scholarly journals Cytoplasmic Localization of Sulfide:Quinone Oxidoreductase and Persulfide Dioxygenase of Cupriavidus pinatubonensis JMP134

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Gao ◽  
Honglei Liu ◽  
Luying Xun

ABSTRACT Heterotrophic bacteria have recently been reported to oxidize sulfide to sulfite and thiosulfate by using sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) and persulfide dioxygenase (PDO). In chemolithotrophic bacteria, both SQR and PDO have been reported to function in the periplasmic space, with SQR as a peripheral membrane protein whose C terminus inserts into the cytoplasmic membrane and PDO as a soluble protein. Cupriavidus pinatubonensis JMP134, best known for its ability to degrade 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and other aromatic pollutants, has a gene cluster of sqr and pdo encoding C. pinatubonensis SQR (CpSQR) and CpPDO2. When cloned in Escherichia coli, the enzymes are functional. Here we investigated whether they function in the periplasmic space or in the cytoplasm in heterotrophic bacteria. By using sequence analysis, biochemical detection, and green fluorescent protein (GFP)/PhoA fusion proteins, we found that CpSQR was located on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane and CpPDO2 was a soluble protein in the cytoplasm with a tendency to be peripherally located near the membrane. The location proximity of these proteins near the membrane in the cytoplasm may facilitate sulfide oxidation in heterotrophic bacteria. The information may guide the use of heterotrophic bacteria in bioremediation of organic pollutants as well as H2S. IMPORTANCE Sulfide (H2S, HS−, and S2−), which is common in natural gas and wastewater, causes a serious malodor at low levels and is deadly at high levels. Microbial oxidation of sulfide is a valid bioremediation method, in which chemolithotrophic bacteria that use sulfide as the energy source are often used to remove sulfide. Heterotrophic bacteria with SQR and PDO have recently been reported to oxidize sulfide to sulfite and thiosulfate. Cupriavidus pinatubonensis JMP134 has been extensively characterized for its ability to degrade organic pollutants, and it also contains SQR and PDO. This paper shows the localization of SQR and PDO inside the cytoplasm in the vicinity of the membrane. The information may provide guidance for using heterotrophic bacteria in sulfide bioremediation.

2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuanjuan Lü ◽  
Yongzhen Xia ◽  
Daixi Liu ◽  
Rui Zhao ◽  
Rui Gao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Production of sulfide (H2S, HS−, and S2−) by heterotrophic bacteria during aerobic growth is a common phenomenon. Some bacteria with sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) and persulfide dioxygenase (PDO) can oxidize self-produced sulfide to sulfite and thiosulfate, but other bacteria without these enzymes release sulfide into the medium, from which H2S can volatilize into the gas phase. Here, we report that Cupriavidus necator H16, with the fccA and fccB genes encoding flavocytochrome c sulfide dehydrogenases (FCSDs), also oxidized self-produced H2S. A mutant in which fccA and fccB were deleted accumulated and released H2S. When fccA and fccB were expressed in Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain Pa3K with deletions of its sqr and pdo genes, the recombinant rapidly oxidized sulfide to sulfane sulfur. When PDO was also cloned into the recombinant, the recombinant with both FCSD and PDO oxidized sulfide to sulfite and thiosulfate. Thus, the proposed pathway is similar to the pathway catalyzed by SQR and PDO, in which FCSD oxidizes sulfide to polysulfide, polysulfide spontaneously reacts with reduced glutathione (GSH) to produce glutathione persulfide (GSSH), and PDO oxidizes GSSH to sulfite, which chemically reacts with polysulfide to produce thiosulfate. About 20.6% of sequenced bacterial genomes contain SQR, and only 3.9% contain FCSD. This is not a surprise, since SQR is more efficient in conserving energy because it passes electrons from sulfide oxidation into the electron transport chain at the quinone level, while FCSD passes electrons to cytochrome c. The transport of electrons from the latter to O2 conserves less energy. FCSDs are grouped into three subgroups, well conserved at the taxonomic level. Thus, our data show the diversity in sulfide oxidation by heterotrophic bacteria. IMPORTANCE Heterotrophic bacteria with SQR and PDO can oxidize self-produced sulfide and do not release H2S into the gas phase. C. necator H16 has FCSD but not SQR, and it does not release H2S. We confirmed that the bacterium used FCSD for the oxidation of self-produced sulfide. The bacterium also oxidized added sulfide. The common presence of SQRs, FCSDs, and PDOs in heterotrophic bacteria suggests the significant role of heterotrophic bacteria in sulfide oxidation, participating in sulfur biogeochemical cycling. Further, FCSDs have been identified in anaerobic photosynthetic bacteria and chemolithotrophic bacteria, but their physiological roles are unknown. We showed that heterotrophic bacteria use FCSDs to oxidize self-produced sulfide and extraneous sulfide, and they may be used for H2S bioremediation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (22) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yufeng Xin ◽  
Rui Gao ◽  
Feifei Cui ◽  
Chuanjuan Lü ◽  
Honglei Liu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Heterotrophic bacteria actively participate in the biogeochemical cycle of sulfur on Earth. The heterotrophic bacterium Cupriavidus pinatubonensis JMP134 contains several enzymes involved in sulfur oxidation, but how these enzymes work together to oxidize sulfide in the bacterium has not been studied. Using gene-deletion and whole-cell assays, we determined that the bacterium uses sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase to oxidize sulfide to polysulfide, which is further oxidized to sulfite by persulfide dioxygenase. Sulfite spontaneously reacts with polysulfide to produce thiosulfate. The sulfur-oxidizing (Sox) system oxidizes thiosulfate to sulfate. Flavocytochrome c sulfide dehydrogenase enhances thiosulfate oxidation by the Sox system but couples with the Sox system for sulfide oxidation to sulfate in the absence of sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase. Thus, C. pinatubonensis JMP134 contains a main pathway and a contingent pathway for sulfide oxidation. IMPORTANCE We establish a new pathway of sulfide oxidation with thiosulfate as a key intermediate in Cupriavidus pinatubonensis JMP134. The bacterium mainly oxidizes sulfide by using sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase, persulfide dioxygenase, and the Sox system with thiosulfate as a key intermediate. Although the purified and reconstituted Sox system oxidizes sulfide, its rate of sulfide oxidation in C. pinatubonensis JMP134 is too low to be physiologically relevant. The findings reveal how these sulfur-oxidizing enzymes participate in sulfide oxidation in a single bacterium.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (5) ◽  
pp. 1799-1806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Honglei Liu ◽  
Yufeng Xin ◽  
Luying Xun

ABSTRACTSulfur oxidation by chemolithotrophic bacteria is well known; however, sulfur oxidation by heterotrophic bacteria is often ignored. Sulfur dioxygenases (SDOs) (EC 1.13.11.18) were originally found in the cell extracts of some chemolithotrophic bacteria as glutathione (GSH)-dependent sulfur dioxygenases. GSH spontaneously reacts with elemental sulfur to generate glutathione persulfide (GSSH), and SDOs oxidize GSSH to sulfite and GSH. However, SDOs have not been characterized for bacteria, including chemolithotrophs. The gene coding for human SDO (human ETHE1 [hETHE1]) in mitochondria was discovered because its mutations lead to a hereditary human disease, ethylmalonic encephalopathy. Using sequence analysis and activity assays, we discovered three subgroups of bacterial SDOs in the proteobacteria and cyanobacteria. Ten selected SDO genes were cloned and expressed inEscherichia coli, and the recombinant proteins were purified. The SDOs used Fe2+for catalysis and displayed considerable variations in specific activities. The wide distribution of SDO genes reveals the likely source of the hETHE1 gene and highlights the potential of sulfur oxidation by heterotrophic bacteria.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (13) ◽  
pp. 4603-4609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivcharan Prasad ◽  
Prashant B. Khadatare ◽  
Ipsita Roy

ABSTRACTThe recovery of active proteins from inclusion bodies usually involves chaotrope-induced denaturation, followed by refolding of the unfolded protein. The efficiency of renaturation is low, leading to reduced yield of the final product. In this work, we report that recombinant proteins can be overexpressed in the soluble form in the host expression system by incorporating compatible solutes during protein expression. Green fluorescent protein (GFP), which was otherwise expressed as inclusion bodies, could be made to partition off into the soluble fraction when sorbitol and arginine, but not ethylene glycol, were present in the growth medium. Arginine and sorbitol increased the production of soluble protein, while ethylene glycol did not. Production of ATP increased in the presence of sorbitol and arginine, but not ethylene glycol. A control experiment with fructose addition indicated that protein solubilization was not due to a simple ATP increase. We have successfully reproduced these results with the N-terminal domain of HypF (HypF-N), a bacterial protein which forms inclusion bodies inEscherichia coli. Instead of forming inclusion bodies, HypF-N could be expressed as a soluble protein in the presence of sorbitol, arginine, and trehalose in the expression medium.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (23) ◽  
pp. 8310-8317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua D. Morris ◽  
Jessica L. Hewitt ◽  
Lawrence G. Wolfe ◽  
Nachiket G. Kamatkar ◽  
Sarah M. Chapman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTMany bacteria spread over surfaces by “swarming” in groups. A problem for scientists who study swarming is the acquisition of statistically significant data that distinguish two observations or detail the temporal patterns and two-dimensional heterogeneities that occur. It is currently difficult to quantify differences between observed swarm phenotypes. Here, we present a method for acquisition of temporal surface motility data using time-lapse fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging. We specifically demonstrate three applications of our technique with the bacteriumPseudomonas aeruginosa. First, we quantify the temporal distribution ofP. aeruginosacells tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the surfactant rhamnolipid stained with the lipid dye Nile red. Second, we distinguish swarming ofP. aeruginosaandSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium in a coswarming experiment. Lastly, we quantify differences in swarming and rhamnolipid production of severalP. aeruginosastrains. While the best swarming strains produced the most rhamnolipid on surfaces, planktonic culture rhamnolipid production did not correlate with surface growth rhamnolipid production.


2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (5) ◽  
pp. 2438-2441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Baharoglu ◽  
Didier Mazel

ABSTRACTAntibiotic resistance development has been linked to the bacterial SOS stress response. InEscherichia coli, fluoroquinolones are known to induce SOS, whereas other antibiotics, such as aminoglycosides, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol, do not. Here we address whether various antibiotics induce SOS inVibrio cholerae. Reporter green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusions were used to measure the response of SOS-regulated promoters to subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics. We show that unlike the situation withE. coli, all these antibiotics induce SOS inV. cholerae.


2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (8) ◽  
pp. 2841-2849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan F. Goulden ◽  
Michael R. Hall ◽  
David G. Bourne ◽  
Lily L. Pereg ◽  
Lone Høj

ABSTRACTThe type strain ofVibrio owensii(DY05) was isolated during an epizootic of aquaculture-reared larvae (phyllosomas) of the ornate spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus).V. owensiiDY05 was formally demonstrated to be the etiological agent of a disease causing rapid and reproducible larval mortality with pathologies similar to those seen during disease epizootics. Vectored challenge via the aquaculture live feed organismArtemia(brine shrimp) caused consistent cumulative mortality rates of 84 to 89% after 72 h, in contrast to variable mortality rates seen after immersion challenge. Histopathological examination of vector-challenged phyllosomas revealed bacterial proliferation in the midgut gland (hepatopancreas) concomitant with epithelial cell necrosis. A fluorescent-protein-labeledV. owensiiDY05 transconjugant showed dispersal of single cells in the foregut and hepatopancreas 6 h postexposure, leading to colonization of the entire hepatopancreas within 18 h and eventually systemic infection.V. owensiiDY05 is a marine enteropathogen highly virulent toP. ornatusphyllosoma that uses vector-mediated transmission and release from host association to a planktonic existence to perpetuate transfer. This understanding of the infection process will improve targeted biocontrol strategies and enhance the prospects of commercially viable larviculture for this valuable spiny lobster species.


mBio ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas J. Delalez ◽  
Richard M. Berry ◽  
Judith P. Armitage

ABSTRACTSome proteins in biological complexes exchange with pools of free proteins while the complex is functioning. Evidence is emerging that protein exchange can be part of an adaptive mechanism. The bacterial flagellar motor is one of the most complex biological machines and is an ideal model system to study protein dynamics in large multimeric complexes. Recent studies showed that the copy number of FliM in the switch complex and the fraction of FliM that exchanges vary with the direction of flagellar rotation. Here, we investigated the stoichiometry and turnover of another switch complex component, FliN, labeled with the fluorescent protein CyPet, inEscherichia coli. Our results confirm that,in vivo, FliM and FliN form a complex with stoichiometry of 1:4 and function as a unit. We estimated that wild-type motors contained 120 ± 26 FliN molecules. Motors that rotated only clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) contained 114 ± 17 and 144 ± 26 FliN molecules, respectively. The ratio of CCW-to-CW FliN copy numbers was 1.26, very close to that of 1.29 reported previously for FliM. We also measured the exchange of FliN molecules, which had a time scale and dependence upon rotation direction similar to those of FliM, consistent with an exchange of FliM-FliN as a unit. Our work confirms the highly dynamic nature of multimeric protein complexes and indicates that, under physiological conditions, these machines might not be the stable, complete structures suggested by averaged fixed methodologies but, rather, incomplete rings that can respond and adapt to changing environments.IMPORTANCEThe flagellum is one of the most complex structures in a bacterial cell, with the core motor proteins conserved across species. Evidence is now emerging that turnover of some of these motor proteins depends on motor activity, suggesting that turnover is important for function. The switch complex transmits the chemosensory signal to the rotor, and we show, by using single-cell measurement, that both the copy number and the fraction of exchanging molecules vary with the rotational bias of the rotor. When the motor is locked in counterclockwise rotation, the copy number is similar to that determined by averaged, fixed methodologies, but when locked in a clockwise direction, the number is much lower, suggesting that that the switch complex ring is incomplete. Our results suggest that motor remodeling is an important component in tuning responses and adaptation at the motor.


2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (8) ◽  
pp. 2240-2246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex I. Kanno ◽  
Cibelly Goulart ◽  
Henrique K. Rofatto ◽  
Sergio C. Oliveira ◽  
Luciana C. C. Leite ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe expression of many antigens, stimulatory molecules, or even metabolic pathways in mycobacteria such asMycobacterium bovisBCG orM. smegmatiswas made possible through the development of shuttle vectors, and several recombinant vaccines have been constructed. However, gene expression in any of these systems relied mostly on the selection of natural promoters expected to provide the required level of expression by trial and error. To establish a systematic selection of promoters with a range of strengths, we generated a library of mutagenized promoters through error-prone PCR of the strong PL5promoter, originally from mycobacteriophage L5. These promoters were cloned upstream of the enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter gene, and recombinantM. smegmatisbacteria exhibiting a wide range of fluorescence levels were identified. A set of promoters was selected and identified as having high (pJK-F8), intermediate (pJK-B7, pJK-E6, pJK-D6), or low (pJK-C1) promoter strengths in bothM. smegmatisandM. bovisBCG. The sequencing of the promoter region demonstrated that it was extensively modified (6 to 11%) in all of the plasmids selected. To test the functionality of the system, two different expression vectors were demonstrated to allow corresponding expression levels of theSchistosoma mansoniantigen Sm29 in BCG. The approach used here can be used to adjust expression levels for synthetic and/or systems biology studies or for vaccine development to maximize the immune response.


2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (14) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shili Yang ◽  
Lijuan Zhao ◽  
Ruipeng Ma ◽  
Wei Fang ◽  
Jia Hu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The relatively low infectivity of baculoviruses to their host larvae limits their use as insecticidal agents on a larger scale. In the present study, a novel strategy was developed to efficiently embed foreign proteins into Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) occlusion bodies (OBs) to achieve stable expression of foreign proteins and to improve viral infectivity. A recombinant AcMNPV bacmid was constructed by expressing the 150-amino-acid (aa) N-terminal segment of polyhedrin under the control of the p10 promoter and the remaining C-terminal 95-aa segment under the control of the polyhedrin promoter. The recombinant virus formed OBs in Spodoptera frugiperda 9 cells, in which the occlusion-derived viruses were embedded in a manner similar to that for wild-type AcMNPV. Next, the 95-aa polyhedrin C terminus was fused to enhanced green fluorescent protein, and the recombinant AcMNPV formed fluorescent green OBs and was stably passaged in vitro and in vivo. The AcMNPV recombinants were further modified by fusing truncated Agrotis segetum granulovirus enhancin or truncated Cydia pomonella granulovirus ORF13 (GP37) to the C-terminal 95 aa of polyhedrin, and both recombinants were able to form normal OBs. Bioactivity assays indicated that the median lethal concentrations of these two AcMNPV recombinants were 3- to 5-fold lower than that of the control virus. These results suggest that embedding enhancing factors in baculovirus OBs by use of this novel technique may promote efficient and stable foreign protein expression and significantly improve baculovirus infectivity. IMPORTANCE Baculoviruses have been used as bioinsecticides for over 40 years, but their relatively low infectivity to their host larvae limits their use on a larger scale. It has been reported that it is possible to improve baculovirus infectivity by packaging enhancing factors within baculovirus occlusion bodies (OBs); however, so far, the packaging efficiency has been low. In this article, we describe a novel strategy for efficiently embedding foreign proteins into AcMNPV OBs by expressing N- and C-terminal (dimidiate) polyhedrin fragments (150 and 95 amino acids, respectively) as fusions to foreign proteins under the control of the p10 and polyhedrin promoters, respectively. When this strategy was used to embed an enhancing factor (enhancin or GP37) into the baculovirus OBs, 3- to 5-fold increases in baculoviral infectivity were observed. This novel strategy has the potential to create an efficient protein expression system and a highly efficient virus-based system for insecticide production in the future.


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