Core Metabolism Shifts during Growth on Methanol versus Methane in the Methanotroph Methylomicrobium buryatense 5GB1

ABSTRACT Methylomicrobium buryatense 5GB1 is an obligate methylotroph which grows on methane or methanol with similar growth rates. It has long been assumed that the core metabolic pathways must be similar on the two substrates, but recent studies of methane metabolism in this bacterium suggest that growth on methanol might have significant differences from growth on methane. In this study, both a targeted metabolomics approach and a 13C tracer approach were taken to understand core carbon metabolism in M. buryatense 5GB1 during growth on methanol and to determine whether such differences occur. Our results suggest a systematic shift of active core metabolism in which increased flux occurred through both the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway and the partial serine cycle, while the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle was incomplete, in contrast to growth on methane. Using the experimental results as constraints, we applied flux balance analysis to determine the metabolic flux phenotype of M. buryatense 5GB1 growing on methanol, and the results are consistent with predictions based on ATP and NADH changes. Transcriptomics analysis suggested that the changes in fluxes and metabolite levels represented results of posttranscriptional regulation. The combination of flux balance analysis of the genome-scale model and the flux ratio from 13C data changed the solution space for a better prediction of cell behavior and demonstrated the significant differences in physiology between growth on methane and growth on methanol. IMPORTANCE One-carbon compounds such as methane and methanol are of increasing interest as sustainable substrates for biological production of fuels and industrial chemicals. The bacteria that carry out these conversions have been studied for many decades, but gaps exist in our knowledge of their metabolic pathways. One such gap is the difference between growth on methane and growth on methanol. Understanding such metabolism is important, since each has advantages and disadvantages as a feedstock for production of chemicals and fuels. The significance of our research is in the demonstration that the metabolic network is substantially altered in each case and in the delineation of these changes. The resulting new insights into the core metabolism of this bacterium now provide an improved basis for future strain design.

Draft Genome Sequence of Methyloligella halotolerans С2 T , a New Halotolerant Methylotroph, Accumulating Poly-3-Hydroxybutyrate and Ectoine

Methyloligella halotolerans С2 T is a moderate halophilic obligate methylotroph, accumulating ultra-high-molecular-weight poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (up to 8 to 10 MDa) from methanol. Here we report a draft genome and annotation of Methyloligella halotolerans C2 T (VKM B-2706 T = CCUG 61687 T = DSM 25045 T ).

Purification and characterization of azurin from the methylamine-utilizing obligate methylotroph Methylobacillus flagellatus KT

Methylamine dehydrogenase (MADH) and azurin were purified from the periplasmic fraction of the methylamine-grown obligate methylotroph Methylobacillus flagellatus KT. The molecular mass of the purified azurin was 16.3 kDa, as measured by SDS–PAGE, or 13 920 Da as determined by MALDI–TOF mass spectrometry. Azurin of M. flagellatus KT contained 1 copper atom per molecule and had an absorption maximum at 620 nm in the oxidized state. The redox potential of azurin measured at pH 7.0 by square-wave voltammetry was +275 mV versus normal hydrogen electrode. MADH reduced azurin in the presence of methylamine, indicating that this cupredoxin is likely to be the physiological electron acceptor for MADH in the electron transport chain of the methylotroph. A scheme of electron transport functioning in M. flagellatus KТ during methylamine oxidation is proposed.

Membrane-Associated Quinoprotein Formaldehyde Dehydrogenase from Methylococcus capsulatus Bath

ABSTRACT A membrane-associated, dye-linked formaldehyde dehydrogenase (DL-FalDH) was isolated from the obligate methylotrophMethylococcus capsulatus Bath. The enzyme was the major formaldehyde-oxidizing enzyme in cells cultured in high (above 1 μmol of Cu per mg of cell protein) copper medium and expressing the membrane-associated methane monooxygenase. Soluble NAD(P)+-linked formaldehyde oxidation was the major activity in cells cultured in low-copper medium and expressing the soluble methane monooxygenase (Tate and Dalton, Microbiology 145:159–167, 1999; Vorholt et al., J. Bacteriol. 180:5351–5356, 1998). The membrane-associated enzyme is a homotetramer with a subunit molecular mass of 49,500 Da. UV-visible absorption, electron paramagnetic resonance, and electrospray mass spectrometry suggest the redox cofactor of the DL-FalDH is pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), with a PQQ-to-subunit stochiometry of approximately 1:1. The enzyme was specific for formaldehyde, oxidizing formaldehyde to formate, and utilized the cytochrome b 559/569 complex as the physiological electron acceptor.