The plasmids of Acetobacter xylinum and their interaction with the host chromosome

Summary Acetobacter xylinum contains a complex system of plasmid DNA molecules. Plasmids of molecular weights or copy numbers different from the original wild-type, are found in different types of mutants. Restriction endonuclease digestion and DNA/DNA hybridization analysis, showed that the plasmids often contained partly, but not completely the same DNA sequences. Two of these plasmid classes were analysed in more detail, and could be shown to differ in size by about 5 kb. Hybridization analysis using cloned DNA fragments as probes, showed that sequences lacking in the smallest plasmid were still present in a DNA fraction co-migrating with linearized chromosomal DNA. In addition, at least part of the DNA in the smallest plasmid was present both in the plasmid and chromosomal DNA fraction. Analysis of a particular strain containing an insertion of transposon Tn1, also indicated the existence of complex interactions between plasmids and chromosomal DNA. Together with experiments on conjugative transfer and curing of the plasmids, the results indicate that at least part of the genetic system of A. xylinum is unusual when compared to that of other genetically characterized bacteria.     

Identification of a new gene in an operon for cellulose biosynthesis in Acetobacter xylinum

DNA sequencing of the region downstream of the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit gene of Acetobacter xylinum led to the identification of an open reading frame coding for a polypeptide of 86 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of this polypeptide matches from position 27 to 40 with the N-terminal amino acid sequence determined for a 93 kDa polypeptide that copurifies with the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit during purification of cellulose synthase. The cellulose synthase catalytic subunit gene and the gene encoding the 93 kDa polypeptide, along with other genes probably, are organized as an operon for cellulose biosynthesis in which the first gene is the catalytic subunit gene and the second gene codes for the 93 kDa polypeptide. The function of the 93 kDa polypeptide is not clear at present, however it appears to be tightly associated with the cellulose synthase catalytic subunit. Sequence analysis of the polypeptide shows that it is a membrane protein with a signal sequence at the N-terminal end and a transmembrane helix in the C-terminal region for anchoring it into the membrane.     

The inhibition of acetate oxidation by ethanol in Acetobacter aceti

Ethanol grown Acetobacter aceti differed from acetate grown. In ethanol grown cells, acetate uptake, caused by the oxidation of acetate, was completely inhibited by ethanol, in acetate grown cells only to 20%. This was correlated with a 65-fold higher specific activity of the membrane bound NAD(P)-independent alcohol dehydrogenase in ethanol grown than in acetate grown cells. In comparison with ethanol grown cells, acetate grown cells showed a 3-fold higher acetate respiration rate and 3-fold higher specific activities of some tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes tested. Both adaptations were due to induction by the homologous and not to repression by the heterologous growth substrate. A. aceti showed a membrane bound NAD(P)-independent malate dehydrogenase and no activity of a soluble NAD(P)-dependent one, as was known before from A. xylinum. A hypothesis was proposed explaining the observed inhibition of malate dehydrogenase and of functioning of the tricarboxylic acid cycle in the presence of ethanol or butanol or glucose by a competition of two electron currents for a common link in the convergent electron transport chains. The electrons coming from the quinoproteins, alcohol dehydrogenase and glucose dehydrogenase on the one side and those coming from the flavoproteins, malate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase via ubiquinonecytochrome c reductase on the other side are meeting at cytochrome c. Here the quinoproteins may be favoured by higher affinity and so inhibit the flavoproteins. Inhibition could be alleviated in the cell free system by increasing the oxygen supply.Dedicated to Professor Carl Martius on the occasion of his 80th birthday, March 1st 1986     

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from Acetobacter aceti

In Acetobacter aceti growing on pyruvate as the only source of carbon and energy, oxaloacetate (OAA) is produced by a phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxylase (EC 4.1.1.31). The enzyme was purified 122-fold and a molecular weight of about 380,000 was estimated by gel filtration.The optimum pH was 7.5 and the K _m values for PEP and NaHCO₃ were 0.49 mM and about 3 mM, respectively. The enzyme needed a divalent cation; the K _m for Mn²⁺, Co²⁺ and Mg²⁺ were 0.12, 0.26 and 0.77 mM, respectively. Maximal activity was only obtained with Mg²⁺. Mn²⁺ and Co²⁺ became inhibitory at high concentrations.The activity was inhibited by succinate and, to a lesser extent, by fumarate, citrate, -ketoglutarate, aspartate and glutamate.As compared with the corresponding enzyme from A. xylinum, the PEP carboxylase of A. aceti showed the following differences: a) It had an absolute requirement for acetyl CoA (K _a 0.18 mM) or propionyl CoA (K _a 0.2 mM). b) It was not affected by ADP. c) It was sensitive to thiol blocking agents.Abbreviations PEP phosphoenolpyruvate - OAA oxaloacetate - MW molecular weight - TEMG buffer 50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 1 mM EDTA, 5 mM MgCl₂, 1 mM glutathione - HEPES N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N-ethanesulfonic acid     

Phylogenetic position of Gluconobacter species as a coherent cluster separated from all Acetobacter species on the basis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences

Abstract The 16S rRNA sequences from the Gluconobacter species G. asaii G. cerinus and G. frateurii were determined and compared with homologous sequences from published databases and sequences of G. oxydans and Acetobacter species previously described [Sievers M., Ludwig W. and Teuber M. (1994) System. Appl. Microbiol. 17, 189–196]. The Gluconobacter species have unique 16S rRNA sequences and exhibit sequence similarity values of 97.4 to 99.1%, corresponding to 36 to 14 base differences. The phylogenetic tree inferring methods (distance matrix, maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood) show that the species of Gluconobacter form a coherent, closely related cluster. Based on the distance matrix method including Rhodopila globiformis as an outgroup reference organism, Gluconobacter is well separated from Acetobacter .     

巴氏醋杆菌高酸度醋发酵过程的能量代谢分析

【目的】初步分析了Acetobacter pasteurianus CICIM B7003-02在醋酸发酵过程中的能量代谢状况, 通过强化细胞能量代谢水平以提升菌株高酸发酵的产酸强度。【方法】探明A. pasteurianus CICIM B7003-02在高酸度醋发酵的不同阶段中三羧酸循环底物含量、乙醇呼吸链酶活及能量代谢酶基因的转录水平等代谢特点, 分析用于醋酸发酵的产能代谢途径及其作用。【结果】发现A. pasteurianus CICIM B7003-02在醋酸发酵初期, 主要通过苹果酸/琥珀酸回补偶联有氧呼吸途径产能。进入醋酸快速积累阶段, 乙醇呼吸链为主要供能代谢途径。发酵后期苹果酸/琥珀酸回补途径配合乙醇呼吸链供能。基于上述研究, 采取添加琥珀酸和苹果酸强化细胞产能, 促进高酸度醋发酵强度。【结论】能量供给影响醋杆菌耐酸能力和醋酸生产能力。确定乙醇呼吸链为醋酸发酵的主要供能系统。强化细胞产能手段可达到提高醋酸发酵强度的目的。     

N-Acetylornithine-δ-aminotransferase-deficient and N-Acetylglutamokinase-deficient Arginine Auxotrophs of Corynebacterium glutamicum

An N-acetylglutamokinase-deficient arginine-requiring mutant, KY9390 and an N-acetylornithine aminotransferase-deficient arginine-requiring mutant, AA-7 were derived from a wild-type strain and an l-arginine-producing mutant of Corynebacterium glutamicum, respectively. KY 9390 accumulated 7.5 mg per ml of N-acetylglutamic acid and AA-7 accumulated 2 mg per ml of N-acetylglutamate-γ-semialdehyde, intermediates of arginine biosynthesis, in a culture medium.

The production of N-acetylglutamate-γ-semialdehyde by AA-7 was not affected by the concentration of l-arginine in the medium, whereas that of N-acetylglutamic acid by KY 9390 was inhibited by the addition of l-arginine in the medium.     

Solubilization of Chicken Feather Keratin by Ammonium Copper Hydroxide (Schweitzer’s Reagent)

Chicken feather powder was solubilized by Schweitzer’s reagent with shaking in the presence of air and the soluble feather keratin was prepared by dialyzing this extract against running water. Cystine residues in the starting feather keratin was converted to cysteic acid residues in the solubilized derivatives by air oxygen. Copper was bound fairly tightly to the solubilized protein and this copper-protein complex was separated into four fractions by CM- and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Each fraction had varied amount of bound copper, having a broad distribution of the molecular weight between 10,000 and 60,000 Sephadex column chromatographically. Although the amino acid composition of all separated feather keratin fractions were quite similar, the different electrophoretic patterns were observed among them by DISC electrophoresis.     

A Novel Type of D-Mannitol Dehydrogenase from Acetobacter xylinum: Occurrence,Purification, and Basic Properties

We purified a novel type of D-mannitol dehydrogenase, which contains a c-type cytochrome and an unknown chromophore in the soluble fraction of an acetic acid bacterium, Acetobacter xylinum KU-1, to homogeneity. The enzyme showed the maximum activity at pH 5 and 40°C. It was stable up to 60°C at pH 6, and was inhibited by Hg²⁺ and p-quinone (K_i = 0.18 mm). The molecular weight of the enzyme was about 140,000, and those of the subunits were 69,000, 51,000, and 20,000; the enzyme is hetero-trimeric and contained 8 g-atoms of Fe per mole. The α-helix content was estimated to be about 52.9%. The enzyme catalyzed phenazine methosulfate dependent oxidation of d-mannitol with an apparent K_m of 98 μm (for d-mannitol) and V_max of 213 μmol/min/mg. The reduced form of the enzyme showed the absorption maxima at 386, 416, 480, 518, 550, and 586 nm, which are attributable to a c-type cytochrome in the enzyme.     

Breeding of a 5-Fluorouridine-resistant Mutant with Increased Cellulose Production from Acetobacter xylinum subsp. nonacetoxidans

UDP-glucose (UDP-G), the direct precursor of cellulose, is known to be produced from UTP and glucose-1-phosphate. In an attempt to increase UTP biosynthesis, 5-fluorouridine (5-FUR: a pyrimidine analog)-resistant mutants were obtained using Acetobacter xylinum subsp. nonacetoxidans 757 as the parent strain. One of the 5-FUR-resistant mutants, FUR-35, showed about 40% higher cellulose productivion compared to the parent strain. Intracellular levels of UTP and UDP-G in FUR-35 was found to be higher than those in the parent strain. The carbamyl phosphate synthetase II (CPS) activity of FUR-35 was higher than that of the parent strain and the feedback inhibition of CPS by UTP in FUR-35 had been released compared with that in the parent strain. These results suggest that the increased cellulose production of FUR-35 was attributable to its higher of intracellular UDP-G level resulting from increased UTP biosynthesis.