Gamma Carbonic Anhydrases from Hydrothermal Vent Bacteria: Cases of Alternating Active Site Due to a Long Loop with Proton Shuttle Residue

Accelerated CO2 sequestration uses carbonic anhydrases (CAs) as catalysts; thus, there is much research on these enzymes. The γ-CA from Escherichia coli (EcoCA-γ) was the first γ-CA to display an active site that switches between “open” and “closed” states through Zn2+ coordination by the proton-shuttling His residue. Here, we explored this occurrence in γ-CAs from hydrothermal vent bacteria and also the γ-CA from Methanosarcina thermophila (Cam) using molecular dynamics. Ten sequences were analyzed through multiple sequence alignment and motif analysis, along with three others from a previous study. Conservation of residues and motifs was high, and phylogeny indicated a close relationship amongst the sequences. All structures, like EcoCA-γ, had a long loop harboring the proton-shuttling residue. Trimeric structures were modeled and simulated for 100 ns at 423 K, with all the structures displaying thermostability. A shift between “open” and “closed” active sites was observed in the 10 models simulated through monitoring the behavior of the His proton-shuttling residue. Cam, which has two Glu proton shuttling residues on long loops (Glu62 and Glu84), also showed an active site switch affected by the first Glu proton shuttle, Glu62. This switch was thus concluded to be common amongst γ-CAs and not an isolated occurrence.

Chasing the metabolism of novel syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria in thermophilic methanogenic chemostats

Background: Acetate is the major intermediate of anaerobic digestion of organic waste to CH4. In anaerobic methanogenic systems, acetate degradation is carried out by either acetoclastic methanogenesis or a syntrophic degradation by a syntrophy of acetate oxidizers and hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Due to challenges in isolation of syntrophic acetate-oxidizing bacteria (SAOB), the diversity and metabolism of SAOB, as well as the mechanisms of their interactions with methanogenic partners remain poorly understood. Results: In this study, we successfully enriched previously unknown SAOB by operating continuous thermophilic anaerobic chemostats fed with acetate, propionate, butyrate, or isovalerate as the sole carbon and energy source. They represent novel clades belonging to Clostridia, Thermoanaerobacteraceae, Anaerolineae, and Gemmatimonadetes. In these SAOB, acetate is degraded through reverse Wood-Ljungdahl pathway or an alternative pathway mediated by the glycine cleavage system, while the SAOB possessing the latter pathway dominated the bacterial community. Moreover, H2 is the major product of the acetate degradation by these SAOB, which is mediated by [FeFe]-type electron-confurcating hydrogenases, formate dehydrogenases, and NADPH reoxidation complexes. We also identified the methanogen partner of these SAOB in acetate-fed chemostat, Methanosarcina thermophila, which highly expressed genes for CO2-reducing methanogenesis and hydrogenases to supportively consuming H2 at transcriptional level. Finally, our bioinformatical analyses further suggested that these previously unknown syntrophic lineages were prevalent and might play critical roles in thermophilic methanogenic reactors. Conclusion: This study expands our understanding on the phylogenetic diversity and in situ biological functions of uncultured syntrophic acetate degraders, and presents novel insights on how they interact with their methanogens partner. These knowledges strengthen our awareness on the important role of SAO in thermophilic methanogenesis and may be applied to manage microbial community to improve the performance and efficiency of anaerobic digestion. Keywords: Thermophilic anaerobic digestion, Microbial community, Syntrophic acetate oxidation, Glycine cleavage, Energy conservation

Hydrogenotrophic Methanogenesis and Autotrophic Growth ofMethanosarcina thermophila

Although Methanosarcinales are versatile concerning their methanogenic substrates, the ability ofMethanosarcina thermophilato use carbon dioxide (CO2) for catabolic and anabolic metabolism was not proven until now. Here, we show thatM. thermophilaused CO2to perform hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis in the presence as well as in the absence of methanol. During incubation with hydrogen, the methanogen utilized the substrates methanol and CO2consecutively, resulting in a biphasic methane production. Growth exclusively from CO2occurred slowly but reproducibly with concomitant production of biomass, verified by DNA quantification. Besides verification through multiple transfers into fresh medium, the identity of the culture was confirmed by 16s RNA sequencing, and the incorporation of carbon atoms from13CO2into13CH4molecules was measured to validate the obtained data. New insights into the physiology ofM. thermophilacan serve as reference for genomic analyses to link genes with metabolic features in uncultured organisms.

Novel Functions of an Iron-Sulfur Flavoprotein from Trichomonas vaginalis Hydrogenosomes

ABSTRACTIron-sulfur flavoproteins (Isf) are flavin mononucleotide (FMN)- and FeS cluster-containing proteins commonly encountered in anaerobic prokaryotes. However, with the exception of Isf fromMethanosarcina thermophila, which participates in oxidative stress management by removing oxygen and hydrogen peroxide, none of these proteins has been characterized in terms of function.Trichomonas vaginalis, a sexually transmitted eukaryotic parasite of humans, was found to express several iron-sulfur flavoprotein (TvIsf) homologs in its hydrogenosomes. We show here that in addition to having oxygen-reducing activity, the recombinant TvIsf also functions as a detoxifying reductase of metronidazole and chloramphenicol, both of which are antibiotics effective against a variety of anaerobic microbes. TvIsf can utilize both NADH and reduced ferredoxin as electron donors. Given the prevalence of Isf in anaerobic prokaryotes, we propose that these proteins are central to a novel defense mechanism against xenobiotics.

Novel Pyrophosphate-Forming Acetate Kinase from the Protist Entamoeba histolytica

ABSTRACTAcetate kinase (ACK) catalyzes the reversible synthesis of acetyl phosphate by transfer of the γ-phosphate of ATP to acetate. Here we report the first biochemical and kinetic characterization of a eukaryotic ACK, that from the protistEntamoeba histolytica. Our characterization revealed that this protist ACK is the only known member of the ASKHA structural superfamily, which includes acetate kinase, hexokinase, and other sugar kinases, to utilize inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi)/inorganic phosphate (Pi) as the sole phosphoryl donor/acceptor. Detection of ACK activity inE. histolyticacell extracts in the direction of acetate/PPiformation but not in the direction of acetyl phosphate/Piformation suggests that the physiological direction of the reaction is toward acetate/PPiproduction. Kinetic parameters determined for each direction of the reaction are consistent with this observation. TheE. histolyticaPPi-forming ACK follows a sequential mechanism, supporting a direct in-line phosphoryl transfer mechanism as previously reported for the well-characterizedMethanosarcina thermophilaATP-dependent ACK. Characterizations of enzyme variants altered in the putative acetate/acetyl phosphate binding pocket suggested that acetyl phosphate binding is not mediated solely through a hydrophobic interaction but also through the phosphoryl group, as for theM. thermophilaACK. However, there are key differences in the roles of certain active site residues between the two enzymes. The absence of known ACK partner enzymes raises the possibility that ACK is part of a novel pathway inEntamoeba.