Diversity, abundance, and distribution of NO-forming nitrite reductase-encoding genes in deep-sea subsurface sediments of the South China Sea

In marine ecosystems, both nitrite-reducing bacteria and anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria, containing different types of NO-forming nitrite reductase-encoding genes, contribute to the nitrogen cycle. The objectives of study were to reveal the diversity, abundance, and distribution of NO-forming nitrite reductase-encoding genes in deep-sea subsurface environments. Results showed that higher diversity and abundance of nirS gene than nirK and Scalindua-nirS genes were evident in the sediments of the South China Sea (SCS), indicating bacteria containing nirS gene dominated the NO-forming nitrite-reducing microbial community in this ecosystem. Similar diversity and abundance distribution patterns of both nirS and Scalindua-nirS genes were detected in this study sites, but different from nirK gene. Further statistical analyses also showed both nirS and Scalindua-nirS genes respond similarly to environmental factors, but differed from nirK gene. These results suggest that bacteria containing nirS and Scalindua-nirS genes share similar niche in deep-sea subsurface sediments of the SCS, but differed from those containing nirK gene, indicating that community structures of nitrite-reducing bacteria are segregated by the functional modules (NirS vs. NirK) rather than the competing processes (anammox vs. classical denitrification).

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of clade I catalases from Pseudomonas syringae and Listeria seeligeri

Haem-containing catalases are homotetrameric molecules that degrade hydrogen peroxide. Phylogenetically, the haem-containing catalases can be grouped into three main lines or clades. The crystal structures of seven catalases have been determined, all from clades II and III. In order to obtain a structure of an enzyme from clade I, which includes all plant, algae and some bacterial enzymes, two bacterial catalases, CatF from Pseudomonas syringae and Kat from Listeria seeligeri, have been crystallized by the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion technique, using PEG and ammonium sulfate as precipitants, respectively. Crystals of P. syringae CatF, with a plate-like morphology, belong to the monoclinic space group P2(1), with unit-cell parameters a = 60.6, b = 153.9, c = 109.2 A, beta = 102.8 degrees. From these crystals a diffraction data set to 1.8 A resolution with 98% completeness was collected using synchrotron radiation. Crystals of L. seeligeri Kat, with a well developed bipyramidal morphology, belong to space group I222 (or I2(1)2(1)2(1)), with unit-cell parameters a = 74.4, b = 121.3, c = 368.5 A. These crystals diffracted beyond 2.2 A resolution when using synchrotron radiation, but presented anisotropic diffraction, with the weakest direction perpendicular to the long c axis.

AnkB, a periplasmic ankyrin-like protein in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is required for optimal catalase B (KatB) activity and resistance to hydrogen peroxide

In this study, we have cloned the ankB gene, encoding an ankyrin-like protein in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The ankB gene is composed of 549 bp encoding a protein of 183 amino acids that possesses four 33-amino-acid ankyrin repeats that are a hallmark of erythrocyte and brain ankyrins. The location of ankB is 57 bp downstream of katB, encoding a hydrogen peroxide-inducible catalase, KatB. Monomeric AnkB is a 19.4-kDa protein with a pI of 5.5 that possesses 22 primarily hydrophobic amino acids at residues 3 to 25, predicting an inner-membrane-spanning motif with the N terminus in the cytoplasm and the C terminus in the periplasm. Such an orientation in the cytoplasmic membrane and, ultimately, periplasmic space was confirmed using AnkB-BlaM and AnkB-PhoA protein fusions. Circular dichroism analysis of recombinant AnkB minus its signal peptide revealed a secondary structure that is approximately 65% alpha-helical. RNase protection and KatB- and AnkB-LacZ translational fusion analyses indicated that katB and ankB are part of a small operon whose transcription is induced dramatically by H(2)O(2), and controlled by the global transactivator OxyR. Interestingly, unlike the spherical nature of ankyrin-deficient erythrocytes, the cellular morphology of an ankB mutant was identical to that of wild-type bacteria, yet the mutant produced more membrane vesicles. The mutant also exhibited a fourfold reduction in KatB activity and increased sensitivity to H(2)O(2), phenotypes that could be complemented in trans by a plasmid constitutively expressing ankB. Our results suggest that AnkB may form an antioxidant scaffolding with KatB in the periplasm at the cytoplasmic membrane, thus providing a protective lattice work for optimal H(2)O(2) detoxification.

The amo operon in marine, ammonia-oxidizing gamma-proteobacteria

While there is an extensive database of genes encoding ammonia monooxygenase (amo) found in the ammonia-oxidizing beta-proteobacteria, few amo sequences are available representing the gamma-proteobacteria. We sequenced the complete amo operon (amoCAB) for Nitrosococcus oceani (ATCC 19707), a marine, autotrophic, ammonia-oxidizing bacterium belonging to the gamma-subdivision of the proteobacteria. An additional autotrophic, ammonia-oxidizing bacterium isolated from a marine environment (strain C-113) was identified as belonging to the Nitrosococcus genus by 16S rDNA analysis and its amo operon was sequenced. This is the first report of a full-length sequence for the amo operon from a gamma-subdivision autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacterium. The N. oceani and C-113 amo genes were 88-90% identical to each other, 49-53% identical to the pmo genes encoding the related particulate methane monooxygenase of Methylococcus capsulatus (Bath), and 39-42% identical to the amo genes of the beta-subdivision autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. In both Nitrosococcus strains, the amo operon was found as a single copy and contained three genes, amoC, amoA, amoB, with intergenic spacer regions between amoC and amoA (286 bp) and between amoA and amoB (65 bp). We conclude that the amo genes will allow for a finer scale phylogenetic differentiation than 16S rDNA within the gamma-subdivision AOB.

Bacterioferritin A modulates catalase A (KatA) activity and resistance to hydrogen peroxide in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

We have cloned a 3.6-kb genomic DNA fragment from Pseudomonas aeruginosa harboring the rpoA, rplQ, katA, and bfrA genes. These loci are predicted to encode, respectively, (i) the alpha subunit of RNA polymerase; (ii) the L17 ribosomal protein; (iii) the major catalase, KatA; and (iv) one of two iron storage proteins called bacterioferritin A (BfrA; cytochrome b1 or b557). Our goal was to determine the contributions of KatA and BfrA to the resistance of P. aeruginosa to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). When provided on a multicopy plasmid, the P. aeruginosa katA gene complemented a catalase-deficient strain of Escherichia coli. The katA gene was found to contain two translational start codons encoding a heteromultimer of approximately 160 to 170 kDa and having an apparent Km for H2O2 of 44.7 mM. Isogenic katA and bfrA mutants were hypersusceptible to H2O2, while a katA bfrA double mutant demonstrated the greatest sensitivity. The katA and katA bfrA mutants possessed no detectable catalase activity. Interestingly, a bfrA mutant expressed only approximately 47% the KatA activity of wild-type organisms, despite possessing wild-type katA transcription and translation. Plasmids harboring bfrA genes encoding BfrA altered at critical amino acids essential for ferroxidase activity could not restore wild-type catalase activity in the bfrA mutant. RNase protection assays revealed that katA and bfrA are on different transcripts, the levels of which are increased by both iron and H2O2. Mass spectrometry analysis of whole cells revealed no significant difference in total cellular iron levels in the bfrA, katA, and katA bfrA mutants relative to wild-type bacteria. Our results suggest that P. aeruginosa BfrA may be required as one source of iron for the heme prosthetic group of KatA and thus for protection against H2O2.

Multiple copies of ammonia monooxygenase (amo) operons have evolved under biased AT/GC mutational pressure in ammonia-oxidizing autotrophic bacteria

The recent availability of complete sequences of ammonia monooxygenase (16 amoA, 5 amoB and 5 amoC gene sequences) and particulate methane monooxygenase (2 pmoA, pmoB and pmoC gene sequences each) genes allowed for a detailed analysis of their relatedness. Nucleotide sequence analysis was performed in order to identify the origins of the nearly identical operon copies within a given nitrosofier/methanotroph strain. Our data suggest that amo-homologous gene evolution has occurred in individual strains (orthology) under biased AT/GC pressure rather than by horizontal transfer. The multiple operon copies within individual strains are the result of operon duplication (paralogy). While the near identity of the multiple operon copies makes it impossible to determine whether paralogous gene expansion occurred in the last common ancestor of ammonia oxidizers or after speciation took place, we conclude that the duplication events were not recent events. We propose that the elimination of third basepair degeneracy between copies within one organism is implemented by a rectification mechanism resulting in concerted evolution.

Transcription of the amoC, amoA and amoB genes in Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrosospira sp. NpAV

Nitrifying bacteria such as Nitrosomonas europaea and Nitrosospira sp. NpAV use ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) for oxidation of their primary growth substrate, ammonia. Two polypeptides of AMO are coded for by contiguous genes, amoA and amoB, which are preceded by a third gene, amoC. The amoCAB clusters are present in multiple copies in nitrifying bacteria of the beta subdivision. These bacteria also have one amoC copy that is not adjacent to a copy of amoAB. The seven known amoC genes in different nitrifiers code for similar polypeptides (> 68%). Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions and Northern blots indicated that amoC from the amoCAB cluster is contained on a transcript with amoAB. Two other transcripts were detected with amo probes and may be a product of processing of the amoCAB mRNA or independent transcripts.

Phylogenetic relationships among prokaryotic and eukaryotic catalases

Seventy-four catalase protein sequences, including 29 bacterial, 8 fungal, 7 animal, and 30 plant sequences, were compiled, and 70 were used for phylogenetic reconstruction. The core of the resulting tree revealed unique, separate groups of plant and animal catalases, two groups of fungal catalases, and three groups of bacterial catalases. The only overlap of kingdoms occurred within one branch and involved fungal and bacterial large-subunit enzymes. The other fungal branch was closely linked to the group of animal enzymes. Group I bacterial catalases were more closely related to the plant enzymes and contained such diverse taxa as the Gram-positive Listeria seeligeri, Deinocococcus radiodurans, and gamma-proteobacteria. Group III bacterial sequences were more closely related to fungal and animal sequences and included enzymes from a broad range of bacteria including high- and low-GC Gram positives, proteobacteria, and a bacteroides species. Group II was composed of large-subunit catalases from diverse sources including Gram positives (low-GC Bacilli and high-GC Mycobacteria), proteobacteria, and species of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus. These data can be interpreted in terms of two gene duplication events that produced a minimum of three catalase gene family members that subsequently evolved in response to environmental demands. Horizontal gene transfer may have been responsible for the group II mixture of bacterial and fungal large-subunit catalases.

A gene encoding a membrane protein exists upstream of the amoA/amoB genes in ammonia oxidizing bacteria: a third member of the amo operon?

The gene cluster encoding ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) in the chemolithotrophic soil bacterium Nitrosospira sp. NpAV was found to contain a third open reading frame, termed amoC, upstream of the genes amoA and amoB that encode the subunits of AMO. The amoC gene and its flanking regions were isolated and sequenced from a 4.4 kb EcoRI fragment that contains one of three copies of the ammonia monooxygenase gene cluster. The presence of this gene upstream of the other two amoA gene copies in Nitrosospira NpAV as well as upstream of amoA genes in the genomes of other ammonia oxidizing nitrifiers (strains in the genera Nitrosomonas, Nitrosopira, Nitrosolobus and Nitrosovibrio) was confirmed using genomic DNA, oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers and the PCR. The amoC gene in Nitrosospira sp. NpAV encodes a 270 amino acid polypeptide of approximately 36 kDa. Topological analysis of the predicted primary structure revealed 6 membrane spanning domains. The amoC gene was expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli from its indigenous promoter.

The gene encoding ammonia monooxygenase subunit A exists in three nearly identical copies in Nitrosospira sp. NpAV

The gene encoding ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (AmoA) was found in three copies of the genome of the chemolithotrophic soil bacterium, Nitrosospira sp. NpAV. The open reading frame and flanking regions of the three copies were isolated from digested size fractionated genomic DNA using oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers and polymerase chain reaction. The three gene copies of amoA were sequenced and the sequences compared to each other. The open reading frames and the upstream and downstream flanking regions were nearly identical in the three copies. All three copies were expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli strains from the indigenous promoter producing a product of approximately 30 kDa. All amoA copies encode 274 amino acid polypeptides which have similarity to the ammonia monooxygenase acetylene-binding protein from Nitrosomonas europaea.

Sequence of a gene encoding periplasmic Pseudomonas syringae ankyrin

A gene encoding ankyrin (Ank) was isolated from a genomic library of the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pathovar syringae strain 61 (Pss61). The gene encodes an 183-amino-acid (aa) polypeptide which has homology to the 33-aa repeat domain of mammalian Ank and Ank homologs from other bacteria, animals and plants.

Sequence of an ammonia monooxygenase subunit A-encoding gene from Nitrosospira sp. NpAV

One of three gene copies encoding ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (AmoA) and flanking sequences was isolated from genomic DNA of the chemolithotrophic soil bacterium Nitrosospira sp. NpAV using oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The gene (amoA) encodes a 274-amino-acid polypeptide which has similarity to the ammonia monooxygenase acetylene-binding protein from Nitrosomonas europaea.

Cloning, characterization and phenotypic expression in Escherichia coli of catF, which encodes the catalytic subunit of catalase isozyme CatF of Pseudomonas syringae

The phytophathogenic, gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae 61 contains three isozymes of catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), which have been proposed to play a role in the bacterium's responses to various environmental stresses. To study the role of individual isozymes, the gene coding for the catalytic subunit of one catalase isozyme was cloned from a cosmid library hosted in Escherichia coli DH5 alpha by using a designed catalase-specific DNA probe for the screening. One out of four clones with a catalase-positive genotype was subcloned and a pUC19-based 2.7 x 10(3)-base (2.7-kb) insert subclone, pMK3E5, was used to transform catalase-deficient E. coli strain UM255 (HPI-, HPII-). The transformants contained a single isozyme of catalase that had electrophoretic and enzymic properties similar to catalase isozyme CatF from P. syringae pv. syringae 61. Analysis of the sequenced 2.7-kb insert DNA revealed six putative open-reading frames (ORF). The 1542-base-pair DNA sequence of ORF2, called catF, encodes a peptide of 513 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 66.6 kDa. The amino acid sequence deduced from catF had homology to the primary structure of true catalases from mammals, plants, yeasts and bacteria. The activity of the recombinant catalase was inhibited by 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole and azide and stimulated by chloramphenicol. The N terminus contained a signal sequence of 26 amino acids necessary for secretion into the periplasm, a so-far unique property of Pseudomonas catalases.

Multiple periplasmic catalases in phytopathogenic strains of Pseudomonas syringae

Phytopathogenic strains of Pseudomonas syringae are exposed to plant-produced, detrimental levels of hydrogen peroxide during invasion and colonization of host plant tissue. When P. syringae strains were investigated for their capacity to resist H2O2, they were found to contain 10- to 100-fold-higher levels of total catalase activity than selected strains belonging to nonpathogenic related taxa (Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas putida) or Escherichia coli. Multiple catalase activities were identified in both periplasmic and cytoplasmic fluids of exponential- and stationary-phase P. syringae cells. Two of these activities were unique to the periplasm of P. syringae pv. glycinea. During the stationary growth phase, the specific activity of cytoplasmic catalases increased four- to eightfold. The specific activities of catalases in both fluids from exponential-phase cells increased in response to treatment with 0.25 to 10 mM H2O2 but decreased when higher H2O2 concentrations were used. In stationary-growth phase cultures, the specific activities of cytoplasmic catalases increased remarkably after treatment with 0.25 to 50 mM H2O2. The growth of P. syringae into stationary phase and H2O2 treatment did not induce synthesis of additional catalase isozymes. Only the stationary-phase cultures of all of the P. syringae strains which we tested were capable of surviving high H2O2 stress at concentrations up to 50 mM. Our results are consistent with the involvement of multiple catalase isozymes in the reduction of oxidative stress during plant pathogenesis by these bacteria.

Potassium transport through lipid bilayer membranes facilitated by tentoxin dimers. A new mechanism of ion carrier transport?

The cyclic tetrapeptide tentoxin at concentrations greater than 5 X 10(-7) M selectively increases the ion conductivity for potassium of lipid bilayer membranes, while the naturally occurring derivative dihydrotentoxin has no influence on this property. Current-voltage curves, zero-current potential and charge-pulse measurements were used to characterize the action of tentoxin. The results suggest that a new mechanism of facilitated ion transport operates. The model of tentoxin dimerization and tentoxin-K+ association developed is in contradiction to the model of tentoxin pore formation described recently by Heitz et al. (Biophys. Chem. 23 (1986) 245).