scholarly journals A Novel (S)-6-Hydroxynicotine Oxidase Gene from Shinella sp. Strain HZN7

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (18) ◽  
pp. 5552-5560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiguo Qiu ◽  
Yin Wei ◽  
Yun Ma ◽  
Rongti Wen ◽  
Yuezhong Wen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTNicotine is an important environmental toxicant in tobacco waste.Shinellasp. strain HZN7 can metabolize nicotine into nontoxic compounds via variations of the pyridine and pyrrolidine pathways. However, the catabolic mechanism of this variant pathway at the gene or enzyme level is still unknown. In this study, two 6-hydroxynicotine degradation-deficient mutants, N7-M9 and N7-W3, were generated by transposon mutagenesis. The corresponding mutant genes, designatednctBandtnp2, were cloned and analyzed. ThenctBgene encodes a novel flavin adenine dinucleotide-containing (S)-6-hydroxynicotine oxidase that converts (S)-6-hydroxynicotine into 6-hydroxy-N-methylmyosmine and then spontaneously hydrolyzes into 6-hydroxypseudooxynicotine. The deletion and complementation of thenctBgene showed that this enzyme is essential for nicotine or (S)-6-hydroxynicotine degradation. Purified NctB could also convert (S)-nicotine intoN-methylmyosmine, which spontaneously hydrolyzed into pseudooxynicotine. The kinetic constants of NctB toward (S)-6-hydroxynicotine (Km= 0.019 mM,kcat= 7.3 s−1) and nicotine (Km= 2.03 mM,kcat= 0.396 s−1) indicated that (S)-6-hydroxynicotine is the preferred substratein vivo. NctB showed no activities toward theRenantiomer of nicotine or 6-hydroxynicotine. Strain HZN7 could degrade (R)-nicotine into (R)-6-hydroxynicotine without any further degradation. Thetnp2gene from mutant N7-W3 encodes a putative transposase, and its deletion did not abolish the nicotine degradation activity. This study advances the understanding of the microbial diversity of nicotine biodegradation.

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (7) ◽  
pp. 2164-2171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiguo Qiu ◽  
Yun Ma ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Yuezhong Wen ◽  
Weiping Liu

ABSTRACTPseudomonassp. strain HZN6 utilizes nicotine as its sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. However, its catabolic mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, self-formed adaptor PCR was performed to amplify the upstream sequence of the pseudooxynicotine amine oxidase gene. A 1,437-bp open reading frame (designatednox) was found to encode a nicotine oxidase (NOX) that shows 30% amino acid sequence identity with 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine oxidase fromArthrobacter nicotinovorans. Thenoxgene was cloned into a broad-host-range cloning vector and transferred into the non-nicotine-degrading bacteriaEscherichia coliDH5α (DH-nox) andPseudomonas putidaKT2440 (KT-nox). The transconjugant KT-nox obtained nicotine degradation ability and yielded an equimolar amount of pseudooxynicotine, while DH-nox did not. Reverse transcription-PCR showed that thenoxgene is expressed in both DH5α and KT2440, suggesting that additional factors required for nicotine degradation are present in aPseudomonasstrain(s), but not inE. coli. The mutant of strain HZN6 withnoxdisrupted lost the ability to degrade nicotine, but not pseudooxynicotine. These results suggested that thenoxgene is responsible for the first step of nicotine degradation. The (RS)-nicotine degradation results showed that the two enantiomers were degraded at approximately the same rate, indicating that NOX does not show chiral selectivity. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that both the conserved flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-binding GXGXXG motif and His456 are essential for nicotine degradation activity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongshui Wang ◽  
Jihong Yi ◽  
Jinmeng Shang ◽  
Wenjun Yu ◽  
Zhifeng Li ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Agrobacterium tumefaciens S33 degrades nicotine via a novel hybrid of the pyridine and the pyrrolidine pathways. The hybrid pathway consists of at least six steps involved in oxidoreductive reactions before the N-heterocycle can be broken down. Collectively, the six steps allow electron transfer from nicotine and its intermediates to the final acceptor O2 via the electron transport chain (ETC). 6-Hydroxypseudooxynicotine oxidase, renamed 6-hydroxypseudooxynicotine dehydrogenase in this study, has been characterized as catalyzing the fourth step using the artificial electron acceptor 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol. Here, we used biochemical, genetic, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses to determine that 6-hydroxypseudooxynicotine dehydrogenase utilizes the electron transfer flavoprotein (EtfAB) as the physiological electron acceptor to catalyze the dehydrogenation of pseudooxynicotine, an analogue of the true substrate 6-hydroxypseudooxynicotine, in vivo, into 3-succinoyl-semialdehyde-pyridine. NAD(P)+, O2, and ferredoxin could not function as electron acceptors. The oxygen atom in the aldehyde group of the product 3-succinoyl-semialdehyde-pyridine was verified to be derived from H2O. Disruption of the etfAB genes in the nicotine-degrading gene cluster decreased the growth rate of A. tumefaciens S33 on nicotine but not on 6-hydroxy-3-succinoylpyridine, an intermediate downstream of the hybrid pathway, indicating the requirement of EtfAB for efficient nicotine degradation. The electrons were found to be further transferred from the reduced EtfAB to coenzyme Q by the catalysis of electron transfer flavoprotein:ubiquinone oxidoreductase. These results aid in an in-depth understanding of the electron transfer process and energy metabolism involved in the nicotine oxidation and provide novel insights into nicotine catabolism in bacteria. IMPORTANCE Nicotine has been studied as a model for toxic N-heterocyclic aromatic compounds. Microorganisms can catabolize nicotine via various pathways and conserve energy from its oxidation. Although several oxidoreductases have been characterized to participate in nicotine degradation, the electron transfer involved in these processes is poorly understood. In this study, we found that 6-hydroxypseudooxynicotine dehydrogenase, a key enzyme in the hybrid pyridine and pyrrolidine pathway for nicotine degradation in Agrobacterium tumefaciens S33, utilizes EtfAB as a physiological electron acceptor. Catalyzed by the membrane-associated electron transfer flavoprotein:ubiquinone oxidoreductase, the electrons are transferred from the reduced EtfAB to coenzyme Q, which then could enter into the classic ETC. Thus, the route for electron transport from the substrate to O2 could be constructed, by which ATP can be further sythesized via chemiosmosis to support the baterial growth. These findings provide new knowledge regarding the catabolism of N-heterocyclic aromatic compounds in microorganisms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 199 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianyi Jiang ◽  
Xiaoting Guo ◽  
Jinxin Yan ◽  
Yingxin Zhang ◽  
Yujiao Wang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Bacterial membrane-associated NAD-independent d-lactate dehydrogenase (Fe-S d-iLDH) oxidizes d-lactate into pyruvate. A sequence analysis of the enzyme reveals that it contains an Fe-S oxidoreductase domain in addition to a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-containing dehydrogenase domain, which differs from other typical d-iLDHs. Fe-S d-iLDH from Pseudomonas putida KT2440 was purified as a His-tagged protein and characterized in detail. This monomeric enzyme exhibited activities with l-lactate and several d-2-hydroxyacids. Quinone was shown to be the preferred electron acceptor of the enzyme. The two domains of the enzyme were then heterologously expressed and purified separately. The Fe-S cluster-binding motifs predicted by sequence alignment were preliminarily verified by site-directed mutagenesis of the Fe-S oxidoreductase domain. The FAD-containing dehydrogenase domain retained 2-hydroxyacid-oxidizing activity, although it decreased compared to the full Fe-S d-iLDH. Compared to the intact enzyme, the FAD-containing dehydrogenase domain showed increased catalytic efficiency with cytochrome c as the electron acceptor, but it completely lost the ability to use coenzyme Q10. Additionally, the FAD-containing dehydrogenase domain was no longer associated with the cell membrane, and it could not support the utilization of d-lactate as a carbon source. Based on the results obtained, we conclude that the Fe-S oxidoreductase domain functions as an electron transfer component to facilitate the utilization of quinone as an electron acceptor by Fe-S d-iLDH, and it helps the enzyme associate with the cell membrane. These functions make the Fe-S oxidoreductase domain crucial for the in vivo d-lactate utilization function of Fe-S d-iLDH. IMPORTANCE Lactate metabolism plays versatile roles in most domains of life. Lactate utilization processes depend on certain enzymes to oxidize lactate to pyruvate. In recent years, novel bacterial lactate-oxidizing enzymes have been continually reported, including the unique NAD-independent d-lactate dehydrogenase that contains an Fe-S oxidoreductase domain besides the typical flavin-containing domain (Fe-S d-iLDH). Although Fe-S d-iLDH is widely distributed among bacterial species, the investigation of it is insufficient. Fe-S d-iLDH from Pseudomonas putida KT2440, which is the major d-lactate-oxidizing enzyme for the strain, might be a representative of this type of enzyme. A study of it will be helpful in understanding the detailed mechanisms underlying the lactate utilization processes.


mBio ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan W. Bogard ◽  
Bryan W. Davies ◽  
John J. Mekalanos

ABSTRACTLysR-type transcriptional regulators (LTTRs) are the largest, most diverse family of prokaryotic transcription factors, with regulatory roles spanning metabolism, cell growth and division, and pathogenesis. Using a sequence-defined transposon mutant library, we screened a panel ofV. choleraeEl Tor mutants to identify LTTRs required for host intestinal colonization. Surprisingly, out of 38 LTTRs, only one severely affected intestinal colonization in the suckling mouse model of cholera: the methionine metabolism regulator, MetR. Genetic analysis of genes influenced by MetR revealed thatglyA1andmetJwere also required for intestinal colonization. Chromatin immunoprecipitation of MetR and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) confirmed interaction with and regulation ofglyA1, indicating that misregulation ofglyA1is likely responsible for the colonization defect observed in themetRmutant. TheglyA1mutant was auxotrophic for glycine but exhibited wild-type trimethoprim sensitivity, making folate deficiency an unlikely cause of its colonization defect. MetJ regulatory mutants are not auxotrophic but are likely altered in the regulation of amino acid-biosynthetic pathways, including those for methionine, glycine, and serine, and this misregulation likely explains its colonization defect. However, mutants defective in methionine, serine, and cysteine biosynthesis exhibited wild-type virulence, suggesting that these amino acids can be scavenged in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that glycine biosynthesis may be required to alleviate an in vivo nutritional restriction in the mouse intestine; however, additional roles for glycine may exist. Irrespective of the precise nature of this requirement, this study illustrates the importance of pathogen metabolism, and the regulation thereof, as a virulence factor.IMPORTANCEVibrio choleraecontinues to be a severe cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Identification ofV. choleraefactors critical to disease progression offers the potential to develop or improve upon therapeutics and prevention strategies. To increase the efficiency of virulence factor discovery, we employed a regulator-centric approach to multiplex our in vivo screening capabilities and allow whole regulons inV. choleraeto be interrogated for pathogenic potential. We identified MetR as a new virulence regulator and serine hydroxymethyltransferase GlyA1 as a new MetR-regulated virulence factor, both required byV. choleraeto colonize the infant mouse intestine. Bacterial metabolism is a prerequisite to virulence, and current knowledge of in vivo metabolism of pathogens is limited. Here, we expand the known role of amino acid metabolism and regulation in virulence and offer new insights into the in vivo metabolic requirements ofV. choleraewithin the mouse intestine.


2015 ◽  
Vol 197 (17) ◽  
pp. 2792-2809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarita Mallik ◽  
Ellen M. Popodi ◽  
Andrew J. Hanson ◽  
Patricia L. Foster

ABSTRACTEscherichia coli's DNA polymerase IV (Pol IV/DinB), a member of the Y family of error-prone polymerases, is induced during the SOS response to DNA damage and is responsible for translesion bypass and adaptive (stress-induced) mutation. In this study, the localization of Pol IV after DNA damage was followed using fluorescent fusions. After exposure ofE. colito DNA-damaging agents, fluorescently tagged Pol IV localized to the nucleoid as foci. Stepwise photobleaching indicated ∼60% of the foci consisted of three Pol IV molecules, while ∼40% consisted of six Pol IV molecules. Fluorescently tagged Rep, a replication accessory DNA helicase, was recruited to the Pol IV foci after DNA damage, suggesting that thein vitrointeraction between Rep and Pol IV reported previously also occursin vivo. Fluorescently tagged RecA also formed foci after DNA damage, and Pol IV localized to them. To investigate if Pol IV localizes to double-strand breaks (DSBs), an I-SceI endonuclease-mediated DSB was introduced close to a fluorescently labeled LacO array on the chromosome. After DSB induction, Pol IV localized to the DSB site in ∼70% of SOS-induced cells. RecA also formed foci at the DSB sites, and Pol IV localized to the RecA foci. These results suggest that Pol IV interacts with RecAin vivoand is recruited to sites of DSBs to aid in the restoration of DNA replication.IMPORTANCEDNA polymerase IV (Pol IV/DinB) is an error-prone DNA polymerase capable of bypassing DNA lesions and aiding in the restart of stalled replication forks. In this work, we demonstratein vivolocalization of fluorescently tagged Pol IV to the nucleoid after DNA damage and to DNA double-strand breaks. We show colocalization of Pol IV with two proteins: Rep DNA helicase, which participates in replication, and RecA, which catalyzes recombinational repair of stalled replication forks. Time course experiments suggest that Pol IV recruits Rep and that RecA recruits Pol IV. These findings providein vivoevidence that Pol IV aids in maintaining genomic stability not only by bypassing DNA lesions but also by participating in the restoration of stalled replication forks.


2019 ◽  
Vol 202 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney E. Price ◽  
Dustin G. Brown ◽  
Dominique H. Limoli ◽  
Vanessa V. Phelan ◽  
George A. O’Toole

ABSTRACT Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients chronically infected with both Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus have worse health outcomes than patients who are monoinfected with either P. aeruginosa or S. aureus. We showed previously that mucoid strains of P. aeruginosa can coexist with S. aureus in vitro due to the transcriptional downregulation of several toxic exoproducts typically produced by P. aeruginosa, including siderophores, rhamnolipids, and HQNO (2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide). Here, we demonstrate that exogenous alginate protects S. aureus from P. aeruginosa in both planktonic and biofilm coculture models under a variety of nutritional conditions. S. aureus protection in the presence of exogenous alginate is due to the transcriptional downregulation of pvdA, a gene required for the production of the iron-scavenging siderophore pyoverdine as well as the downregulation of the PQS (Pseudomonas quinolone signal) (2-heptyl-3,4-dihydroxyquinoline) quorum sensing system. The impact of exogenous alginate is independent of endogenous alginate production. We further demonstrate that coculture of mucoid P. aeruginosa with nonmucoid P. aeruginosa strains can mitigate the killing of S. aureus by the nonmucoid strain of P. aeruginosa, indicating that the mechanism that we describe here may function in vivo in the context of mixed infections. Finally, we investigated a panel of mucoid clinical isolates that retain the ability to kill S. aureus at late time points and show that each strain has a unique expression profile, indicating that mucoid isolates can overcome the S. aureus-protective effects of mucoidy in a strain-specific manner. IMPORTANCE CF patients are chronically infected by polymicrobial communities. The two dominant bacterial pathogens that infect the lungs of CF patients are P. aeruginosa and S. aureus, with ∼30% of patients coinfected by both species. Such coinfected individuals have worse outcomes than monoinfected patients, and both species persist within the same physical space. A variety of host and environmental factors have been demonstrated to promote P. aeruginosa-S. aureus coexistence, despite evidence that P. aeruginosa kills S. aureus when these organisms are cocultured in vitro. Thus, a better understanding of P. aeruginosa-S. aureus interactions, particularly mechanisms by which these microorganisms are able to coexist in proximal physical space, will lead to better-informed treatments for chronic polymicrobial infections.


mBio ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel D. Ernst ◽  
Amber Cornelius ◽  
Miriam Bolz

ABSTRACTSecretion of specific proteins contributes to pathogenesis and immune responses in tuberculosis and other bacterial infections, yet the kinetics of protein secretion and fate of secreted proteinsin vivoare poorly understood. We generated new monoclonal antibodies that recognize theMycobacteriumtuberculosissecreted protein Ag85B and used them to establish and characterize a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantitate Ag85B in samples generatedin vitroandin vivo. We found that nutritional or culture conditions had little impact on the secretion of Ag85B and that there is considerable variation in Ag85B secretion by distinct strains in theM. tuberculosiscomplex: compared with the commonly used H37Rv strain (lineage 4),Mycobacteriumafricanum(lineage 6) secretes less Ag85B, and two strains from lineage 2 secrete more Ag85B. We also used the ELISA to determine that the rate of secretion of Ag85B is 10- to 100-fold lower than that of proteins secreted by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. ELISA quantitation of Ag85B in lung homogenates ofM. tuberculosisH37Rv-infected mice revealed that although Ag85B accumulates in the lungs as the bacterial population expands, the amount of Ag85B per bacterium decreases nearly 10,000-fold at later stages of infection, coincident with the development of T cell responses and arrest of bacterial population growth. These results indicate that bacterial protein secretionin vivois dynamic and regulated, and quantitation of secreted bacterial proteins can contribute to the understanding of pathogenesis and immunity in tuberculosis and other infections.IMPORTANCEBacterial protein secretion contributes to host-pathogen interactions, yet the process and consequences of bacterial protein secretion during infection are poorly understood. We developed a sensitive ELISA to quantitate a protein (termed Ag85B) secreted byM. tuberculosisand used it to find that Ag85B secretion occurs with slower kinetics than for proteins secreted by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and that accumulation of Ag85B in the lungs is markedly regulated as a function of the bacterial population density. Our results demonstrate that quantitation of bacterial proteins during infection can reveal novel insights into host-pathogen interactions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert-Jan Wijnant ◽  
Simon L. Croft ◽  
Raul de la Flor ◽  
Mo Alavijeh ◽  
Vanessa Yardley ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The nitroimidazole DNDI-0690 is a clinical drug candidate for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) that also shows potent in vitro and in vivo activity against cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). To support further development of this compound into a patient-friendly oral or topical formulation for the treatment of CL, we investigated the free drug exposure at the dermal site of infection and subsequent elimination of the causative Leishmania pathogen. This study evaluates the pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of DNDI-0690 in mouse models of CL. Skin microdialysis and Franz diffusion cell permeation studies revealed that DNDI-0690 permeated poorly (<1%) into the skin lesion upon topical drug application (0.063% [wt/vol], 30 μl). In contrast, a single oral dose of 50 mg/kg of body weight resulted in the rapid and nearly complete distribution of protein-unbound DNDI-0690 from the plasma into the infected dermis (ratio of the area under the curve [0 to 6 h] of the free DNDI-0690 concentration in skin tissue to blood [fAUC0-6 h, skin tissue/fAUC0-6 h, blood] is greater than 80%). Based on in vivo bioluminescence imaging, two doses of 50 mg/kg DNDI-0690 were sufficient to reduce the Leishmania mexicana parasite load by 100-fold, while 6 such doses were needed to achieve similar killing of L. major; this was confirmed by quantitative PCR. The combination of rapid accumulation and potent activity in the Leishmania-infected dermis indicates the potential of DNDI-0690 as a novel oral treatment for CL.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong Eun Kim ◽  
Hee Kyung Kim ◽  
Su-Mi Choi ◽  
Yohan Yu ◽  
Uh Jin Kim ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The mortality rate associated with Vibrio vulnificus sepsis remains high. An in vitro time-kill assay revealed synergism between tigecycline and ciprofloxacin. The survival rate was significantly higher in mice treated with tigecycline plus ciprofloxacin than in mice treated with cefotaxime plus minocycline. Thus, combination treatment with tigecycline-ciprofloxacin may be an effective novel antibiotic regimen for V. vulnificus sepsis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ørjan Samuelsen ◽  
Ove Alexander Høgmoen Åstrand ◽  
Christopher Fröhlich ◽  
Adam Heikal ◽  
Susann Skagseth ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens are a critical public health threat and there is an urgent need for new treatments. Carbapenemases (β-lactamases able to inactivate carbapenems) have been identified in both serine β-lactamase (SBL) and metallo-β-lactamase (MBL) families. The recent introduction of SBL carbapenemase inhibitors has provided alternative therapeutic options. Unfortunately, there are no approved inhibitors of MBL-mediated carbapenem-resistance and treatment options for infections caused by MBL-producing Gram-negatives are limited. Here, we present ZN148, a zinc-chelating MBL-inhibitor capable of restoring the bactericidal effect of meropenem and in vitro clinical susceptibility to carbapenems in >98% of a large international collection of MBL-producing clinical Enterobacterales strains (n = 234). Moreover, ZN148 was able to potentiate the effect of meropenem against NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a murine neutropenic peritonitis model. ZN148 showed no inhibition of the human zinc-containing enzyme glyoxylase II at 500 μM, and no acute toxicity was observed in an in vivo mouse model with cumulative dosages up to 128 mg/kg. Biochemical analysis showed a time-dependent inhibition of MBLs by ZN148 and removal of zinc ions from the active site. Addition of exogenous zinc after ZN148 exposure only restored MBL activity by ∼30%, suggesting an irreversible mechanism of inhibition. Mass-spectrometry and molecular modeling indicated potential oxidation of the active site Cys221 residue. Overall, these results demonstrate the therapeutic potential of a ZN148-carbapenem combination against MBL-producing Gram-negative pathogens and that ZN148 is a highly promising MBL inhibitor that is capable of operating in a functional space not presently filled by any clinically approved compound.


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