scholarly journals Characterization of the Reduction of Selenate and Tellurite by Nitrate Reductases

2001 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 5122-5126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique Sabaty ◽  
Cécile Avazeri ◽  
David Pignol ◽  
André Vermeglio

ABSTRACT Preliminary studies showed that the periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides and the membrane-bound nitrate reductases of Escherichia coli are able to reduce selenate and tellurite in vitro with benzyl viologen as an electron donor. In the present study, we found that this is a general feature of denitrifiers. Both the periplasmic and membrane-bound nitrate reductases of Ralstonia eutropha, Paracoccus denitrificans, and Paracoccus pantotrophus can utilize potassium selenate and potassium tellurite as electron acceptors. In order to characterize these reactions, the periplasmic nitrate reductase of R. sphaeroides f. sp. denitrificans IL106 was histidine tagged and purified. The V max andKm were determined for nitrate, tellurite, and selenate. For nitrate, values of 39 μmol · min−1 · mg−1 and 0.12 mM were obtained for V max and Km , respectively, whereas the V max values for tellurite and selenate were 40- and 140-fold lower, respectively. These low activities can explain the observation that depletion of the nitrate reductase in R. sphaeroides does not modify the MIC of tellurite for this organism.

1995 ◽  
Vol 309 (3) ◽  
pp. 983-992 ◽  
Author(s):  
B C Berks ◽  
D J Richardson ◽  
A Reilly ◽  
A C Willis ◽  
S J Ferguson

The napEDABC locus coding for the periplasmic nitrate reductase of Thiosphaera pantotropha has been cloned and sequenced. The large and small subunits of the enzyme are coded by napA and napB. The sequence of NapA indicates that this protein binds the GMP-conjugated form of the molybdopterin cofactor. Cysteine-181 is proposed to ligate the molybdenum atom. It is inferred that the active site of the periplasmic nitrate reductase is structurally related to those of the molybdenum-dependent formate dehydrogenases and bacterial assimilatory nitrate reductases, but is distinct from that of the membrane-bound respiratory nitrate reductases. A four-cysteine motif at the N-terminus of NapA binds a [4Fe-4S] cluster. The DNA- and protein-derived primary sequence of NapB confirm that this protein is a dihaem c-type cytochrome and, together with spectroscopic data, indicate that both NapB haems have bis-histidine ligation. napC is predicted to code for a membrane-anchored tetrahaem c-type cytochrome that shows sequence similarity to the NirT cytochrome c family. NapC may be the direct electron donor to the NapAB complex. napD is predicted to encode a soluble cytoplasmic protein and napE a monotopic integral membrane protein, napDABC genes can be discerned at the aeg-46.5 locus of Escherichia coli K-12, suggesting that this operon encodes a periplasmic nitrate reductase system, while napD and napC are identified adjacent to the napAB genes of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16.


2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (12) ◽  
pp. 4449-4455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelli L. Palmer ◽  
Stacie A. Brown ◽  
Marvin Whiteley

ABSTRACT The autosomal recessive disorder cystic fibrosis (CF) affects approximately 70,000 people worldwide and is characterized by chronic bacterial lung infections with the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To form a chronic CF lung infection, P. aeruginosa must grow and proliferate within the CF lung, and the highly viscous sputum within the CF lung provides a likely growth substrate. Recent evidence indicates that anaerobic microenvironments may be present in the CF lung sputum layer. Since anaerobic growth significantly enhances P. aeruginosa biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance, it is important to examine P. aeruginosa physiology and metabolism in anaerobic environments. Measurement of nitrate levels revealed that CF sputum contains sufficient nitrate to support significant P. aeruginosa growth anaerobically, and mutational analysis revealed that the membrane-bound nitrate reductase is essential for P. aeruginosa anaerobic growth in an in vitro CF sputum medium. In addition, expression of genes coding for the membrane-bound nitrate reductase complex is responsive to CF sputum nitrate levels. These findings suggest that the membrane-bound nitrate reductase is critical for P. aeruginosa anaerobic growth with nitrate in the CF lung.


Microbiology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 155 (8) ◽  
pp. 2784-2794 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Kern ◽  
Jörg Simon

Various nitrate-reducing bacteria produce proteins of the periplasmic nitrate reductase (Nap) system to catalyse electron transport from the membraneous quinol pool to the periplasmic nitrate reductase NapA. The composition of the corresponding nap gene clusters varies but, in addition to napA, genes encoding at least one membrane-bound quinol dehydrogenase module (NapC and/or NapGH) are regularly present. Moreover, some nap loci predict accessory proteins such as the iron–sulfur protein NapF, whose function is poorly understood. Here, the role of NapF in nitrate respiration of the Epsilonproteobacterium Wolinella succinogenes was examined. Immunoblot analysis showed that NapF is located in the membrane fraction in nitrate-grown wild-type cells whereas it was found to be a soluble cytoplasmic protein in a napH deletion mutant. This finding indicates the formation of a membrane-bound NapGHF complex that is likely to catalyse NapH-dependent menaquinol oxidation and electron transport to the iron–sulfur adaptor proteins NapG and NapF, which are located on the periplasmic and cytoplasmic side of the membrane, respectively. The cysteine residues of a CX3CP motif and of the C-terminal tetra-cysteine cluster of NapH were found to be required for interaction with NapF. A napF deletion mutant accumulated the catalytically inactive cytoplasmic NapA precursor, suggesting that electron flow or direct interaction between NapF and NapA facilitated NapA assembly and/or export. On the other hand, NapA maturation and activity was not impaired in the absence of NapH, demonstrating that soluble NapF is functional. Each of the four tetra-cysteine motifs of NapF was modified but only one motif was found to be essential for efficient NapA maturation. It is concluded that the NapGHF complex plays a multifunctional role in menaquinol oxidation, electron transfer to periplasmic NapA and maturation of the cytoplasmic NapA precursor.


1994 ◽  
Vol 220 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben C. BERKS ◽  
David J. RICHARDSON ◽  
Carol ROBINSON ◽  
Ann REILLY ◽  
Robin T. APLIN ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 5173-5180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Ridley ◽  
Carys A. Watts ◽  
David J. Richardson ◽  
Clive S. Butler

ABSTRACT Enterobacter cloacae SLD1a-1 is capable of reductive detoxification of selenate to elemental selenium under aerobic growth conditions. The initial reductive step is the two-electron reduction of selenate to selenite and is catalyzed by a molybdenum-dependent enzyme demonstrated previously to be located in the cytoplasmic membrane, with its active site facing the periplasmic compartment (C. A. Watts, H. Ridley, K. L. Condie, J. T. Leaver, D. J. Richardson, and C. S. Butler, FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 228:273-279, 2003). This study describes the purification of two distinct membrane-bound enzymes that reduce either nitrate or selenate oxyanions. The nitrate reductase is typical of the NAR-type family, with α and β subunits of 140 kDa and 58 kDa, respectively. It is expressed predominantly under anaerobic conditions in the presence of nitrate, and while it readily reduces chlorate, it displays no selenate reductase activity in vitro. The selenate reductase is expressed under aerobic conditions and expressed poorly during anaerobic growth on nitrate. The enzyme is a heterotrimeric (αβγ) complex with an apparent molecular mass of ∼600 kDa. The individual subunit sizes are ∼100 kDa (α), ∼55 kDa (β), and ∼36 kDa (γ), with a predicted overall subunit composition of α3β3γ3. The selenate reductase contains molybdenum, heme, and nonheme iron as prosthetic constituents. Electronic absorption spectroscopy reveals the presence of a b-type cytochrome in the active complex. The apparent Km for selenate was determined to be ∼2 mM, with an observed V max of 500 nmol SeO4 2− min−1 mg−1 (k cat, ∼5.0 s−1). The enzyme also displays activity towards chlorate and bromate but has no nitrate reductase activity. These studies report the first purification and characterization of a membrane-bound selenate reductase.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document