Increase in glyoxylate shunt enzymes during cellular morphogenesis in Myxococcus xanthus

1971 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Bland ◽  
Wu-Kuang Yeh ◽  
D. White ◽  
A. Hendricks

Isocitrate lyase (EC. 4.1.3.1) and malate synthase (EC. 4.1.3.2) increase during microcyst formation in Myxococcus xanthus. The increase in activity is inhibited by chloramphenicol and actinomycin-D.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Durall ◽  
Kateryna Kukil ◽  
Jeffrey A. Hawkes ◽  
Alessia Albergati ◽  
Peter Lindblad ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cyanobacteria are promising hosts for the production of various industrially important compounds such as succinate. This study focuses on introduction of the glyoxylate shunt, which is naturally present in only a few cyanobacteria, into Synechocystis PCC 6803. In order to test its impact on cell metabolism, engineered strains were evaluated for succinate accumulation under conditions of light, darkness and anoxic darkness. Each condition was complemented by treatments with 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, an inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase enzyme, and acetate, both in nitrogen replete and deplete medium. Results We were able to introduce genes encoding the glyoxylate shunt, aceA and aceB, encoding isocitrate lyase and malate synthase respectively, into a strain of Synechocystis PCC 6803 engineered to overexpress phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Our results show that complete expression of the glyoxylate shunt results in higher extracellular succinate accumulation compared to the wild type control strain after incubation of cells in darkness and anoxic darkness in the presence of nitrate. Addition of the inhibitor 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone increased succinate titers in all the conditions tested when nitrate was available. Addition of acetate in the presence of the inhibitor further increased the succinate accumulation, resulting in high levels when phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase was overexpressed, compared to control strain. However, the highest succinate titer was obtained after dark incubation of an engineered strain with a partial glyoxylate shunt overexpressing isocitrate lyase in addition to phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, with only 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone supplementation to the medium. Conclusions Heterologous expression of the glyoxylate shunt with its central link to the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA) for acetate assimilation provides insight on the coordination of the carbon metabolism in the cell. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase plays an important role in directing carbon flux towards the TCA cycle.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (11) ◽  
pp. 4038-4049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhea M. Miller ◽  
Andrew P. Tomaras ◽  
Adam P. Barker ◽  
Dennis R. Voelker ◽  
Edward D. Chan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa demonstrates type IV pilus-mediated directional twitching motility up a gradient of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Only one of four extracellular phospholipases C of P. aeruginosa (i.e., PlcB), while not required for twitching motility per se, is required for twitching-mediated migration up a gradient of PE or phosphatidylcholine. Whether other lipid metabolism genes are associated with this behavior was assessed by analysis of transcription during twitching up a PE gradient in comparison to transcription during twitching in the absence of any externally applied phospholipid. Data support the hypothesis that PE is further degraded and that the long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) moieties of PE are completely metabolized via β-oxidation and the glyoxylate shunt. It was discovered that P. aeruginosa exhibits twitching-mediated chemotaxis toward unsaturated LCFAs (e.g., oleic acid), but not saturated LCFAs (e.g., stearic acid) of corresponding lengths. Analysis of mutants that are deficient in glyoxylate shunt enzymes, specifically isocitrate lyase (ΔaceA) and malate synthase (ΔaceB), suggested that the complete metabolism of LCFAs through this pathway was required for the migration of P. aeruginosa up a gradient of PE or unsaturated LCFAs. At this point, our data suggested that this process should be classified as energy taxis. However, further evaluation of the ability of the ΔaceA and ΔaceB mutants to migrate up a gradient of PE or unsaturated LCFAs in the presence of an alternative energy source clearly indicated that metabolism of LCFAs for energy is not required for chemotaxis toward these compounds.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (7) ◽  
pp. 2490
Author(s):  
Alyssa C. McVey ◽  
Sean Bartlett ◽  
Mahmud Kajbaf ◽  
Annalisa Pellacani ◽  
Viviana Gatta ◽  
...  

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen responsible for many hospital-acquired infections. P. aeruginosa can thrive in diverse infection scenarios by rewiring its central metabolism. An example of this is the production of biomass from C2 nutrient sources such as acetate via the glyoxylate shunt when glucose is not available. The glyoxylate shunt is comprised of two enzymes, isocitrate lyase (ICL) and malate synthase G (MS), and flux through the shunt is essential for the survival of the organism in mammalian systems. In this study, we characterized the mode of action and cytotoxicity of structural analogs of 2-aminopyridines, which have been identified by earlier work as being inhibitory to both shunt enzymes. Two of these analogs were able to inhibit ICL and MS in vitro and prevented growth of P. aeruginosa on acetate (indicating cell permeability). Moreover, the compounds exerted negligible cytotoxicity against three human cell lines and showed promising in vitro drug metabolism and safety profiles. Isothermal titration calorimetry was used to confirm binding of one of the analogs to ICL and MS, and the mode of enzyme inhibition was determined. Our data suggest that these 2-aminopyridine analogs have potential as anti-pseudomonal agents.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (11) ◽  
pp. E2225-E2232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Puckett ◽  
Carolina Trujillo ◽  
Zhe Wang ◽  
Hyungjin Eoh ◽  
Thomas R. Ioerger ◽  
...  

The glyoxylate shunt is a metabolic pathway of bacteria, fungi, and plants used to assimilate even-chain fatty acids (FAs) and has been implicated in persistence ofMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb). Recent work, however, showed that the first enzyme of the glyoxylate shunt, isocitrate lyase (ICL), may mediate survival ofMtbduring the acute and chronic phases of infection in mice through physiologic functions apart from fatty acid metabolism. Here, we report that malate synthase (MS), the second enzyme of the glyoxylate shunt, is essential for in vitro growth and survival ofMtbon even-chain fatty acids, in part, for a previously unrecognized activity: mitigating the toxicity of glyoxylate excess arising from metabolism of even-chain fatty acids. Metabolomic profiling revealed that MS-deficientMtbcultured on fatty acids accumulated high levels of the ICL aldehyde endproduct, glyoxylate, and increased levels of acetyl phosphate, acetoacetyl coenzyme A (acetoacetyl-CoA), butyryl CoA, acetoacetate, and β-hydroxybutyrate. These changes were indicative of a glyoxylate-induced state of oxaloacetate deficiency, acetate overload, and ketoacidosis. Reduction of intrabacterial glyoxylate levels using a chemical inhibitor of ICL restored growth of MS-deficientMtb, despite inhibiting entry of carbon into the glyoxylate shunt. In vivo depletion of MS resulted in sterilization ofMtbin both the acute and chronic phases of mouse infection. This work thus identifies glyoxylate detoxification as an essential physiologic function ofMtbmalate synthase and advances its validation as a target for drug development.


2001 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Rylott ◽  
M. A. Hooks ◽  
I. A. Graham

Molecular genetic approaches in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (ColO) are shedding new light on the role and control of the pathways associated with the mobilization of lipid reserves during oilseed germination and post-germinative growth. Numerous independent studies have reported on the expression of individual genes encoding enzymes from the three major pathways: β-oxidation, the glyoxylate cycle and gluconeogenesis. However, a single comprehensive study of representative genes and enzymes from the different pathways in a single plant species has not been done. Here we present results from Arabidopsis that demonstrate the co-ordinate regulation of gene expression and enzyme activities for the acyl-CoA oxidase- and 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolasemediated steps of β-oxidation, the isocitrate lyase and malate synthase steps of the glyoxylate cycle and the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase step of gluconeogenesis. The mRNA abundance and enzyme activities increase to a peak at stage 2, 48 h after the onset of seed germination, and decline thereafter either to undetectable levels (for malate synthase and isocitrate lyase) or low basal levels (for the genes of β-oxidation and gluconeogenesis). The co-ordinate induction of all these genes at the onset of germination raises the possibility that a global regulatory mechanism operates to induce the expression of genes associated with the mobilization of storage reserves during the heterotrophic growth period.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (9) ◽  
pp. 2798-2809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Gerstmeir ◽  
Annette Cramer ◽  
Petra Dangel ◽  
Steffen Schaffer ◽  
Bernhard J. Eikmanns

ABSTRACT The adaptation of Corynebacterium glutamicum to acetate as a carbon and energy source involves transcriptional regulation of the pta-ack operon coding for the acetate-activating enzymes phosphotransacetylase and acetate kinase and of the aceA and aceB genes coding for the glyoxylate cycle enzymes isocitrate lyase and malate synthase, respectively. Deletion and mutation analysis of the respective promoter regions led to the identification of highly conserved 13-bp motifs (AA/GAACTTTGCAAA) as cis-regulatory elements for expression of the pta-ack operon and the aceA and aceB genes. By use of DNA affinity chromatography, a 53-kDa protein specifically binding to the promoter/operator region of the pta-ack operon was purified. Mass spectrometry and peptide mass fingerprinting identified the protein as a putative transcriptional regulator (which was designated RamB). Purified His-tagged RamB protein was shown to bind specifically to both the pta-ack and the aceA/aceB promoter/operator regions. Directed deletion of the ramB gene in the genome of C. glutamicum resulted in mutant strain RG1. Whereas the wild type of C. glutamicum showed high-level specific activities of acetate kinase, phosphotransacetylase, isocitrate lyase, and malate synthase when grown on acetate and low-level specific activities when grown on glucose as sole carbon and energy sources, mutant RG1 showed high-level specific activities with all four enzymes irrespective of the substrate. Comparative transcriptional cat fusion experiments revealed that this deregulation takes place at the level of transcription. The results indicate that RamB is a negative transcriptional regulator of genes involved in acetate metabolism of C. glutamicum.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Baoyu Zhang ◽  
Xiujun Xie ◽  
Xuehua Liu ◽  
Linwen He ◽  
Yuanyuan Sun ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Pyropia yezoensis (Rhodophyta) is widely cultivated in East Asia and plays important economic, ecological and research roles. Although inorganic carbon utilization of P. yezoensis has been investigated from a physiological aspect, the carbon concentration mechanism (CCM) of P. yezoensis remains unclear. To explore the CCM of P. yezoensis, especially during its different life stages, we tracked changes in the transcriptome, photosynthetic efficiency and in key enzyme activities under different inorganic carbon concentrations. Results Photosynthetic efficiency demonstrated that sporophytes were more sensitive to low carbon (LC) than gametophytes, with increased photosynthesis rate during both life stages under high carbon (HC) compared to normal carbon (NC) conditions. The amount of starch and number of plastoglobuli in cells corresponded with the growth reaction to different inorganic carbon (Ci) concentrations. We constructed 18 cDNA libraries from 18 samples (three biological replicates per Ci treatment at two life cycles stages) and sequenced these using the Illumina platform. De novo assembly generated 182,564 unigenes, including approximately 275 unigenes related to CCM. Most genes encoding internal carbonic anhydrase (CA) and bicarbonate transporters involved in the biophysical CCM pathway were induced under LC in comparison with NC, with transcript abundance of some PyCAs in gametophytes typically higher than that in sporophytes. We identified all key genes participating in the C4 pathway and showed that their RNA abundances changed with varying Ci conditions. High decarboxylating activity of PEPCKase and low PEPCase activity were observed in P. yezoensis. Activities of other key enzymes involved in the C4-like pathway were higher under HC than under the other two conditions. Pyruvate carboxylase (PYC) showed higher carboxylation activity than PEPC under these Ci conditions. Isocitrate lyase (ICL) showed high activity, but the activity of malate synthase (MS) was very low. Conclusion We elucidated the CCM of P. yezoensis from transcriptome and enzyme activity levels. All results indicated at least two types of CCM in P. yezoensis, one involving CA and an anion exchanger (transporter), and a second, C4-like pathway belonging to the PEPCK subtype. PYC may play the main carboxylation role in this C4-like pathway, which functions in both the sporophyte and gametophyte life cycles.


1979 ◽  
Vol 34 (12) ◽  
pp. 1232-1236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfram Koller ◽  
Jürgen Frevert ◽  
Helmut Kindi

Seeds of cucumber fruits at a late stage of ripening were analyzed for microbodies and micro­body components. On isopycnic density gradient centrifugation of homogenates in the presence of EDTA, several particulate fractions were obtained: a light membraneous fraction (density d = 1.09-1.11 kg × 1-1), a mitochondria-enriched fraction (d = 1.21 kg × 1-1), a microbody-enriched fraction (d = 1.23 kg × 1-1), and a protein body fraction (d= 1.26 - 1.29 kg × 1-1). Microbo­dies were revealed by exactly coinciding peaks of malate synthase, catalase and crotonase; small proportions of citrate synthase and malate dehydrogenase were also present in this zone. Isocitrate lyase activity, however, did not occur in the seeds at this stage. The examination of enzyme activi­ties indicated the presence of microbodies which cannot function as competent glyoxysomes be­cause of the lack of isocitrate lyase. Moreover, de novo synthesis from [3H] leucine could be de­monstrated for malate synthase by means of immunoprecipitation of newly synthesized malate synthase and subsequent electrophoretic analysis.


Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (4) ◽  
pp. 778-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahul Jog ◽  
Maharshi Pandya ◽  
G. Nareshkumar ◽  
Shalini Rajkumar

The application of plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) at field scale has been hindered by an inadequate understanding of the mechanisms that enhance plant growth, rhizosphere incompetence and the inability of bacterial strains to thrive in different soil types and environmental conditions. Actinobacteria with their sporulation, nutrient cycling, root colonization, bio-control and other plant-growth-promoting activities could be potential field bio-inoculants. We report the isolation of five rhizospheric and two root endophytic actinobacteria from Triticum aestivum (wheat) plants. The cultures exhibited plant-growth-promoting activities, namely phosphate solubilization (1916 mg l−1), phytase (0.68 U ml−1), chitinase (6.2 U ml−1), indole-3-acetic acid (136.5 mg l−1) and siderophore (47.4 mg l−1) production, as well as utilizing all the rhizospheric sugars under test. Malate (50–55 mmol l−1) was estimated in the culture supernatant of the highest phosphate solublizer, Streptomyces mhcr0816. The mechanism of malate overproduction was studied by gene expression and assays of key glyoxalate cycle enzymes – isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), isocitrate lyase (ICL) and malate synthase (MS). The significant increase in gene expression (ICL fourfold, MS sixfold) and enzyme activity (ICL fourfold, MS tenfold) of ICL and MS during stationary phase resulted in malate production as indicated by lowered pH (2.9) and HPLC analysis (retention time 13.1 min). Similarly, the secondary metabolites for chitinase-independent biocontrol activity of Streptomyces mhcr0817, as identified by GC-MS and 1H-NMR spectra, were isoforms of pyrrole derivatives. The inoculation of actinobacterial isolate mhce0811 in T. aestivum (wheat) significantly improved plant growth, biomass (33 %) and mineral (Fe, Mn, P) content in non-axenic conditions. Thus the actinobacterial isolates reported here were efficient PGPR possessing significant antifungal activity and may have potential field applications.


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