Identification of A Novel Arsenic Resistance Transposon Nested in A Mercury Resistance Transposon of Bacillus sp. MB24

A novel TnMERI1-like transposon designated as TnMARS1 was identified from mercury resistant Bacilli isolated from Minamata Bay sediment. Two adjacent ars operon-like gene clusters, ars1 and ars2, flanked by a pair of 78-bp inverted repeat sequences, which resulted in a 13.8-kbp transposon-like fragment, were found to be sandwiched between two transposable genes of the TnMERI1-like transposon of a mercury resistant bacterium, Bacillus sp. MB24. The presence of a single transcription start site in each cluster determined by 5′-RACE suggested that both are operons. Quantitative real time RT-PCR showed that the transcription of the arsR genes contained in each operon was induced by arsenite, while arsR2 responded to arsenite more sensitively and strikingly than arsR1 did. Further, arsenic resistance complementary experiments showed that the ars2 operon conferred arsenate and arsenite resistance to an arsB-knocked out Bacillus host, while the ars1 operon only raised arsenite resistance slightly. This transposon nested in TnMARS1 was designated as TnARS1. Multi-gene cluster blast against bacteria and Bacilli whole genome sequence databases suggested that TnMARS1 is the first case of a TnMERI1-like transposon combined with an arsenic resistance transposon. The findings of this study suggested that TnMERI1-like transposons could recruit other mobile elements into its genetic structure, and subsequently cause horizontal dissemination of both mercury and arsenic resistances among Bacilli in Minamata Bay.

Complete Genome Sequences of Highly Arsenite-Resistant Bacteria Brevibacterium sp. Strain CS2 and Micrococcus luteus AS2

The complete genome sequences of two highly arsenite-resistant Actinomycetales isolates are presented. Both genomes are G+C rich and consist of a single chromosome containing homologs of known arsenite resistance genes.

Interaction of FLASH with Arsenite Resistance Protein 2 Is Involved in Cell Cycle Progression at S Phase

ABSTRACT FLASH has been shown to be required for S phase progression and to interact with a nuclear protein, ataxia-telangiectasia locus (NPAT), a component of Cajal bodies in the nucleus and an activator of histone transcription. We investigated the role of human FLASH by using an inducible FLASH knockdown system in the presence or absence of various mutant forms of mouse FLASH. While carboxyl-terminal deletion mutants of FLASH, which do not interact with NPAT, can support S phase progression, its amino-terminal deletion mutants, which are unable to self associate, cannot support S phase progression, replication-dependent histone transcription, or the formation of Cajal bodies. Furthermore, FLASH was shown to be associated with arsenite resistance protein 2 (ARS2) through its central region, which is composed of only 13 amino acids. The expression of ARS2 and the interaction between FLASH and ARS2 are required for S phase progression. Taking these results together, FLASH functions in S phase progression through interaction with ARS2.

Identification of an aox System That Requires Cytochrome c in the Highly Arsenic-Resistant Bacterium Ochrobactrum tritici SCII24

ABSTRACT Microbial biotransformations have a major impact on environments contaminated with toxic elements, including arsenic, resulting in an increasing interest in strategies responsible for how bacteria cope with arsenic. In the present work, we investigated the metabolism of this metalloid in the bacterium Ochrobactrum tritici SCII24. This heterotrophic organism contains two different ars operons and is able to oxidize arsenite to arsenate. The presence of arsenite oxidase genes in this organism was evaluated, and sequence analysis revealed structural genes for an As(III) oxidase (aoxAB), a c-type cytochrome (cytC), and molybdopterin biosynthesis (moeA). Two other genes coding for a two-component signal transduction pair (aoxRS) were also identified upstream from the previous gene cluster. The involvement of aox genes in As(III) oxidation was confirmed by functionally expressing them into O. tritici 5bvl1, a non-As(III) oxidizer. Experiments showed that the As(III) oxidation process in O. tritici requires not only the enzyme arsenite oxidase but also the cytochrome c encoded in the operon. The fundamental role of this cytochrome c, reduced in the presence of arsenite in strain SCII24 but not in an O. tritici ΔaoxB mutant, is surprising, since to date this feature has not been found in other organisms. In this strain the presence of an aox system does not seem to confer an additional arsenite resistance capability; however, it might act as part of an As(III)-detoxifying strategy. Such mechanisms may have played a crucial role in the development of early stages of life on Earth and may one day be exploited as part of a potential bioremediation strategy in toxic environments.