Effect of methionine sulfoximine and methionine sulfone on glutamate synthesis in Klebsiella aerogenes

Metabolome profiling of plasma reveals different metabolic responses to acute cold challenge between Inner-Mongolia Sanhe and Holstein cattle

Low-temperature conditions influence cattle productivity and survivability. Understanding the metabolic regulations of specific cattle breeds and identifying potential biomarkers related to cold challenges are important for cattle management and optimization of genetic improvement programs. In this study, 28 Inner-Mongolia Sanhe and 22 Holstein heifers were exposed to -25°C for 1 h to evaluate the differences in metabolic mechanisms of thermoregulation. In response to this acute cold challenge, altered rectal temperature was only observed in Holstein cattle. Further metabolome analyses showed a greater baseline of glycolytic activity and mobilization of AA in Sanhe cattle during normal conditions. Both breeds responded to the acute cold challenge by altering their metabolism of volatile fatty acids and AA for gluconeogenesis, which resulted in increased glucose levels. Furthermore, Sanhe cattle mobilized the citric acid cycle activity, and creatine and creatine phosphate metabolism to supply energy, whereas Holstein cattle used greater AA metabolism for this purpose. Altogether, we found that propionate and methanol are potential biomarkers of acute cold challenge response in cattle. Our findings provide novel insights into the biological mechanisms of acute cold response and climatic resilience, and will be used as the basis when developing breeding tools for genetically selecting for improved cold adaptation in cattle.

In Salmonella enterica, the Gcn5-related acetyltransferase MddA (formerly YncA) acetylates methionine sulfoximine and methionine sulfone, blocking their toxic effects

Protein and small-molecule acylation reactions are widespread in nature. Many of the enzymes catalyzing acylation reactions belong to the Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT; PF00583) family, named after the yeast Gcn5 protein. The genome of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 encodes 26 GNATs, 11 of which have no known physiological role. Here, we provide in vivo and in vitro evidence for the role of the MddA (methionine derivative detoxifier; formerly YncA) GNAT in the detoxification of oxidized forms of methionine, including methionine sulfoximine (MSX) and methionine sulfone (MSO). MSX and MSO inhibited the growth of an S. enterica ΔmddA strain unless glutamine or methionine was present in the medium. We used an in vitro spectrophotometric assay and mass spectrometry to show that MddA acetylated MSX and MSO. An mddA(+) strain displayed biphasic growth kinetics in the presence of MSX and glutamine. Deletion of two amino acid transporters (GlnHPQ and MetNIQ) in a ΔmddA strain restored growth in the presence of MSX. Notably, MSO was transported by GlnHPQ but not by MetNIQ. In summary, MddA is the mechanism used by S. enterica to respond to oxidized forms of methionine, which MddA detoxifies by acetyl coenzyme A-dependent acetylation.

The Involvement of Glutamate Metabolism in the Resistance to Thermal, Nutritional, and Oxidative Stress in Trypanosoma cruzi

The inhibition of some glutamate metabolic pathways could lead to diminished parasite survival. In this study, the effects of L-methionine sulfoximine (MS), DL-methionine sulfone (MSO), and DL-methionine sulfoxide (MSE), three glutamate analogs, on several biological processes were evaluated. We found that these analogs inhibited the growth of epimastigotes cells and showed a synergistic effect with stress conditions such as temperature, nutritional starvation, and oxidative stress. The specific activity for the reductive amination of α-ketoglutaric acid, catalyzed by the NADP(+)-linked glutamate dehydrogenase, showed an increase in the NADP(+) levels, when MS, MSE, and MSO were added. It suggests an eventual conversion of the compounds tested by the T. cruzi cells. The fact that trypomastigote bursting was not significantly inhibited when infected cells were treated with these compounds, remarks the existence of relevant metabolic differences among the different life-cycle stages. It must be considered when proposing a new therapeutic drug.

Osmoregulation in Rhizobium meliloti: Production of Glutamic Acid in Response to Osmotic Stress

Rhizobium meliloti, like many other bacteria, accumulates high levels of glutamic acid when osmotically stressed. The effect was found to be proportional to the osmolarity of the growth medium. NaCl, KCI, sucrose, and polyethylene glycol elicited this response. The intracellular levels of glutamate and K began to increase immediately when cells were shifted to high-osmolarity medium. Antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis did not affect this increase in glutamate production. Cells growing in conventional media at any stage in the growth cycle could be suspended in medium causing osmotic stress and excess glutamate accumulated. The excess glutamate did not appear to be excreted, and the intracellular level eventually returned to normal when osmotically stressed cells were suspended in low-osmolarity medium. A glt mutant lacking glutamate synthase and auxotrophic for glutamate accumulated excess glutamate in response to osmotic stress. Addition of isoleucine, glutamine, proline, or arginine stimulated glutamate accumulation to wild-type levels when the mutant cells were suspended in minimal medium with NaCl to cause osmotic stress. In both wild-type and mutant cells, inhibitors of transaminase activity, including azaserine and aminooxyacetate, reduced glutamate levels. The results suggest that the excess glutamate made in response to osmotic stress is derived from degradation of amino acids and transamination of 2-ketoglutarate.

Biosynthesis of Glutamate, Aspartate, Asparagine, L-Alanine, and D-Alanine

Glutamate, aspartate, asparagine, L-alanine, and D-alanine are derived from intermediates of central metabolism, mostly the citric acid cycle, in one or two steps. While the pathways are short, the importance and complexity of the functions of these amino acids befit their proximity to central metabolism. Inorganic nitrogen (ammonia) is assimilated into glutamate, which is the major intracellular nitrogen donor. Glutamate is a precursor for arginine, glutamine, proline, and the polyamines. Glutamate degradation is also important for survival in acidic environments, and changes in glutamate concentration accompany changes in osmolarity. Aspartate is a precursor for asparagine, isoleucine, methionine, lysine, threonine, pyrimidines, NAD, and pantothenate; a nitrogen donor for arginine and purine synthesis; and an important metabolic effector controlling the interconversion of C3 and C4 intermediates and the activity of the DcuS-DcuR two-component system. Finally, L- and D-alanine are components of the peptide of peptidoglycan, and L-alanine is an effector of the leucine responsive regulatory protein and an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase (GS). This review summarizes the genes and enzymes of glutamate, aspartate, asparagine, L-alanine, and D-alanine synthesis and the regulators and environmental factors that control the expression of these genes. Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) deficient strains of E. coli, K. aerogenes, and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium grow normally in glucose containing (energy-rich) minimal medium but are at a competitive disadvantage in energy limited medium. Glutamate, aspartate, asparagine, L-alanine, and D-alanine have multiple transport systems.

Nitrogen control of atrazine utilization in Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP

Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP uses the herbicide atrazine as the sole nitrogen source. We have devised a simple atrazine degradation assay to determine the effect of other nitrogen sources on the atrazine degradation pathway. The atrazine degradation rate was greatly decreased in cells grown on nitrogen sources that support rapid growth of Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP compared to cells cultivated on growth-limiting nitrogen sources. The presence of atrazine in addition to the nitrogen sources did not stimulate degradation. High degradation rates obtained in the presence of ammonium plus the glutamine synthetase inhibitor MSX and also with an Nas(-) mutant derivative grown on nitrate suggest that nitrogen regulation operates by sensing intracellular levels of some key nitrogen-containing metabolite. Nitrate amendment in soil microcosms resulted in decreased atrazine mineralization by the wild-type strain but not by the Nas(-) mutant. This suggests that, although nitrogen repression of the atrazine catabolic pathway may have a strong impact on atrazine biodegradation in nitrogen-fertilized soils, the use of selected mutant variants may contribute to overcoming this limitation.

Alanine catabolism in Klebsiella aerogenes: molecular characterization of the dadAB operon and its regulation by the nitrogen assimilation control protein

Klebsiella aerogenes strains with reduced levels of D-amino acid dehydrogenase not only fail to use alanine as a growth substrate but also become sensitive to alanine in minimal media supplemented with glucose and ammonium. The inability of these mutant strains to catabolize the alanine provided in the medium interferes with both pathways of glutamate production. Alanine derepresses the nitrogen regulatory system (Ntr), which in turn represses glutamate dehydrogenase, one pathway of glutamate production. Alanine also inhibits the enzyme glutamine synthetase, the first enzyme in the other pathway of glutamate production. Therefore, in the presence of alanine, strains with mutations in dadA (the gene that codes for a subunit of the dehydrogenase) exhibit a glutamate auxotrophy when ammonium is the sole source of nitrogen. The alanine catabolic operon of Klebsiella aerogenes, dadAB, was cloned, and its DNA sequence was determined. The clone complemented the alanine defects of dadA strains. The operon has a high similarity to the dadAB operon of Salmonella typhimurium and the dadAX operon of Escherichia coli, each of which codes for the smaller subunit of D-amino acid dehydrogenase and the catabolic alanine racemase. Unlike the cases for E. coli and S. typhimurium, the dad operon of K. aerogenes is activated by the Ntr system, mediated in this case by the nitrogen assimilation control protein (NAC). A sequence matching the DNA consensus for NAC-binding sites is located centered at position -44 with respect to the start of transcription. The promoter of this operon also contains consensus binding sites for the catabolite activator protein and the leucine-responsive regulatory protein.

The pathway of ammonia assimilation in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Ammonia can easily be assimilated into amino acids and used for silk-protein synthesis in the silkworm, Bombyx mori. To determine the metabolic pathway of ammonia assimilation, silkworm larvae were injected with methionine sulfoximine (MS), a specific inhibitor of glutamine synthetase (GS). Activity of GS in the fat body 2h after treatment with 400&mgr;g MS decreased to less than 10% of the control activity, whereas MS had no effect on the activity of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), another enzyme which could possibly be responsible for ammonia assimilation. Glutamine concentration in the hemolymph rapidly decreased after MS treatment, while the ammonia level in the hemolymph sharply increased. Glutamine concentration in the hemolymph 4h after injection decreased with increasing doses of MS, whereas ammonia concentration increased in proportion to the MS dose. MS strongly blocked the incorporation of (15)N label into silk-protein in larvae injected with (15)N ammonia acetate, while it slightly inhibited the incorporation of (15)N-amide glutamine into silk-protein. These results suggest that ammonia is mainly assimilated into glutamine via the action of GS and then converted into other amino acids for silk-protein synthesis and that GDH does not play a major role in ammonia assimilation in B. mori.

Characterization of a Mutant of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii That Uses L-Methionine-S-Sulfoximine and Phosphinothricin as Nitrogen Sources for Growth

A strain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, named ARF-1, which grows with the glutamine synthetase (GS) inhibitor L-methionine-S-sulfoximine (MSX), has been isolated and characterized. Mutant ARF-1 is affected at a single and dominant gene, tentatively assigned to the allele msr-1-2. Neither the uptake of ammonia nor the two GS isoenzyme activities of the mutant were affected by MSX in vivo. GS activities, however, were fully abolished in vitro, thus suggesting that neither GS isoform was an altered enzyme resistant to the inhibitor. Resistance to MSX does not seem to be due to either a defect in a permease responsible for the transport of MSX or over-expression of GS activity, nor did we find an alternative enzymatic pathway for the assimilation of ammonium. Resistance was independent of the nitrogen source used and was strongly enhanced by the addition of acetate. Unlike the parental strain, mutant ARF-1 can degrade and utilize MSX as the sole nitrogen source for growth, which could account for the observed resistance. Thus, this mutant can be classified as a novel type of MSX-resistant mutant. This mutant can also use phosphinothricin, methionine sulfone, or methionine sulfoxide as the sole sources of nitrogen. This capability cosegregated in the genetic crosses and was also observed in all the diploids isolated. An MSX/[alpha]-ketoglutarate aminotransferase activity, not present in the parental strain 305, was detected in mutant ARF-1 cells. Therefore, we propose that the locus msr-1-2 either codes for this transaminase activity or its product gene is necessary to express this transaminase activity.

Accumulation of glutamate by Salmonella typhimurium in response to osmotic stress

Salmonella typhimurium accumulates glutamate in response to osmotic stress. Cells in aerobic exponential growth have an intracellular pool of approximately 125 nmol of glutamate mg of protein-1. When cells were grown in minimal medium with 500 mM NaCl, KCl, or sucrose, 290 to 430 nmol of glutamate was found to accumulate. Values were lower when cells were harvested in stationary phase. Cells were grown in conventional medium, harvested, washed, resuspended in the control medium or in medium with osmolytes, and aerated for 1 h. With aeration, glutamate was found to accumulate at levels comparable to those observed in exponential cultures. Antibiotics inhibiting protein synthesis did not affect glutamate accumulation when cells were aerated. Strains with mutations in glutamate synthase (glt) or in glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) accumulated nearly normal levels of glutamate under these conditions. A double (gdh glt) mutant accumulated much less glutamate (63.9 nmol mg of protein-1), but a 1.9-fold excess accumulated when cells were aerated with osmotic stress. Methionine sulfone, an inhibitor of glutamate synthase, did not prevent accumulation of glutamate in cells aerated with osmotic stress. Glutamate dehydrogenase is thought to have minimum activity when ammonium is limiting. Resuspending cells with limiting ammonium reduced glutamate production but did not eliminate accumulation of excess glutamate when cells were osmotically stressed. Amino oxyacetic acid, an inhibitor of transamination reactions, did not prevent accumulation of excess glutamate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of Mn2+ and Mg2+ on assimilation of NO3- and NH4+ by soil microorganisms

Although it has been demonstrated that Mn2+ and Mg2+ can influence the activity of glutamine synthetase in various organisms, there is little information concerning the effects of these cations on the activity of this enzyme in soil microorganisms or on ability of these microorganisms to assimilate NO3- and NH4+. We studied the effects of different concentrations of Mn2+ and Mg2+ on assimilatory NO3- reduction and NH4+ assimilation in cultures of two microorganisms commonly found in soil [Pseudomonas fluorescens (ATCC 13525) and Azotobacter chroococcum (ATCC 9043)] and in an enrichment culture of soil microorganisms. We found that Mn2+ strongly inhibited NH4+ assimilation by soil microorganisms and blocked the inhibitory effect of NH4+ on assimilatory NO3- reductase (ANR) activity, thereby uncoupling ANR activity from nitrogen assimilation and causing the NH4+ formed by ANR activity to be released to the environment. Mg2+ counteracted the effect of Mn2+ on microbial metabolism of nitrogen, which suggests that the overall effect of these cations on nitrogen assimilation by soil microorganisms will depend on the ratio of their concentrations in soil.

Inhibition of assimilatory nitrate reductase activity in soil by glutamine and ammonium analogs

Recent work in our laboratory indicated that the inhibitory effect of ammonium (NH4+) on assimilatory nitrate reductase (ANR) activity in soil is not due to NH4+ per se but to glutamine formed by microbial assimilation of NH4+. To test this conclusion, we studied the effects of eight analogs of L-glutamine (L-glutamic acid gamma-methyl ester, L-glutamic acid gamma-hydrazide, L-glutamic acid gamma-hydroxamate, L-glutamic acid gamma-ethyl ester, L-glutamic acid dimethyl ester, L-asparagine, L-aspartic acid beta-methyl ester, and L-aspartic acid beta-hydroxamate) and two analogs of ammonium (hydroxylamine and methylamine) on ANR activity in soil slurries. The studies with the L-glutamine analogs showed that all except L-glutamic acid dimethyl ester inhibited ANR activity in soil. The sharp contrast observed between the strong inhibitory effect of L-glutamic acid gamma-methyl ester on ANR activity and the complete lack of an inhibitory effect with the corresponding dimethyl ester suggests that only the free-acid form of glutamine effectively inhibits ANR activity. The studies with hydroxylamine and methylamine showed that both of these ammonium analogs inhibited ANR activity in soil and that this inhibition was dependent upon glutamine synthetase activity. This dependence indicates that inhibition of ANR activity by hydroxylamine and methylamine was due to formation of the glutamine analogs L-glutamic acid gamma-hydroxamate and L-glutamic acid gamma-methylamide, respectively. These observations support the conclusion that the inhibitory effect of NH4+ on ANR activity in soil is due to glutamine formed by microbial assimilation of NH4+.

Regulation of assimilatory nitrate reductase activity in soil by microbial assimilation of ammonium

It is well established that assimilatory nitrate reductase (ANR) activity in soil is inhibited by ammonium (NH4+). To elucidate the mechanism of this inhibition, we studied the effect of L-methionine sulfoximine (MSX), an inhibitor of NH4+ assimilation by microorganisms, on assimilatory reduction of nitrate (NO3-) in aerated soil slurries treated with NH4+. We found that NH4+ strongly inhibited ANR activity in these slurries and that MSX eliminated this inhibition. We also found that MSX induced dissimilatory reduction of NO3- to NH4+ in soil and that the NH4+ thus formed had no effect on the rate of NO-3 reduction. We concluded from these observations that the inhibition of ANR activity by NH4+ is due not to NH4+ per se but to products formed by microbial assimilation of NH4+. This conclusion was supported by a study of the effects of early products of NH4+ assimilation (L amino acids) on ANR activity in soil, because this study showed that the biologically active, L isomers of glutamine and asparagine strongly inhibited ANR activity, whereas the D isomers of these amino acids had little effect on ANR activity. Evidence that ANR activity is regulated by the glutamine formed by NH4+ assimilation was provided by studies showing that inhibitors of glutamine metabolism (azaserine, albizziin, and aminooxyacetate) inhibited ANR activity in soil treated with NO3- but did not do so in the presence of MSX.

Positive selection vectors based on xylose utilization suppression

High levels of xylose isomerase activity in wild-type Escherichia coli strains results in a Xyl- phenotype. This phenomenon was exploited for the development of a versatile positive selection system. The xylA promoter was deleted with the exonuclease BAL 31 and the resulting structural gene was inserted into the SmaI site of pUC9, yielding the prototype vector, pLX100. In this construct xylA expression is placed under the transcriptional control of the lac promoter. Transformation of any wild-type E. coli strain with pLX100 results in high levels of xylose isomerase and a Xyl- phenotype. Decreasing the activity below a critical level (approx. 100 u) restores the Xyl+ phenotype. pLX100 contains contiguous restriction sites for HindIII, PstI, BamHI and XhoI, suitable for positive selection cloning experiments. E. coli transformants containing pLX100 cannot grow in minimal medium with xylose unless a DNA fragment is inserted into any one of the unique restriction sites. This makes the plasmid an ideal positive-selection cloning vector.

Short-term nitrate (nitrite) inhibition of nitrogen fixation in Azotobacter chroococcum

Nitrate-grown Azotobacter chroococcum ATCC 4412 cells lack the ability to fix N2. Nitrogenase activity developed after the cells were suspended in a combined nitrogen-free medium and was paralleled by a concomitant decrease in nitrate assimilation capacity. In such treated cells exhibiting transitory nitrate assimilation and N2-fixation capacity, nitrate or nitrite caused a short-term inhibitory effect on nitrogenase activity which ceased once the anion was exhausted from the medium. The analog L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase, prevented inhibition of nitrogenase activity by nitrate or nitrite without affecting the uptake of these antions, which were reduced and stoichiometrically released into the external medium as ammonium. Inhibition of nitrogenase by nitrate (nitrite) did not take place in A. chroococcum MCD1, which is unable to assimilate either. We conclude that the short-term inhibitory effect of nitrate (nitrite) on nitrogenase activity is due to some organic product(s) formed during the assimilation of the ammonium resulting from nitrate (nitrite) reduction.

Fine structure analysis of Salmonella typhimurium glutamate synthase genes

Glutamate synthase activity is required for the growth of Salmonella typhimurium on media containing a growth-rate-limiting nitrogen source. Mutations that alter glutamate synthase activity had been identified in the gltB gene, but it was not known which of the two nonidentical subunits of the enzyme was altered. To examine the gene-protein relationship of the glt region, two nonsense mutations were identified and used to demonstrate that gltB encodes the large subunit of the enzyme. Six strains with independent Mu cts d1 (lac bla) insertions were isolated, from which a collection of deletion mutations was obtained. The deletions were transduced with the nonsense mutations and 38 other glt point mutations to construct a fine-structure genetic map. Chromosome mobilization studies, mediated by Hfr derivatives of Mu cts d1 lysogens, showed that gltB is transcribed in a clockwise direction, as shown in the S. typhimurium linkage map. Studies of the polar effects of three Mu cts d1 insertions indicated that the gene for the small subunit maps clockwise to gltB and that the two genes are cotranscribed to form a glt operon.

Purification and properties of glutamate synthase from Bacillus licheniformis

Glutamate synthase [L-glutamate:NADP+ oxidoreductase (transaminating); EC 1.4.1.13](GltS) was purified to homogeneity from Bacillus licheniformis A5. The native enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 220,000 and was composed of two nonidentical subunits (molecular weights, approximately 158,000 and approximately 54,000). The enzyme was found to contain 8.1 +/- 1 iron atoms and 8.1 +/- 1 acid-labile sulfur atoms per 220,000-dalton dimer. Two flavin moieties were found per 220,000-dalton dimer, with a ratio of flavin adenine dinucleotide to flavin mononucleotide of 1.2. The UV-visible spectrum of the enzyme exhibited maxima at 263,380 and 450 nm. The GltS from B. licheniformis had a requirement for NADPH, alpha-ketoglutarate, and glutamine. Classical hyperbolic kinetics were seen for NADPH affinity, which resulted in an apparent Km value of 13 microM. Nonhyperbolic kinetics were obtained for alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamine affinities, and the reciprocal plots obtained for these substrates were biphasic. The apparent Km values obtained for glutamine were 8 and 100 microM, and the apparent Km values obtained for alpha-ketoglutarate were 6 and 50 microM. GltS activity was found to be relatively insensitive to inhibition by amino acids, keto acids, or various nucleotides. L-Methionine-DL-sulfoximine, L-methionine sulfone, and DL-methionine sulfoxide were found to be potent inhibitors of GltS activity, yielding I0.5 values of 150, 11, and 250 microM, respectively. GltSs were purified from cells grown in the presence of ammonia and nitrate as sole nitrogen sources and were compared. Both yielded identical final specific activities and identical physical (UV-visible spectra, flavin, and iron-sulfur composition) and kinetic characteristics.

Short-term ammonium inhibition of nitrogen fixation in Azotobacter

Addition of NH4Cl at low concentrations to Azotobacter chroococcum cells caused an immediate cessation of nitrogenase activity, which was recovered once the added NH+4 was exhausted from the medium. In the presence of inhibitors of ammonium assimilation, such as L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine, L-methionine sulfone or 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine, externally added NH+4 had no effect on nitrogenase activity and the newly-fixed nitrogen was excreted into the medium as NH+4. It is concluded that, in A. chroococcum, NH+4 must be assimilated to exert its short-term inhibitory effect on nitrogen fixation.

Utilization of the amide groups of asparagine and 2-hydroxysuccinamic Acid by young pea leaves

The fate of nitrogen originating from the amide group of asparagine in young pea leaves (Pisum sativum) has been studied by supplying [(15)N-amide]asparagine and its metabolic product, 2-hydroxysuccinamate (HSA) via the transpiration stream. Amide nitrogen from asparagine accumulated predominantly in the amide group of glutamine and HSA, and to a lesser extent in glutamate and a range of other amino acids. Treatment with 5-diazo,4-oxo-L-norvaline (DONV) a deamidase inhibitor, caused a decrease in transfer of label to glutamine-amide. Virtually no (15)N was detected in HSA of leaves supplied with asparagine and the transaminase inhibitor aminooxyacetate. When [(15)N]HSA was supplied to pea leaves, most of the label was also found in the amide group of glutamine and this transfer was blocked by the addition of methionine sulfoximine, which caused a large increase in NH(3) accumulation. DONV was not specific for asparaginase, and inhibited the deamidation of HSA, causing a decrease in transfer of (15)N into glutamine-amide, NH(3), and other amino acids. It is concluded from these results that use of the amide group of asparagine as a nitrogen source for young pea leaves involves deamidation of both asparagine and its transamination product HSA (possibly also oxosuccinamate). The amide group, released as ammonia, is then reassimilated via the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase system.

Cloning and characterization of gdhA, the structural gene for glutamate dehydrogenase of Salmonella typhimurium

Glutamic acid is synthesized in enteric bacteria by either glutamate dehydrogenase or by the coupled activities of glutamate synthase and glutamine synthetase. A hybrid plasmid containing a fragment of the Salmonella typhimurium chromosome cloned into pBR328 restores growth of glutamate auxotrophs of S. typhimurium and Escherichia coli strains which have mutations in the genes for glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase. A 2.2-kilobase pair region was shown by complementation analysis, enzyme activity measurements, and the maxicell protein synthesizing system to carry the entire glutamate dehydrogenase structural gene, gdhA. Glutamate dehydrogenase encoded by gdhA carried on recombinant plasmids was elevated 5- to over 100-fold in S. typhimurium or E. coli cells and was regulated in both organisms. The gdhA promoter was located by recombination studies and by the in vitro fusion to, and activation of, a promoter-deficient galK gene. Additionally, S. typhimurium gdhA DNA was shown to hybridize to single restriction fragments of chromosomes from other enteric bacteria and from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The assimilation of ammonium by barley roots

Enzyme assays of the roots of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) fed NH 4 (+) show high glutamate-dehydrogenase (GDH; EC 1.4.1.3) activity compared with glutamine-synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2) activity, indicating that GDH may be involved in ammonium assimilation in the root. When (15)NH 4 (+) is fed to barley roots, a high accumulation of (15)N takes place in free amino compounds, particularly glutamine and glutamate. When the GS inhibitor, methionine sulfoximine (MSO), is added to the (15)NH 4 (+) feeding medium the free amino compounds remain unlabelled while (15)NH 4 (+) accumulates rapidly in the roots. Root enzyme assays demonstrate that GS is completely inhibited by MSO treatment, while the activity of GDH remains unaffected. The feeding of (15)N-amido glutamine to the roots in the presence of MSO and the subsequent (15)N enrichment of the free amino compounds of the root show that MSO does not interfere substantially with nitrogen assimilation after the formation of glutamine. These results indicate that in the barley root, ammonium absorbed from the soil is assimilated entirely via the GS-glutamate synthase (GOGAT) pathway, and that GDH plays little, if any, part in this process.

Uptake of methionine sulfoximine by some N2 fixing bacteria, and its effect on ammonium transport

The N2 fixing bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae, Azospirillum brasilense, Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides and Rhodospirillum rubrum, but not Azotobacter vinelandii accumulate the glutamine analogue methionine sulfoximine in the cell. In the accumulating cells methionine sulfoximine inhibits ammonium transport. Accumulation and inhibition are prevented by glutamine.

Glutamine and glutamate transport by Anabaena variabilis

Anabaena variabilis, a dinitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, has high- and low-affinity systems for the transport of glutamine and glutamate. The high-affinity systems have Km values of 13.8 and 100 microM and maximal rates of 13.2 and 14.4 nmol X min-1 X mg of chlorophyll a-1 for glutamine and glutamate, respectively. The low-affinity systems have Km values of 1.1 and 1.4 mM and maximal rates of 125 and 100 nmol X min-1 X mg of chlorophyll a-1 for glutamine and glutamate, respectively. Glutamine was unable to support growth of A. variabilis in the absence of any other nitrogen source, and glutamate alone at 500 microM was inhibitory to its growth. The analog L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine (MSX) was transported by a high-affinity system with a Km of 34 microM. Competition experiments and the transport characteristics of a specific class of MSX-resistant mutants imply that glutamine, glutamate, and MSX share a common component for transport. A second class of MSX-resistant mutants had a glutamine synthetase activity with altered affinity constants for glutamine and glutamate relative to the wild-type enzyme.

Assimilation of (13)NH 4 (+) by Anthoceros grown with and without symbiotic Nostoc

The pathways of assimilation of ammonium by pure cultures of symbiont-free Anthoceros punctatus L. and the reconstituted Anthoceros-Nostoc symbiotic association were determined from time-course (5-300 s) and inhibitor experiments using (13)NH 4 (+) . The major product of assimilation after all incubation times was glutamine, whether the tissues were cultured with excess ammonium or no combined nitrogen. The (13)N in glutamine was predominantly in the amide-nitrogen position. Formation of glutamine and glutamate by Anthoceros-Nostoc was strongly inhibited by either 1mM methionine sulfoximine (MSX) or 1 mM exogenous ammonium. These data are consistent with the assimilation of (13)NH 4 (+) and formation of glutamate by the glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2)-glutamate synthase (EC 1.4.7.1) pathway in dinitrogen-grown Anthoceros-Nostoc. However, in symbiont-free Anthoceros, grown with 2.5 mM ammonium, formation of glutamine, but not glutamate, was decreased by either MSX or exogenous ammonium. These results indicate that during short incubation times ammonium is assimilated in nitrogenreplete Anthoceros by the activities of both glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.2). In-vitro activities of glutamine synthetase were similar in nitrogen-replete Anthoceros and Anthoceros-Nostoc, indicating that the differences in the routes of glutamate formation were not based upon regulation of synthesis of the initial enzyme of the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway. When symbiont-free Anthoceros was cultured for 2 d in the absence of combined nitrogen, total (13)NH 4 (+) assimilation, and glutamine and glutamate formation in the presence of inhibitors, were similar to dinitrogen-grown Anthoceros-Nostoc. The routes of immediate (within 2 min) glutamate formation and ammonium assimilation in Anthoceros were apparently determined by the intracellular levels of ammonium; at low levels the glutamine synthetase-glutamate synthase pathway was predominant, while at high levels independent activities of both glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase were expressed.

Nucleotide sequence of the control regions for the glnA and glnL genes of Salmonella typhimurium

We have partially characterized a DNA fragment encoding glutamine synthetase in Salmonella typhimurium. Restriction mapping and RNA polymerase binding studies identified two regions within the fragment which exhibit promoter activity when fused to lacZ in pMC1403, a plasmid used to detect transcriptional and translational control signals. DNA sequence analysis revealed that one region encodes amino acids corresponding to the amino terminus of the glutamine synthetase protein. The second region codes for the amino acids corresponding to the carboxy terminus of glutamine synthetase followed by a 330-nucleotide sequence containing an ideal Pribnow heptamer and a possible translation initiation signal. The location of this region is analogous to the position of the beginning of the glnL gene identified in Escherichia coli, and it is likely that the Pribnow heptamer is the RNA polymerase binding site for the glnL gene.

Action of Inhibitors of Ammonia Assimilation on Amino Acid Metabolism in Hordeum vulgare L. (cv Golden Promise)

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv Golden Promise) plants were grown in a continuous culture system in which the root and shoot ammonia and amino acid levels were constant over a 6-hour experimental period. Methionine sulfoximine (MSO), 1 millimolarity when added to the culture medium, caused a total inactivation of root glutamine synthetase with little effect on the shoot enzyme. Root ammonia levels increased and glutamine levels decreased, irrespective of whether the plants were grown in 1 millimolar nitrate or 1 millimolar ammonia. Levels of glutamate, aspartate, serine, threonine, and asparagine all increased. There was little alteration in the amino acid and ammonia levels in the shoot, suggesting that MSO is not rapidly transported.The addition of azaserine (25 micrograms per milliliter) to nitrate-grown plants caused a rapid increase in root ammonia, glutamine, and serine levels with a corresponding decrease in glutamate, aspartate, and alanine. Glutamine levels also increased in the shoot.The in vivo effect of MSO and azaserine was as would be predicted by their known in vitro inhibitory action if the glutamine synthetase/glutamate synthase pathway of ammonia assimilation was in operation.

The regulation of the ammonia assimilatory enzymes in Rel+ and Rel- strains of Salmonella typhimurium

The influence of the relA1 mutation on the regulation of the ammonia assimilatory enzymes, glutamate dehydrogenase (EC 1.4.1.4), glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2), and glutamate synthase (EC 1.4.1.3), was examined. When cells grown in rich media (either Luria broth or glucose-ammonia plus casamino acids) were transferred to a glucose-ammonia medium, the relA mutant failed to resume growth and did not have the same increase in any of the assimilatory enzyme activities as the rel+ strain. This effect was particularly dramatic for glutamate dehydrogenase, which increased 6-fold in the rel+ strain. Measurements of the guanosine nucleotide concentrations showed that the rel+ strain had a ppGpp concentration about 9 times that of the relA mutant 5 min after the shift to minimal medium. These results are consistent with those for other biosynthetic enzymes and show that the ammonia assimilatory enzymes require a relA product for their synthesis during shift from rich to minimal media. In addition, we examined the response of these strains to a change in nitrogen source. The relA mutant again failed to resume growth after a shift from glucose-ammonia to glucose-arginine medium. Even though the ppGpp concentration did not increase, the rel+ strain grew and increased glutamine synthetase activities about 2-fold. These changes the absence of increased ppGpp levels suggest that some other relA-mediated function is important during this change in nitrogen source.

Genetic characterization of the glutamate dehydrogenase gene (gdhA) of Salmonella typhimurium

Salmonella typhimurium mutants, either devoid or glutamate dehydrogenase activity or having a thermolabile glutamate dehydrogenase protein, were used to identify the structural gene (gdhA) for this enzyme. Transductions showed that the mutations producing these phenotypes were linked to both the pncA and nit genes, placing the gdhA locus between 23 and 30 U on the S. typhimurium chromosome. Additional transductions with several Tn10 insertions established the gene order as pncA-gdhA-nit. Since few genetic markers exist in this region of the chromosome, Hfr strains were constructed to orient the pncA-gdhA-nit cluster with outside genes. Conjugation experiments provided evidence for the gene order pyrD-pncA-gdhA-nit-trp. To further characterize gdhA, we used Mu cts d1 (Apr lac) insertions in this gene to select numerous strains containing deletions with various endpoints. Transductions of these deletions with strains containing different gdh mutations and with a mutant having a thermolabile glutamate dehydrogenase protein permitted us to construct a deletion map of the gdhA region.

Identification of the structural genes for glutamate synthase and genetic characterization of this region of the Salmonella typhimurium chromosome

Salmonella typhimurium cells require glutamate synthase activity for growth in media containing a growth rate-limiting nitrogen source. Although this enzyme plays a critical role in ammonia assimilation, little is known about the organization and regulation of the structural genes for its two subunits. To identify the location of the structural genes, mutants having heat-labile glutamate synthase activities were isolated and characterized. Mutations that altered glutamate synthase activity were mapped at 69 U on the S. typhimurium chromosome. Four strains with independent Tn10 insertions in this region were constructed and used for mutant selection and for positioning mutations affecting glutamate synthase activity relative to other genetic markers. In contrast to results obtained with Escherichia coli mutants, there was no linkage between mutations affecting glutamate synthase activity and the argG gene. The results of a combination of transduction experiments demonstrated the gene order argG-glnF-gltB-cod-argR-envB-aroE for S-typhimurium.

Regulation of urease and ammonia assimilatory enzymes in Selenomonas ruminantium

Urease and glutamine synthetase activities in Selenomonas ruminantium strain D were highest in cells grown in ammonia-limited, linear-growth cultures or when certain compounds other than ammonia served as the nitrogen source and limited the growth rate in batch cultures. Glutamate dehydrogenase activity was highest during glucose (energy)-limited growth or when ammonia was not growth limiting. A positive correlation (R = 0.96) between glutamine synthetase and urease activities was observed for a variety of growth conditions, and both enzyme activities were simultaneously repressed when excess ammonia was added to ammonia-limited, linear-growth cultures. The glutamate analog methionine sulfoximine (MSX), inhibited glutamine synthetase activity in vitro, but glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamate synthase, and urease activities were not affected. The addition of MSX (0.1 to 100 mM) to cultures growing with 20 mM ammonia resulted in growth rate inhibition that was dependent upon the concentration of MSX and was overcome by glutamine addition. Urease activity in MSX-inhibited cultures was increased significantly, suggesting that ammonia was not the direct repressor of urease activity. In ammonia-limited, linear-growth cultures, MSX addition resulted in growth inhibition, a decrease in GS activity, and an increase in urease activity. These results are discussed with respect to the importance of glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase for ammonia assimilation under different growth conditions and the relationship of these enzymes to urease.

Effect of NH4+ on nitrogenase activity in nodule breis and bacteroides from Pisum sativum L

Nodule breis and bacteroid preparations were made from Pisum sativum L. (cv. Trapper) inoculated with a single strain of Rhizobium leguminosarum. The detached nodules were triturated under helium flow. The resultant breis could support C2H2 reduction in N-Tris[hydroxymethyl]methyl-2-aminoethane-sulfonic acid buffer (Tes) without any additions for over an hour. NH4+ was found to inhibit C2H2 reduction and H2 evolution. The inhibition was not dependent on the counterion and was evident immediately after the addition of NH4+ to the reaction mixture. L-Methionine-D,L-sulfoximine, added to inhibit assimilation of NH4+, had no effect on the inhibition. Addition of pyruvate enhanced the rate of C2H2 reduction in breis and partially overcame the inhibition of NH4+. Pyruvate was found necessary for measurable activity in bacteroid preparations. When ATP and an ATP-generating system were used in breis the effect of NH4+ was not observed.

Temperature-sensitive glutamate dehydrogenase mutants of Salmonella typhimurium

Mutants of Salmonella typhimurium defective in glutamate dehydrogenase activity were isolated in parent strains lacking glutamate synthase activity by localizcd mutagenesis or by a general mutagenesis combined with a cycloserine enrichment for glutamate auxotrophs. Two mutants with temperature-sensitive phenotypes had glutamate dehydrogenase activities that were more thermolabile than that of an isogenic control strain. Eight other mutants had less than 10% of the wild-type glutamate dehydrogenase activity. All the mutations were cotransducible with a Tn10 element (zed-2:Tn10) located at approximately 23 U on the S. typhimurium linkage map. These data strongly indicate that this region contains the structural gene (gdhA) for glutamate dehydrogenase.

Bacteriophage P1 as a vehicle for Mu mutagenesis of Salmonella typhimurium

We developed a procedure using bacteriophage P1 as a vector for transferring Mu phage deoxyribonucleic acid into Salmonella typhimurium. Mu phage transferred in this manner yielded lysogenic auxotrophs, and we demonstrated that specific deletions and lac gene fusions can be selected.

Characterization of a HindIII-generated DNA fragment carrying the glutamine synthetase gene of Salmonella typhimurium

The glnA gene, encoding glutamine synthetase in Salmonella typhimurium, has been cloned into the plasmid pBR322. One hybrid plasmid, pJB1, containing an 8.5 kb insert generated by a HindIII digest, was analyzed using eleven different restriction enzymes. Evidence that the region controlling glutamine synthetase expression remained on the insert was obtained by showing that the regulation is normal in cells carrying plasmids with the insert in the original and reversed orientation. Several new plasmids derived from pJB1 following SalI and EcoRI digestions were examined for their ability to complement a glnA202 mutation in order to locate the DNA segment needed for glutamine synthetase expression. The results show that cells containing plasmid pJB8, which has a 21 kb deletion, produce and regulate glutamine synthetase normally, whereas cells with a plasmid (pJB11) similar to pJB8, but lacking a 0.25 kb EcoRI fragment, do not exhibit glutamine synthetase activity. The analysis of proteins produced in minicells containing pJB8 and pJB11 show that they both produce a protein that migrates with the glutamine synthetase subunit. Because pJB11 makes an inactive protein of similar size to the glutamine synthetase subunit, the 0.25 kb deletion may encode only the C-terminus of this protein. Consistent with this finding is the presence of a strong RNA polymerase-binding site on pJB8 to the right of the 0.25 kb EcoRI that could correspond to a promoter near the N-terminus of the glnA gene.

Regulation of nitrogen utilization of hisT mutants of Salmonella typhimurium

Mutations in the hisT gene of Salmonella typhimurium alter pseudouridine synthetase I, the enzyme that modifies two uridines in the anticodon loop of numerous transfer ribonucleic acid species. We have examined two strains carrying different hisT mutations for their ability to grow on a variety of nitrogen sources. The hisT mutants grew more rapidly than did hisT+ strains with either arginine or proline as the nitrogen source and glucose as the carbon source. The hisT mutations were transduced into new strains to show that these growth properties were due to the hisT mutations. The hisT mutations did not influence the growth of mutants having altered glutamine synthetase regulation. Assays of the three primary ammonia-assimilatory enzymes, glutamate dehydrogenase, glutamine synthetase, and glutamate synthase, showed that glutamate synthase activities were lower in hisT mutants than in isogenic hisT+ controls; however, the glutamate dehydrogenase activity was about threefold higher in the hisT strains grown in glucose-arginine medium. The results suggest that the controls for enzyme synthesis for nitrogen utilization respond either directly or indirectly to transfer ribonucleic acid species affected by the hisT mutation.

Repression of nitrate reductase in Neurospora studied by using L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine and glutamine auxotroph gln-1b

The effect of L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutamine synthetase, on the formation of nitrate reductase in the wild-type strain of Neurospora in the presence of ammonium ions and of glutamine was studied. Under conditions in which glutamine synthetase was inactivated, it was found that only glutamine could repress nitrate reductase. In a mutant of Neurospora, gln-1b, which requires glutamine for growth, only glutamine could repress nitrate reductase. These results suggest a direct role for glutamine as corepressor of nitrate reductase in Neurospora.

Ammonia assimilation and glutamate formation in the anaerobe Selenomonas ruminantium

Selenomonas ruminantium was found to possess two pathways for NH4+ assimilation that resulted in net glutamate synthesis. One pathway fixed NH4+ through the action of an NADPH-linked glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). Maximal GDH activity required KCl (about 0.48 M), but a variety of monovalent salts could replace KCl. Complete substrate saturation of the enzyme by NH4+ did not occur, and apparent Km values of 6.7 and 23 mM were estimated. Also, an NADH-linked GDH activity was observed but was not stimulated by KCl. Cells grown in media containing non-growth-rate-limiting concentrations of NH4+ had the highest levels of GDH activity. The second pathway fixed NH4+ into the amide of glutamine by an ATP-dependent glutamine synthetase (GS). The GS did not display gamma-glutamyl transferase activity, and no evidence for an adenylylation/deadenylylation control mechanism was detected. GS activity was highest in cells grown under nitrogen limitation. Net glutamate synthesis from glutamine was effected by glutamate synthase activity (GOGAT). The GOGAT activity was reductant dependent, and maximal activity occurred with dithionite-reduced methyl viologen as the source of electrons, although NADPH or NADH could partially replace this artificial donor system. Flavin adenine dinucleotide, flavin mononucleotide, or ferredoxin could not replace methyl viologen. GOGAT activity was maximal in cells grown with NH4+ as sole nitrogen source and decreased in media containing Casamino Acids.

Salmonella typhimurium mutants with altered glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase activities

Although glutamate is a key compound in nitrogen metabolism, little is known about the function or regulation of its two biosynthetic enzymes, glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase. To begin the characterization of glutamate formation in Salmonella typhimurium, we isolated mutants having altered glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate synthase activities. Mutants which failed to grow on media with glucose as the carbon source and less than 1 mM (NH(4))(2)SO(4) as the nitrogen source (Asm(-)) had about one-fourth the normal glutamate synthase activity and one-half the glutamine synthetase activity. The asm mutations also prevented growth with alanine, arginine, or proline as nitrogen sources and conferred resistance to methionine sulfoximine. When a mutation (gdh-51) causing the loss of glutamate dehydrogenase activity was transferred into a strain with an asm-102 mutation, the resulting asm-102 gdh-51 mutant had a partial requirement for glutamate. A strain isolated as a complete glutamate auxotroph had a third mutation, in addition to the asm-102 gdh-51 lesions, that further decreased the glutamate synthase activities to 1/20 the normal level. Both the asm-102 and gdh-51 mutations were located on the S. typhimurium linkage map at sites distinct from those found for mutations causing similar phenotypes in Klebsiella aerogenes and Escherichia coli.

Glutamine as a feedback inhibitor of the Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides nitrogenase system

In whole cells of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides, nitrogen fixation, as measured by hydrogen production and acetylene reduction, was totally inhibited by micromolar concentrations of ammonia. This inhibition could not be duplicated by glutamate or glutamine alone. The inhibition by ammonia was abolished by methionine sulfoximine, a glutamine synthetase inhibitor. Inhibition by glutamine was complete in the presence of methionine sulfone, a preferential inhibitor of glutamate synthase, presumably by permitting a rise in the glutamine pool. The results indicated that the level of the glutamine pool controlled the activity of nitrogenase. None of these effects could be duplicated with cell-free nitrogenase, indicating there is probably a mediator which responds to the glutamine pool and inhibits nitrogenase, rather than glutamine itself being a direct inhibitor.