimental conditions but is enhanced at temperatures below the lipid-phase transition. In the case of externally added neutral red the non-permeant buffer Hepes is only effective at high MgCl2 concentration, whereas some external cresol red response is visible only at high MgCl2 concentration in the presence of Hepes. The kinetics of the pH indicator and electric potential probe responses clearly distinguish fast interfacial and intra-membrane proton displacements from slow bulk proton equilibration. The data are summarized in a model that supports the importance of localized proton displacements for the primary energy-transducing events.

Characterization of reconstituted ATPase complex proteoliposomes prepared from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716

The preparation and some properties are described of proteoliposomes consisting of the ATPase complex and lipids from the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus 6716. In the proteoliposomes (about 200 nm in diameter) only a low amount of protein can be incorporated (protein/lipid ratio of 0.01 w/w) and they show very few protein particles on freeze-fracture replicas. The octyl glucoside and cholate dialysis method of reconstitution yielded stable proteoliposomes with a relatively low proton permeability. ATP hydrolysis and 32Pi/ATP exchange activities were about 400 and 120 nmol X min-1 X mg protein-1, respectively; the former was strongly stimulated by an uncoupler. ATP hydrolysis induces membrane energization as monitored by membrane-potential- and surface-potential-indicating probes and by different pH indicators trapped inside the vesicles. The probes used were a membrane-bound fluorescent aminoacridine, which monitors surface charge-density changes, the native carotenoids and added oxonol VI for monitoring electrical potential in the membrane and the pH indicators neutral red and cresol red. The different rise kinetics of these probes indicate that proton accumulation upon ATP hydrolysis involves at least two steps: a membrane-localized potential charge and proton transfer followed by a much slower acidification of the bulk intravesicular space. Internal neutral red and cresol red seem to discriminate between proton translocation to the internal interface and bulk space, respectively.