AN IMMUNOLOGICAL ENQUIRY INTO THE IDENTITY OF ASSIMILATORY AND DISSIMILATORY NITRATE REDUCTASE FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI

1963 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. D. Murray ◽  
B. D. Sanwal

The properties of the respiratory (dissimilatory) form of nitrate reductase and the assimilatory form of the same enzyme from E. coli cells were investigated. It was shown that each enzyme form was attached to cellular "particulate" material. Although each enzyme is reported in the literature to differ in its electron donor requirements, no differential assay could be established.Immunochemical investigations showed that the specific antibody against the highly purified respiratory form of enzyme could cross react with the assimilatory enzyme. Induction studies indicated that the increase in activity of the assimilatory form of nitrate reductase paralleled the increase in antigenic activity. These similarities between the respiratory and assimilatory form of nitrate reductase would indicate that few, if any, differences exist between the two forms.

Genetics ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 691-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
B L Berg ◽  
V Stewart

Abstract Formate oxidation coupled to nitrate reduction constitutes a major anaerobic respiratory pathway in Escherichia coli. This respiratory chain consists of formate dehydrogenase-N, quinone, and nitrate reductase. We have isolated a recombinant DNA clone that likely contains the structural genes, fdnGHI, for the three subunits of formate dehydrogenase-N. The fdnGHI clone produced proteins of 110, 32 and 20 kDa which correspond to the subunit sizes of purified formate dehydrogenase-N. Our analysis indicates that fdnGHI is organized as an operon. We mapped the fdn operon to 32 min on the E. coli genetic map, close to the genes for cryptic nitrate reductase (encoded by the narZ operon). Expression of phi(fdnG-lacZ) operon fusions was induced by anaerobiosis and nitrate. This induction required fnr+ and narL+, two regulatory genes whose products are also required for the anaerobic, nitrate-inducible activation of the nitrate reductase structural gene operon, narGHJI. We conclude that regulation of fdnGHI and narGHJI expression is mediated through common pathways.


2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (20) ◽  
pp. 6928-6935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valley Stewart ◽  
Peggy J. Bledsoe

ABSTRACT Periplasmic nitrate reductase (napFDAGHBC operon product) functions in anaerobic respiration. Transcription initiation from the Escherichia coli napF operon control region is activated by the Fnr protein in response to anaerobiosis and by the NarQ-NarP two-component regulatory system in response to nitrate or nitrite. The binding sites for the Fnr and phospho-NarP proteins are centered at positions −64.5 and −44.5, respectively, with respect to the major transcription initiation point. The E. coli napF operon is a rare example of a class I Fnr-activated transcriptional control region, in which the Fnr protein binding site is located upstream of position −60. To broaden our understanding of napF operon transcriptional control, we studied the Haemophilus influenzae Rd napF operon control region, expressed as a napF-lacZ operon fusion in the surrogate host E. coli. Mutational analysis demonstrated that expression required binding sites for the Fnr and phospho-NarP proteins centered at positions −81.5 and −42.5, respectively. Transcription from the E. coli napF operon control region is activated by phospho-NarP but antagonized by the orthologous protein, phospho-NarL. By contrast, expression from the H. influenzae napF-lacZ operon fusion in E. coli was stimulated equally well by nitrate in both narP and narL null mutants, indicating that phospho-NarL and -NarP are equally effective regulators of this promoter. Overall, the H. influenzae napF operon control region provides a relatively simple model for studying synergistic transcription by the Fnr and phospho-NarP proteins acting from class I and class II locations, respectively.


2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (16) ◽  
pp. 4734-4747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Overton ◽  
Eleanor G. F. Reid ◽  
Robin Foxall ◽  
Harry Smith ◽  
Stephen J. W. Busby ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Neisseria gonorrhoeae genome encodes a homologue of the Escherichia coli FNR protein (the fumarate and nitrate reductase regulator). Despite its similarity to E. coli FNR, the gonococcal FNR only partially complemented an E. coli fnr mutation. After error-prone PCR mutagenesis of the gonococcal fnr gene, we identified four mutant fnr derivatives carrying the same S18F substitution, and we showed that the mutant FNR could activate transcription from a range of class I and class II FNR-dependent promoters in E. coli. Prompted by the similarities between gonococcal and E. coli FNR, we made changes in gonococcal fnr that created substitutions that are equivalent to previously characterized substitutions in E. coli FNR. First, our experiments showed that cysteine, C116, in the gonococcal FNR, equivalent to C122 in E. coli FNR, is essential, presumably because, as in E. coli FNR, it binds to an iron-sulfur center. Second, the L22H and D148A substitutions in gonococcal FNR were made. These changes are equivalent to the L28H and D154A changes in E. coli FNR, which had been shown to increase FNR activity in the presence of oxygen. We show that the effects of these substitutions in gonococcal FNR are distinct from those of the S18F substitution. Similarly, substitutions in the putative activating regions of gonococcal FNR were made. We show that the activity of gonococcal FNR in E. coli can be increased by transplanting certain activating regions from E. coli FNR. The effects of these substitutions are additive to those due to S18F. From these data, we conclude that the effects of the S18F substitution in gonococcal FNR are distinct from the effects of the other substitutions. S18 is immediately adjacent to one of three N-terminal cysteine residues that coordinate the iron-sulfur center, and thus the S18F substitution is most likely to stabilize this center. Support for this came from complementary experiments in which we created the S24F substitution in E. coli FNR, which is equivalent to the S18F substitution in gonococcal FNR. Our results show that the S24F substitution changes the activity of E. coli FNR and that the changes are distinct from those due to previously characterized substitutions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 4218-4226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shari A. Jones ◽  
Terri Gibson ◽  
Rosalie C. Maltby ◽  
Fatema Z. Chowdhury ◽  
Valley Stewart ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe intestine is inhabited by a large microbial community consisting primarily of anaerobes and, to a lesser extent, facultative anaerobes, such asEscherichia coli, which we have shown requires aerobic respiration to compete successfully in the mouse intestine (S. A. Jones et al., Infect. Immun. 75:4891-4899, 2007). If facultative anaerobes efficiently lower oxygen availability in the intestine, then their sustained growth must also depend on anaerobic metabolism. In support of this idea, mutants lacking nitrate reductase or fumarate reductase have extreme colonization defects. Here, we further explore the role of anaerobic respiration in colonization using the streptomycin-treated mouse model. We found that respiratory electron flow is primarily via the naphthoquinones, which pass electrons to cytochromebdoxidase and the anaerobic terminal reductases. We found thatE. coliuses nitrate and fumarate in the intestine, but not nitrite, dimethyl sulfoxide, or trimethylamineN-oxide. Competitive colonizations revealed that cytochromebdoxidase is more advantageous than nitrate reductase or fumarate reductase. Strains lacking nitrate reductase outcompeted fumarate reductase mutants once the nitrate concentration in cecal mucus reached submillimolar levels, indicating that fumarate is the more important anaerobic electron acceptor in the intestine because nitrate is limiting. Since nitrate is highest in the absence ofE. coli, we conclude thatE. coliis the only bacterium in the streptomycin-treated mouse large intestine that respires nitrate. Lastly, we demonstrated that a mutant lacking the NarXL regulator (activator of the NarG system), but not a mutant lacking the NarP-NarQ regulator, has a colonization defect, consistent with the advantage provided by NarG. The emerging picture is one in which gene regulation is tuned to balance expression of the terminal reductases thatE. coliuses to maximize its competitiveness and achieve the highest possible population in the intestine.


2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiming Li ◽  
Raymond J. Turner

The catalytic subunit of many Escherichia coli redox enzymes bares a twin-arginine translocation (Tat)-dependent signal peptide in its precursor, which directs the redox enzyme complex to this Sec-independent pathway. NarG of the E. coli nitrate reductase NarGHI complex possesses a vestige twin-arginine motif at its N terminus. During the cofactor insertion, and assembly and folding of the NarG–NarH complex, a chaperone protein, NarJ, is thought to interact with the N terminus and an unknown second site of NarG. Our previous in vitro study provided evidence that NarJ’s role shows some Tat system dependence. In this work, we investigated the associations of NarJ with a peptide of the first 50 residues of NarG (NarG50) in living cells. Two approaches were used: the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) based on yellow fluorescent protein – cyan fluorescent protein (YFP–CFP) and the bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC). Compared with the wild-type (WT) E. coli cotransformants expressing both NarJ–YFP and NarG50–CFP, tat gene mutants gave an apparent FRET efficiency (Eapp) that was on the order of 25%–40% lower. These experiments implied a Tat system dependency of the in vivo associations between NarJ and the NarG50 peptide. In the BiFC assay, a 4-fold lower specific fluorescence intensity was observed for the E. coli WT cotransformants expressing both NarJ–Yc and NarG50–Yn than for its tat mutants, again suggesting a Tat dependence of the interactions. Fluorescence microscopy showed a “dot”/unipolar distribution of the reassembled YFP–NarJ:NarG50 both in WT and tat mutants, demonstrating a distinct localization of the interaction. Thus, although the degree of the interaction shows Tat dependence, the cell localization is less so. Taken together, these data further support that NarJ’s activity on NarG may be assisted by the Tat system.


2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 1907-1913 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Ye ◽  
S. Venkadesh Nadar ◽  
Jiaojiao Li ◽  
Barry P. Rosen

The structure of glutaredoxin 2 (Grx2) fromEscherichia colico-crystallized with glutathione (GSH) was solved at 1.60 Å resolution. The structure of a mutant with the active-site residues Cys9 and Cys12 changed to serine crystallized in the absence of glutathione was solved to 2.4 Å resolution. Grx2 has an N-terminal domain characteristic of glutaredoxins, and the overall structure is congruent with the structure of glutathioneS-transferases (GSTs). Purified Grx2 exhibited GST activity. Grx2, which is the physiological electron donor for arsenate reduction byE. coliArsC, was docked with ArsC. The docked structure could be fitted with GSH bridging the active sites of the two proteins. It is proposed that Grx2 is a novel Grx/GST hybrid that functions in two steps of the ArsC catalytic cycle: as a GST it catalyzes glutathionylation of the ArsC–As(V) intermediate and as a glutaredoxin it catalyzes deglutathionylation of the ArsC–As(III)–SG intermediate.


2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damaraju Sambasivarao ◽  
Raymond J Turner ◽  
Peter T Bilous ◽  
Richard A Rothery ◽  
Gillian Shaw ◽  
...  

We have generated a chromosomal mutant of moeB (moeBA228T) that demonstrates limited molybdenum cofactor (molybdo-bis(molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide) (Mo-bisMGD)) availability in Escherichia coli and have characterized its effect on the maturation and physiological function of two well-characterized respiratory molybdoenzymes: the membrane-bound dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) reductase (DmsABC) and the membrane-bound nitrate reductase A (NarGHI). In the moeBA228T mutant strain, E. coli F36, anaerobic respiratory growth is possible on nitrate but not on DMSO, indicating that cofactor insertion occurs into NarGHI but not into DmsABC. Fluorescence analyses of cofactor availability indicate little detectable cofactor in the moeBA228T mutant compared with the wild-type, suggesting that NarGHI is able to scavenge limiting cofactor, whereas DmsABC is not. MoeB functions to sulfurylate MoaD, and in the structure of the MoeB–MoaD complex, Ala-228 is located in the interface region between the two proteins. This suggests that the moeBA228T mutation disrupts the interaction between MoeB and MoaD. In the case of DmsABC, despite the absence of cofactor, the twin-arginine signal sequence of DmsA is cleaved in the moeBA228T mutant, indicating that maturation of the holoenzyme is not cofactor-insertion dependent.Key words: mdybdenum cofactor, DMSO reductase, nitrate reductase.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (5) ◽  
pp. 1314-1323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valley Stewart ◽  
Yiran Lu ◽  
Andrew J. Darwin

ABSTRACT Periplasmic nitrate reductase (NapABC enzyme) has been characterized from a variety of proteobacteria, especially Paracoccus pantotrophus. Whole-genome sequencing of Escherichia coli revealed the structural genes napFDAGHBC, which encode NapABC enzyme and associated electron transfer components. E. coli also expresses two membrane-bound proton-translocating nitrate reductases, encoded by the narGHJI and narZYWV operons. We measured reduced viologen-dependent nitrate reductase activity in a series of strains with combinations of nar and nap null alleles. The napF operon-encoded nitrate reductase activity was not sensitive to azide, as shown previously for the P. pantotrophus NapA enzyme. A strain carrying null alleles of narG and narZ grew exponentially on glycerol with nitrate as the respiratory oxidant (anaerobic respiration), whereas a strain also carrying a null allele of napA did not. By contrast, the presence of napA+ had no influence on the more rapid growth of narG+ strains. These results indicate that periplasmic nitrate reductase, like fumarate reductase, can function in anaerobic respiration but does not constitute a site for generating proton motive force. The time course of Φ(napF-lacZ) expression during growth in batch culture displayed a complex pattern in response to the dynamic nitrate/nitrite ratio. Our results are consistent with the observation that Φ(napF-lacZ) is expressed preferentially at relatively low nitrate concentrations in continuous cultures (H. Wang, C.-P. Tseng, and R. P. Gunsalus, J. Bacteriol. 181:5303-5308, 1999). This finding and other considerations support the hypothesis that NapABC enzyme may function in E. coli when low nitrate concentrations limit the bioenergetic efficiency of nitrate respiration via NarGHI enzyme.


1986 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 967-969
Author(s):  
L. E. Bryan ◽  
T. Schollaardt ◽  
C. Y. Pak ◽  
C. J. Kim ◽  
J. W. Yoon

Purified lipopolysaccharide of Escherichia coli produced specific antibody when injected intraperitoneally or given to rats orally. Either route of immunization did not prevent ascending pyelonephritis in a diabetic rat model. The use of purified LPS excludes the potential contribution of other virulence factors of E. coli as protective antigens in the prevention of ascending pyelonephritis and confirms that anti-lipopolysaccharide antibody is not protective for ascending pyelonephritis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1038-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROBIN C. ANDERSON ◽  
SANDRA A. BUCKLEY ◽  
LEON F. KUBENA ◽  
LARRY H. STANKER ◽  
ROGER B. HARVEY ◽  
...  

Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 are important foodborne pathogens affecting the beef and dairy industries and strategies are sought to rid these organisms from cattle at slaughter. Both pathogens possess respiratory nitrate reductase that also reduces chlorate to the lethal chlorite ion. Because most anaerobes lack respiratory nitrate reductase, we hypothesized that chlorate may selectively kill E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 but not potentially beneficial anaerobes. In support of this hypothesis, we found that concentrations of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 were reduced from approximately 1,000,000 colony forming units (CFU) to below our level of detection (≤10 CFU) following in vitro incubation (24 h) in buffered ruminal contents (pH 6.8) containing 5 mM added chlorate. In contrast, chlorate had little effect on the most probable number (mean ± SD) of total culturable anaerobes (ranging from 9.9 ± 0.72 to 10.7 ± 0.01 log10 cells/ml). Thus, chlorate was bactericidal to E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 but not to potentially beneficial bacteria. The bactericidal effect of chlorate was concentration dependent (less at 1.25 mM) and markedly affected by pH (more bactericidal at pH 6.8 than pH 5.6).


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