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Abbrescia A, Martino PL, Panelli D, Sardanelli AM, Papa S, Alifano P, Palese LL, Gaballo A. The respiratory chains of four strains of the alkaliphilic Bacillus clausii. FEBS Open Bio 2014; 4:714-21. [PMID: 25161879 PMCID: PMC4141192 DOI: 10.1016/j.fob.2014.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2014] [Revised: 07/29/2014] [Accepted: 07/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
It is important to understand how alkaliphilic prokaryotes thrive at high pH. An interesting issue is their ability to cope with bioenergetics at high pH. We show that four genetically similar strains adopt different biochemical behaviors. Two of the strains show a functional redundancy of the terminal part of the respiratory chain. Biochemical data correlate with the expression of cytochrome c oxidase and quinol oxidase genes (heme-copper types).
A comparative analysis of terminal respiratory enzymes has been performed on four strains of Bacillus clausii used for preparation of a European probiotic. These four strains originated most probably from a common ancestor through early selection of stable clones for industrial propagation. They exhibit a low level of intra-specific diversity and a high degree of genomic conservation, making them an attractive model to study the different bioenergetics behaviors of alkaliphilic bacilli. The analysis of the different bioenergetics responses has been carried out revealing striking differences among the strains. Two out of the four strains have shown a functional redundancy of the terminal part of the respiratory chain. The biochemical data correlate with the expression level of the mRNA of cytochrome c oxidase and quinol oxidase genes (heme-copper type). The consequences of these different bioenergetics behaviors are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - S Papa
- Institute of Biomembranes and Bioenergetics (IBBE), Italian Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy
| | - P Alifano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Universita' del Salento, Lecce, Italy
| | | | - A Gaballo
- Nanoscience Institute-CNR, U.O.S. NNL, Lecce, Italy
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2
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Le Laz S, Kpebe A, Bauzan M, Lignon S, Rousset M, Brugna M. A biochemical approach to study the role of the terminal oxidases in aerobic respiration in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. PLoS One 2014; 9:e86343. [PMID: 24466040 PMCID: PMC3899249 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The genome of the facultative anaerobic γ-proteobacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 encodes for three terminal oxidases: a bd-type quinol oxidase and two heme-copper oxidases, a A-type cytochrome c oxidase and a cbb3-type oxidase. In this study, we used a biochemical approach and directly measured oxidase activities coupled to mass-spectrometry analysis to investigate the physiological role of the three terminal oxidases under aerobic and microaerobic conditions. Our data revealed that the cbb3-type oxidase is the major terminal oxidase under aerobic conditions while both cbb3-type and bd-type oxidases are involved in respiration at low-O2 tensions. On the contrary, the low O2-affinity A-type cytochrome c oxidase was not detected in our experimental conditions even under aerobic conditions and would therefore not be required for aerobic respiration in S. oneidensis MR-1. In addition, the deduced amino acid sequence suggests that the A-type cytochrome c oxidase is a ccaa3-type oxidase since an uncommon extra-C terminal domain contains two c-type heme binding motifs. The particularity of the aerobic respiratory pathway and the physiological implication of the presence of a ccaa3-type oxidase in S. oneidensis MR-1 are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sébastien Le Laz
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines, UMR 7281, IMM, Marseille, France
| | - Arlette Kpebe
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines, UMR 7281, IMM, Marseille, France
| | - Marielle Bauzan
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Unité de fermentation, FR3479, IMM, Marseille, France
| | - Sabrina Lignon
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Plate-forme Protéomique, FR3479, IMM, MaP IBiSA, Marseille, France
| | - Marc Rousset
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines, UMR 7281, IMM, Marseille, France
| | - Myriam Brugna
- CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Laboratoire de Bioénergétique et Ingénierie des Protéines, UMR 7281, IMM, Marseille, France
- * E-mail:
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Miura H, Mogi T, Ano Y, Migita CT, Matsutani M, Yakushi T, Kita K, Matsushita K. Cyanide-insensitive quinol oxidase (CIO) from Gluconobacter oxydans is a unique terminal oxidase subfamily of cytochrome bd. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 153:535-45. [DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvt019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Arutyunyan AM, Sakamoto J, Inadome M, Kabashima Y, Borisov VB. Optical and magneto-optical activity of cytochrome bd from Geobacillus thermodenitrificans. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOENERGETICS 2012; 1817:2087-94. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2012.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2012] [Revised: 06/13/2012] [Accepted: 06/15/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Janto B, Ahmed A, Ito M, Liu J, Hicks DB, Pagni S, Fackelmayer OJ, Smith TA, Earl J, Elbourne LDH, Hassan K, Paulsen IT, Kolstø AB, Tourasse NJ, Ehrlich GD, Boissy R, Ivey DM, Li G, Xue Y, Ma Y, Hu FZ, Krulwich TA. Genome of alkaliphilic Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 reveals adaptations that support the ability to grow in an external pH range from 7.5 to 11.4. Environ Microbiol 2011; 13:3289-309. [PMID: 21951522 DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02591.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 is an extreme but facultative alkaliphile that grows non-fermentatively in a pH range from 7.5 to above 11.4 and can withstand large sudden increases in external pH. It is a model organism for studies of bioenergetics at high pH, at which energy demands are higher than at neutral pH because both cytoplasmic pH homeostasis and ATP synthesis require more energy. The alkaliphile also tolerates a cytoplasmic pH > 9.0 at external pH values at which the pH homeostasis capacity is exceeded, and manages other stresses that are exacerbated at alkaline pH, e.g. sodium, oxidative and cell wall stresses. The genome of B. pseudofirmus OF4 includes two plasmids that are lost from some mutants without viability loss. The plasmids may provide a reservoir of mobile elements that promote adaptive chromosomal rearrangements under particular environmental conditions. The genome also reveals a more acidic pI profile for proteins exposed on the outer surface than found in neutralophiles. A large array of transporters and regulatory genes are predicted to protect the alkaliphile from its overlapping stresses. In addition, unanticipated metabolic versatility was observed, which could ensure requisite energy for alkaliphily under diverse conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Janto
- Allegheny General Hospital, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Center for Genomic Sciences and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Allegheny Campus, Pittsburgh, PA 15212, USA
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6
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Liu J, Fackelmayer OJ, Hicks DB, Preiss L, Meier T, Sobie EA, Krulwich TA. Mutations in a helix-1 motif of the ATP synthase c-subunit of Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 cause functional deficits and changes in the c-ring stability and mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Biochemistry 2011; 50:5497-506. [PMID: 21568349 DOI: 10.1021/bi2005009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The ATP synthase of the alkaliphile Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4 has a tridecameric c-subunit rotor ring. Each c-subunit has an AxAxAxA motif near the center of the inner helix, where neutralophilic bacteria generally have a GxGxGxG motif. Here, we studied the impact of four single and six multiple Ala-to-Gly chromosomal mutations in the A16xAxAxA22 motif on the capacity for nonfermentative growth and, for most of the mutants, on ATP synthesis by ADP- and P(i)-loaded membrane vesicles at pH 7.5 and 10.5. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analyses of the holo-ATP synthases were used to probe stability of the mutant c-rotors and mobility properties of the c-rotors as well as the monomeric c-subunits that are released from them by trichloroacetic acid treatment. Mutants containing an Ala16-to-Gly mutation exhibited the most severe functional defects. Via SDS-PAGE, most of the mutant c-monomers exhibited increased mobility relative to the wild-type (WT) c-subunit, but among the intact c-rings, only Ala16-to-Gly mutants exhibited significantly increased mobility relative to that of the WT c-ring. The hypothesis that these c-rings have a decreased c-subunit stoichiometry is still untested, but the functional impact of an Ala16-to-Gly mutation clearly depended upon additional Ala-to-Gly mutation(s) and their positions. The A16/20G double mutant exhibited a larger functional deficit than both the A16G and A16/18G mutants. Most of the mutant c-rings showed in vitro instability relative to that of the WT c-ring. However, the functional deficits of mutants did not correlate well with the extent of c-ring stability loss, so this property is unlikely to be a major factor in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Liu
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1 Gustave Levy Place, New York, New York 10029, USA
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Miethke M, Pierik AJ, Peuckert F, Seubert A, Marahiel MA. Identification and characterization of a novel-type ferric siderophore reductase from a gram-positive extremophile. J Biol Chem 2010; 286:2245-60. [PMID: 21051545 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.192468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Iron limitation is one major constraint of microbial life, and a plethora of microbes use siderophores for high affinity iron acquisition. Because specific enzymes for reductive iron release in gram-positives are not known, we searched Firmicute genomes and found a novel association pattern of putative ferric siderophore reductases and uptake genes. The reductase from the schizokinen-producing alkaliphile Bacillus halodurans was found to cluster with a ferric citrate-hydroxamate uptake system and to catalyze iron release efficiently from Fe[III]-dicitrate, Fe[III]-schizokinen, Fe[III]-aerobactin, and ferrichrome. The gene was hence named fchR for ferric citrate and hydroxamate reductase. The tightly bound [2Fe-2S] cofactor of FchR was identified by UV-visible, EPR, CD spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry. Iron release kinetics were determined with several substrates by using ferredoxin as electron donor. Catalytic efficiencies were strongly enhanced in the presence of an iron-sulfur scaffold protein scavenging the released ferrous iron. Competitive inhibition of FchR was observed with Ga(III)-charged siderophores with K(i) values in the micromolar range. The principal catalytic mechanism was found to couple increasing K(m) and K(D) values of substrate binding with increasing k(cat) values, resulting in high catalytic efficiencies over a wide redox range. Physiologically, a chromosomal fchR deletion led to strongly impaired growth during iron limitation even in the presence of ferric siderophores. Inductively coupled plasma-MS analysis of ΔfchR revealed intracellular iron accumulation, indicating that the ferric substrates were not efficiently metabolized. We further show that FchR can be efficiently inhibited by redox-inert siderophore mimics in vivo, suggesting that substrate-specific ferric siderophore reductases may present future targets for microbial pathogen control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus Miethke
- Fachbereich Chemie/Biochemie, Philipps Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Strasse, D-35032 Marburg, Germany.
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Fujisawa M, Fackelmayer OJ, Liu J, Krulwich TA, Hicks DB. The ATP synthase a-subunit of extreme alkaliphiles is a distinct variant: mutations in the critical alkaliphile-specific residue Lys-180 and other residues that support alkaliphile oxidative phosphorylation. J Biol Chem 2010; 285:32105-15. [PMID: 20716528 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.165084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
A lysine residue in the putative proton uptake pathway of the ATP synthase a-subunit is found only in alkaliphilic Bacillus species and is proposed to play roles in proton capture, retention and passage to the synthase rotor. Here, Lys-180 was replaced with alanine (Ala), glycine (Gly), cysteine (Cys), arginine (Arg), or histidine (His) in the chromosome of alkaliphilic Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4. All mutants exhibited octylglucoside-stimulated ATPase activity and β-subunit levels at least as high as wild-type. Purified mutant F(1)F(0)-ATP synthases all contained substantial a-subunit levels. The mutants exhibited diverse patterns of native (no octylglucoside) ATPase activity and a range of defects in malate growth and in vitro ATP synthesis at pH 10.5. ATP synthesis by the Ala, Gly, and His mutants was also impaired at pH 7.5 in the presence of a protonophoric uncoupler. Thus Lys-180 plays a role when the protonmotive force is reduced at near neutral, not just at high pH. The Arg mutant exhibited no ATP synthesis activity in the alkaliphile setting although activity was reported for a K180R mutant of a thermoalkaliphile synthase (McMillan, D. G., Keis, S., Dimroth, P., and Cook, G. M. (2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 17395-17404). The hypothesis that a-subunits from extreme alkaliphiles and the thermoalkaliphile represent distinct variants was supported by demonstration of the importance of additional alkaliphile-specific a-subunit residues, not found in the thermoalkaliphile, for malate growth of B. pseudofirmus OF4. Finally, a mutant B. pseudofirmus OF4 synthase with switched positions of Lys-180 (helix 4) and Gly-212 (helix 5) retained significant coupled synthase activity accompanied by proton leakiness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makoto Fujisawa
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, USA
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Slonczewski JL, Fujisawa M, Dopson M, Krulwich TA. Cytoplasmic pH measurement and homeostasis in bacteria and archaea. Adv Microb Physiol 2009; 55:1-79, 317. [PMID: 19573695 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2911(09)05501-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 293] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Of all the molecular determinants for growth, the hydronium and hydroxide ions are found naturally in the widest concentration range, from acid mine drainage below pH 0 to soda lakes above pH 13. Most bacteria and archaea have mechanisms that maintain their internal, cytoplasmic pH within a narrower range than the pH outside the cell, termed "pH homeostasis." Some mechanisms of pH homeostasis are specific to particular species or groups of microorganisms while some common principles apply across the pH spectrum. The measurement of internal pH of microbes presents challenges, which are addressed by a range of techniques under varying growth conditions. This review compares and contrasts cytoplasmic pH homeostasis in acidophilic, neutralophilic, and alkaliphilic bacteria and archaea under conditions of growth, non-growth survival, and biofilms. We present diverse mechanisms of pH homeostasis including cell buffering, adaptations of membrane structure, active ion transport, and metabolic consumption of acids and bases.
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Matsumoto Y, Murai M, Fujita D, Sakamoto K, Miyoshi H, Yoshida M, Mogi T. Mass spectrometric analysis of the ubiquinol-binding site in cytochrome bd from Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 2005; 281:1905-12. [PMID: 16299377 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m508206200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytochrome bd is a heterodimeric terminal ubiquinol oxidase in the aerobic respiratory chain of Escherichia coli. For understanding the unique catalytic mechanism of the quinol oxidation, mass spectrometry was used to identify amino acid residue(s) that can be labeled with a reduced form of 2-azido-3-methoxy-5-methyl-6-geranyl-1,4-benzoquinone or 2-methoxy-3-azido-5-methyl-6-geranyl-1,4-benzoquinone. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry demonstrated that the photo inactivation of ubiquinol-1 oxidase activity was accompanied by the labeling of subunit I with both azidoquinols. The cross-linked domain was identified by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography of subunit I peptides produced by in-gel double digestion with lysyl endopeptidase and endoproteinase Asp-N. Electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry determined the amino acid sequence of the peptide (m/z 1047.5) to be Glu(278)-Lys(283), where a photoproduct of azido-Q(2) was linked to the carboxylic side chain of I-Glu(280). This study demonstrated directly that the N-terminal region of periplasmic loop VI/VII (Q-loop) is a part of the quinol oxidation site and indicates that the 2- and 3-methoxy groups of the quinone ring are in the close vicinity of I-Glu(280).
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Affiliation(s)
- Yushi Matsumoto
- Chemical Resources Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta 4259, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
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Yumoto I. Bioenergetics of alkaliphilic Bacillus spp. J Biosci Bioeng 2005; 93:342-53. [PMID: 16233213 DOI: 10.1016/s1389-1723(02)80066-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2002] [Accepted: 02/28/2002] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Alkaliphilic microorganisms are widely distributed in nature. Among them, several aerobic alkaliphilic Bacillus spp. have been studied in terms of their mechanisms of physiological adaptation under an extremely alkaline condition. On the basis of chemiosmotic theories, neutrophiles produce H+ electrochemical potential (deltap), which is the sum of transmembrane pH gradient (deltapH) (alkaline, inside) and membrane potential (deltapsi) (negative, inside), for active transport of solutes, motility, and ATP synthesis. In the case of alkaliphiles, it seems that Mitchell's chemiosmotic theories alone cannot explain clearly their positive H+ electrochemical potential (deltap) across the membrane because these bacteria exhibit deltaph in a direction opposite to that in neutrophiles, which seems to be causing extensively negative to produce energy, theoretically. Nevertheless, it is reported that ATP synthesis is more rapid at high alkaline pH than at near neutral pH in the facultative alkaliphile Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4. The respiratory system of alkaliphilic microorganisms might have an important role in compensating the reversed transmembrane pH gradient by means of ATP synthesis. To understand the function of the respiratory system in alkaliphiles, several respiratory components in alkaliphilic Bacillus spp. were isolated and characterized. In these studies, respiratory components of alkaliphiles exhibiting several unique characteristics are identified. These characteristics may have an important role in obtaining energy in alkaline environments. Information obtained from bioenergetics studies of alkaliphiles will reveal new important findings on general energy coupling phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isao Yumoto
- Research Institute of Biological Resources, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukisamu-Higashi, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo 062-8517, Japan.
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Padan E, Bibi E, Ito M, Krulwich TA. Alkaline pH homeostasis in bacteria: new insights. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-BIOMEMBRANES 2005; 1717:67-88. [PMID: 16277975 PMCID: PMC3072713 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2005.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 475] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2005] [Revised: 08/19/2005] [Accepted: 09/07/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The capacity of bacteria to survive and grow at alkaline pH values is of widespread importance in the epidemiology of pathogenic bacteria, in remediation and industrial settings, as well as in marine, plant-associated and extremely alkaline ecological niches. Alkali-tolerance and alkaliphily, in turn, strongly depend upon mechanisms for alkaline pH homeostasis, as shown in pH shift experiments and growth experiments in chemostats at different external pH values. Transcriptome and proteome analyses have recently complemented physiological and genetic studies, revealing numerous adaptations that contribute to alkaline pH homeostasis. These include elevated levels of transporters and enzymes that promote proton capture and retention (e.g., the ATP synthase and monovalent cation/proton antiporters), metabolic changes that lead to increased acid production, and changes in the cell surface layers that contribute to cytoplasmic proton retention. Targeted studies over the past decade have followed up the long-recognized importance of monovalent cations in active pH homeostasis. These studies show the centrality of monovalent cation/proton antiporters in this process while microbial genomics provides information about the constellation of such antiporters in individual strains. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic genome databases has identified orthologs from bacteria to humans that allow better understanding of the specific functions and physiological roles of the antiporters. Detailed information about the properties of multiple antiporters in individual strains is starting to explain how specific monovalent cation/proton antiporters play dominant roles in alkaline pH homeostasis in cells that have several additional antiporters catalyzing ostensibly similar reactions. New insights into the pH-dependent Na(+)/H(+) antiporter NhaA that plays an important role in Escherichia coli have recently emerged from the determination of the structure of NhaA. This review highlights the approaches, major findings and unresolved problems in alkaline pH homeostasis, focusing on the small number of well-characterized alkali-tolerant and extremely alkaliphilic bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etana Padan
- Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
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Das A, Silaghi-Dumitrescu R, Ljungdahl LG, Kurtz DM. Cytochrome bd oxidase, oxidative stress, and dioxygen tolerance of the strictly anaerobic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica. J Bacteriol 2005; 187:2020-9. [PMID: 15743950 PMCID: PMC1064043 DOI: 10.1128/jb.187.6.2020-2029.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The gram-positive, thermophilic, acetogenic bacterium Moorella thermoacetica can reduce CO2 to acetate via the Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl coenzyme A synthesis) pathway. This report demonstrates that, despite its classification as a strict anaerobe, M. thermoacetica contains a membrane-bound cytochrome bd oxidase that can catalyze reduction of low levels of dioxygen. Whole-cell suspensions of M. thermoacetica had significant endogenous O2 uptake activity, and this activity was increased in the presence of methanol or CO, which are substrates in the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. Cyanide and azide strongly (approximately 70%) inhibited both the endogenous and CO/methanol-dependent O2 uptake. UV-visible light absorption and electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of n-dodecyl-beta-maltoside extracts of M. thermoacetica membranes showed the presence of a cytochrome bd oxidase complex containing cytochrome b561, cytochrome b595, and cytochrome d (chlorin). Subunits I and II of the bd oxidase were identified by N-terminal amino acid sequencing. The M. thermoacetica cytochrome bd oxidase exhibited cyanide-sensitive quinol oxidase activity. The M. thermoacetica cytochrome bd (cyd) operon consists of four genes, encoding subunits I and II along with two ABC-type transporter proteins, homologs of which in other bacteria are required for assembly of the bd complex. The level of this cyd operon transcript was significantly increased when M. thermoacetica was grown in the absence of added reducing agent (cysteine + H2S). Expression of a 35-kDa cytosolic protein, identified as a cysteine synthase (CysK), was also induced by the nonreducing growth conditions. The combined evidence indicates that cytochrome bd oxidase and cysteine synthase protect against oxidative stress and contribute to the limited dioxygen tolerance of M. thermoacetica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amaresh Das
- Department of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602-2556, USA
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Dimroth P, Cook GM. Bacterial Na+- or H+-coupled ATP Synthases Operating at Low Electrochemical Potential. Adv Microb Physiol 2004; 49:175-218. [PMID: 15518831 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2911(04)49004-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In certain strictly anaerobic bacteria, the energy for growth is derived entirely from a decarboxylation reaction. A prominent example is Propionigenium modestum, which converts the free energy of the decarboxylation of (S)-methylmalonyl-CoA to propionyl-CoA (DeltaG degrees =-20.6 kJ/mol) into an electrochemical Na(+) ion gradient across the membrane. This energy source is used as a driving force for ATP synthesis by a Na(+)-translocating F(1)F(0) ATP synthase. According to bioenergetic considerations, approximately four decarboxylation events are necessary to support the synthesis of one ATP. This unique feature of using Na(+) instead of H(+) as the coupling ion has made this ATP synthase the paradigm to study the ion pathway across the membrane and its relationship to rotational catalysis. The membrane potential (Deltapsi) is the key driving force to convert ion translocation through the F(0) motor components into torque. The resulting rotation elicits conformational changes at the catalytic sites of the peripheral F(1) domain which are instrumental for ATP synthesis. Alkaliphilic bacteria also face the challenge of synthesizing ATP at a low electrochemical potential, but for entirely different reasons. Here, the low potential is not the result of insufficient energy input from substrate degradation, but of an inverse pH gradient. This is a consequence of the high environmental pH where these bacteria grow and the necessity to keep the intracellular pH in the neutral range. In spite of this unfavorable bioenergetic condition, ATP synthesis in alkaliphilic bacteria is coupled to the proton motive force (DeltamuH(+)) and not to the much higher sodium motive force (DeltamuNa(+)). A peculiar feature of the ATP synthases of alkaliphiles is the specific inhibition of their ATP hydrolysis activity. This inhibition appears to be an essential strategy for survival at high external pH: if the enzyme were to operate as an ATPase, protons would be pumped outwards to counteract the low DeltamuH(+), thus wasting valuable ATP and compromising acidification of the cytoplasm at alkaline pH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Dimroth
- Institut für Mikrobiologie, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, ETH-Zentrum, Schmelzbergstrasse 7, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland
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Hicks DB, Wang Z, Wei Y, Kent R, Guffanti AA, Banciu H, Bechhofer DH, Krulwich TA. A tenth atp gene and the conserved atpI gene of a Bacillus atp operon have a role in Mg2+ uptake. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2003; 100:10213-8. [PMID: 12917488 PMCID: PMC193541 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1832982100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2003] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The atp operon of alkaliphilic Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4, as in most prokaryotes, contains the eight structural genes for the F-ATPase (ATP synthase), which are preceded by an atpI gene that encodes a membrane protein of unknown function. A tenth gene, atpZ, has been found in this operon, which is upstream of and overlapping with atpI. Most Bacillus species, and some other bacteria, possess atpZ homologues. AtpZ is predicted to be a membrane protein with a hairpin topology, and was detected by Western analyses. Deletion of atpZ, atpI, or atpZI from B. pseudofirmus OF4 led to a requirement for a greatly increased concentration of Mg2+ for growth at pH 7.5. Either atpZ, atpI, or atpZI complemented the similar phenotype of a triple mutant of Salmonella typhimurium (MM281), which is deficient in Mg2+ uptake. atpZ and atpI, separately and together, increased the Mg2+-sensitive 45Ca2+ uptake by vesicles of an Escherichia coli mutant that is defective in Ca2+ and Na+ efflux. We hypothesize that AtpZ and AtpI, as homooligomers, and perhaps as heterooligomers, are Mg2+ transporter, Ca2+ transporter, or channel proteins. Such proteins could provide Mg2+, which is required by ATP synthase, and also support charge compensation, when the enzyme is functioning in the hydrolytic direction; e.g., during cytoplasmic pH regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- David B Hicks
- Department of Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA
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16
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Lemos RS, Gomes CM, Santana M, LeGall J, Xavier AV, Teixeira M. The 'strict' anaerobe Desulfovibrio gigas contains a membrane-bound oxygen-reducing respiratory chain. FEBS Lett 2001; 496:40-3. [PMID: 11343703 DOI: 10.1016/s0014-5793(01)02399-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Sulfate-reducing bacteria are considered as strict anaerobic microorganisms, in spite of the fact that some strains have been shown to tolerate the transient presence of dioxygen. This report shows that membranes from Desulfovibrio gigas grown in fumarate/sulfate contain a respiratory chain fully competent to reduce dioxygen to water. In particular, a membrane-bound terminal oxygen reductase, of the cytochrome bd family, was isolated, characterized, and shown to completely reduce oxygen to water. This oxidase has two subunits with apparent molecular masses of 40 and 29 kDa. Using NADH or succinate as electron donors, the oxygen respiratory rates of D. gigas membranes are comparable to those of aerobic organisms (3.2 and 29 nmol O(2) min(-1) mg protein(-1), respectively). This 'strict anaerobic' bacterium contains all the necessary enzymatic complexes to live aerobically, showing that the relationships between oxygen and anaerobes are much more complex than originally thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- R S Lemos
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal
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17
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Krulwich TA, Ito M, Guffanti AA. The Na(+)-dependence of alkaliphily in Bacillus. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 2001; 1505:158-68. [PMID: 11248197 DOI: 10.1016/s0005-2728(00)00285-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A Na(+) cycle plays a central role in the remarkable capacity of aerobic, extremely alkaliphilic Bacillus species for pH homeostasis. The capacity for pH homeostasis, in turn, appears to set the upper pH limit for growth. One limb of the alkaliphile Na(+) cycle consists of Na(+)/H(+) antiporters that achieve net H(+) accumulation that is coupled to Na(+) efflux. The major antiporter on which pH homeostasis depends is thought to be the Mrp(Sha)-encoded antiporter, first identified from a partial clone in Bacillus halodurans C-125. Mrp(Sha) may function as a complex. While this antiporter is capable of secondary antiport energized by an imposed or respiration-generated protonmotive force, the possibility of a primary mode has not been excluded. In Bacillus pseudofirmus OF4, at least two additional antiporters, including NhaC, have supporting roles in pH homeostasis. Some of these additional antiporters may be especially important for antiport at low [Na(+)] or at near-neutral pH. The second limb of the Na(+) cycle facilitates Na(+) re-entry via Na(+)/solute symporters and, perhaps, the ion channel associated with the Na(+)-dependent flagellar motor. The process of pH homeostasis is also enhanced, perhaps especially during transitions to high pH, by different arrays of secondary cell wall polymers in the two alkaliphilic Bacillus species studied most intensively. The mechanisms whereby alkaliphiles handle the challenge of Na(+) stress at very elevated [Na(+)] are just beginning to be identified, and a hypothesis has been advanced to explain the finding that B. pseudofirmus OF4 requires a higher [Na(+)] for growth at near-neutral pH than at very alkaline pH values.
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Affiliation(s)
- T A Krulwich
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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18
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Azarkina N, Siletsky S, Borisov V, von Wachenfeldt C, Hederstedt L, Konstantinov AA. A cytochrome bb'-type quinol oxidase in Bacillus subtilis strain 168. J Biol Chem 1999; 274:32810-7. [PMID: 10551842 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.274.46.32810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The aerobic respiratory system of Bacillus subtilis 168 is known to contain three terminal oxidases: cytochrome caa(3), which is a cytochrome c oxidase, and cytochrome aa(3) and bd, which are quinol oxidases. The presence of a possible fourth oxidase in the bacterium was investigated using a constructed mutant, LUH27, that lacks the aa(3) and caa(3) terminal oxidases and is also deficient in succinate:menaquinone oxidoreductase. The cytochrome bd content of LUH27 can be varied by using different growth conditions. LUH27 membranes virtually devoid of cytochrome bd respired with NADH or exogenous quinol as actively as preparations containing 0.4 nmol of cytochrome bd/mg of protein but were more sensitive to cyanide and aurachin D. The reduced minus oxidized difference spectra of the bd-deficient membranes as well as absorption changes induced by CO and cyanide indicated the presence of a "cytochrome o"-like component; however, the membranes did not contain heme O. The results provide strong evidence for the presence of a terminal oxidase of the bb' type in B. subtilis. The enzyme does not pump protons and combines with CO much faster than typical heme-copper oxidases; in these respects, it resembles a cytochrome bd rather than members of the heme-copper oxidase superfamily. The genome sequence of B. subtilis 168 contains gene clusters for four respiratory oxidases. Two of these clusters, cta and qox, are deleted in LUH27. The remaining two, cydAB and ythAB, encode the identified cytochrome bd and a putative second cytochrome bd, respectively. Deletion of ythAB in strain LUH27 or the presence of the yth genes on plasmid did not affect the expression of the bb' oxidase. It is concluded that the novel bb'-type oxidase probably is cytochrome bd encoded by the cyd locus but with heme D being substituted by high spin heme B at the oxygen reactive site, i.e. cytochrome b(558)b(595)b'.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Azarkina
- A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow 119899, Russia
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19
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Sakamoto J, Koga E, Mizuta T, Sato C, Noguchi S, Sone N. Gene structure and quinol oxidase activity of a cytochrome bd-type oxidase from Bacillus stearothermophilus. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA 1999; 1411:147-58. [PMID: 10216161 DOI: 10.1016/s0005-2728(99)00012-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Gram-positive thermophilic Bacillus species contain cytochrome caa3-type cytochrome c oxidase as their main terminal oxidase in the respiratory chain. We previously identified and purified an alternative oxidase, cytochrome bd-type quinol oxidase, from a mutant of Bacillus stearothermophilus defective in the caa3-type oxidase activity (J. Sakamoto et al., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 143 (1996) 151-158). Compared with proteobacterial counterparts, B. stearothermophilus cytochrome bd showed lower molecular weights of the two subunits, shorter wavelength of alpha-band absorption maximum due to heme D, and lower quinol oxidase activity. Preincubation with menaquinone-2 enhanced the enzyme activity up to 40 times, suggesting that, besides the catalytic site, there is another quinone-binding site which largely affects the enzyme activity. In order to clarify the molecular basis of the differences of cytochromes bd between B. stearothermophilus and proteobacteria, the genes encoding for the B. stearothermophilus bd was cloned based on its partial peptide sequences. The gene for subunit I (cbdA) encodes 448 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 50195 Da, which is 14 and 17% shorter than those of Escherichia coli and Azotobacter vinelandii, respectively, and CbdA lacks the C-terminal half of the long hydrophilic loop between the putative transmembrane segments V and VI (Q loop), which has been suggested to include the substrate quinone-binding site for the E. coli enzyme. The gene for subunit II (cbdB) encodes 342 residues with a molecular weight of 38992 Da. Homology search indicated that the B. stearothermophilus cbdAB has the highest sequence similarity to ythAB in B. subtilis genome rather than to cydAB, the first set of cytochrome bd genes identified in the genome. Sequence comparison of cytochromes bd and their homologs from various organisms demonstrates that the proteins can be classified into two subfamilies, a proteobacterial type including E. coli bd and a more widely distributed type including the B. stearothermophilus enzyme, suggesting that the latter type is evolutionarily older.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Sakamoto
- Department of Biochemical Engineering and Science, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kawazu 680-4, Iizuka, Fukuoka 820-8502, Japan.
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20
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Krulwich TA, Guffanti AA, Ito M. pH tolerance in Bacillus: alkaliphiles versus non-alkaliphiles. NOVARTIS FOUNDATION SYMPOSIUM 1999; 221:167-79; discussion 179-82. [PMID: 10207919 DOI: 10.1002/9780470515631.ch11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Monovalent cation/proton antiporters that catalyse electrogenic uptake of H+ in exchange for cytoplasmic K+ and/or Na+ are centrally involved in bacterial pH homeostasis under alkaline challenge. Systematic attempts have identified some, but not yet all, of the genes encoding such antiporters that participate in pH homeostasis in the neutrophilic Bacillus subtilis and the extremely alkaliphilic Bacillus firmus OF4. In each organism there are at least three distinct antiporters involved in pH homeostasis. They differ in cation requirement, with pH homeostasis specifically utilizing Na+/H+ antiport in the alkaliphile and using either Na+ or K+/H+ antiport in B. subtilis. Some of the antiporters involved in pH homeostasis are constitutive and are in place to respond to sudden pH shifts, but there is also an inducible component. At least two sets of homologous antiporters (NhaC and Mrp/Pha) function in both alkaliphiles and neutrophiles. An additional antiporter of a different transport protein family, the Gram-positive tetracycline-metal/H+ antiporter, is important in pH homeostasis in B. subtilis but has not yet been shown to be present in any alkaliphile. There are also differences outside of the antiporters themselves that contribute to the greater capacity of the alkaliphiles for pH homeostasis, including cation re-entry capacity and possible surface properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- T A Krulwich
- Department of Biochemistry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA
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21
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Krulwich TA, Ito M, Gilmour R, Hicks DB, Guffanti AA. Energetics of alkaliphilic Bacillus species: physiology and molecules. Adv Microb Physiol 1999; 40:401-38. [PMID: 9889983 DOI: 10.1016/s0065-2911(08)60136-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
The challenge of maintaining a cytoplasmic pH that is much lower than the external pH is central to the adaptation of extremely alkaliphilic Bacillus species to growth at pH values above 10. The success with which this challenge is met may set the upper limit of pH for growth in these bacteria, all of which also exhibit a low content of basic amino acids in proteins or protein segments that are exposed to the outside bulk phase liquid. The requirement for an active Na(+)-dependent cycle and possible roles of acidic cell wall components in alkaliphile pH homeostasis are reviewed. The gene loci that encode Na+/H+ antiporters that function in the active cycle are described and compared with the less Na(+)-specific homologues thus far found in non-alkaliphilic Gram-positive prokaryotes. Alkaliphilic Bacillus species carry out oxidative phosphorylation using an exclusively H(+)-coupled ATPase (synthase). Nonetheless, ATP synthesis is more rapid and reaches a higher phosphorylation potential at highly alkaline pH than at near-neutral pH even though the bulk electrochemical proton gradient across the coupling membrane is lower at highly alkaline pH. It is possible that some of the protons extruded by the respiratory chain are conveyed to the ATP synthase without first equilibrating with the external bulk phase. Mechanisms that might apply to oxidative phosphorylation in this type of extensively studied alkaliphile are reviewed, and note is made of the possibility of different kinds of solutions to the problem that may be found in new alkaliphilic bacteria that are yet to be isolated or characterized.
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Affiliation(s)
- T A Krulwich
- Department of Biochemistry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine of CUNY, New York, USA
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22
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Winstedt L, Yoshida K, Fujita Y, von Wachenfeldt C. Cytochrome bd biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis: characterization of the cydABCD operon. J Bacteriol 1998; 180:6571-80. [PMID: 9852001 PMCID: PMC107760 DOI: 10.1128/jb.180.24.6571-6580.1998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Under aerobic conditions Bacillus subtilis utilizes a branched electron transport chain comprising various cytochromes and terminal oxidases. At present there is evidence for three types of terminal oxidases in B. subtilis: a caa3-, an aa3-, and a bd-type oxidase. We report here the cloning of the structural genes (cydA and cydB) encoding the cytochrome bd complex. Downstream of the structural genes, cydC and cydD are located. These genes encode proteins showing similarity to bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-type transporters. Analysis of isolated cell membranes showed that inactivation of cydA or deletion of cydABCD resulted in the loss of spectral features associated with cytochrome bd. Gene disruption experiments and complementation analysis showed that the cydC and cydD gene products are required for the expression of a functional cytochrome bd complex. Disruption of the cyd genes had no apparent effect on the growth of cells in broth or defined media. The expression of the cydABCD operon was investigated by Northern blot analysis and by transcriptional and translational cyd-lacZ fusions. Northern blot analysis confirmed that cydABCD is transcribed as a polycistronic message. The operon was found to be expressed maximally under conditions of low oxygen tension.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Winstedt
- Department of Microbiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Affiliation(s)
- S Jünemann
- Glynn Laboratory of Bioenergetics, Department of Biology, University College London, UK.
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