Effects of ribosomes and intracellular solutes on activities and stabilities of elongation factor 2 proteins from psychrotolerant and thermophilic methanogens

Low-temperature-adapted archaea are abundant in the environment, yet little is known about the thermal adaptation of their proteins. We have previously compared elongation factor 2 (EF-2) proteins from Antarctic (Methanococcoides burtonii) and thermophilic (Methanosarcina thermophila) methanogens and found that the M. burtonii EF-2 had greater intrinsic activity at low temperatures and lower thermal stability at high temperatures (T. Thomas and R. Cavicchioli, J. Bacteriol. 182:1328-1332, 2000). While the gross thermal properties correlated with growth temperature, the activity and stability profiles of the EF-2 proteins did not precisely match the optimal growth temperature of each organism. This indicated that intracellular components may affect the thermal characteristics of the EF-2 proteins, and in this study we examined the effects of ribosomes and intracellular solutes. At a high growth temperature the thermophile produced high levels of potassium glutamate, which, when assayed in vitro with EF-2, retarded thermal unfolding and increased catalytic efficiency. In contrast, for the Antarctic methanogen adaptation to growth at a low temperature did not involve the accumulation of stabilizing organic solutes but appeared to result from an increased affinity of EF-2 for GTP and high levels of EF-2 in the cell relative to its low growth rate. Furthermore, ribosomes greatly stimulated GTPase activity and moderately stabilized both EF-2 proteins. These findings illustrate the different physiological strategies that have evolved in two phylogenetically related but thermally distinct methanogens to enable EF-2 to function satisfactorily.     

Effect of temperature on stability and activity of elongation factor 2 proteins from Antarctic and thermophilic methanogens

Despite the presence and abundance of archaea in low-temperature environments, little information is available regarding their physiological and biochemical properties. In order to investigate the adaptation of archaeal proteins to low temperatures, we purified and characterized the elongation factor 2 (EF-2) protein from the Antarctic methanogen Methanococcoides burtonii, which was expressed in Escherichia coli, and compared it to the recombinant EF-2 protein from a phylogenetically related thermophile, Methanosarcina thermophila. Using differential scanning calorimetry to assess protein stability and enzyme assays for the intrinsic GTPase activity, we identified biochemical and biophysical properties that are characteristic of the cold-adapted protein. This includes a higher activity at low temperatures caused by a decrease of the activation energy necessary for GTP hydrolysis and a decreased activation energy for the irreversible denaturation of the protein, which indicates a less thermostable structure. Comparison of the in vitro properties of the proteins with the temperature-dependent characteristics of growth of the organisms indicates that additional cytoplasmic factors are likely to be important for the complete thermal adaptation of the proteins in vivo. This is the first study to address thermal adaptation of proteins from a free-living, cold-adapted archaeon, and our results indicate that the ability of the Antarctic methanogen to adapt to the cold is likely to involve protein structural changes.     

Chaperonins from an Antarctic archaeon are predominantly monomeric: crystal structure of an open state monomer

Archaea are abundant in permanently cold environments. The Antarctic methanogen, Methanococcoides burtonii, has proven an excellent model for studying molecular mechanisms of cold adaptation. Methanococcoides burtonii contains three group II chaperonins that diverged prior to its closest orthologues from mesophilic Methanosarcina spp. The relative abundance of the three chaperonins shows little dependence on organism growth temperature, except at the highest temperatures, where the most thermally stable chaperonin increases in abundance. In vitro and in vivo, the M. burtonii chaperonins are predominantly monomeric, with only 23-33% oligomeric, thereby differing from other archaea where an oligomeric ring form is dominant. The crystal structure of an N-terminally truncated chaperonin reveals a monomeric protein with a fully open nucleotide binding site. When compared with closed state group II chaperonin structures, a large-scale ≈ 30° rotation between the equatorial and intermediate domains is observed resulting in an open nucleotide binding site. This is analogous to the transition observed between open and closed states of group I chaperonins but contrasts with recent archaeal group II chaperonin open state ring structures. The predominance of monomeric form and the ability to adopt a fully open nucleotide site appear to be unique features of the M. burtonii group II chaperonins.     

Characterization of the ribosomal properties required for formation of a GTPase active complex with the eukaryotic elongation factor 2

The binding stability of the different nucleotide-dependent and -independent interactions between elongation factor 2 (EF-2) and 80S ribosomes, as well as 60S subunits, was studied and correlated to the kinetics of the EF-2- and ribosome-dependent hydrolysis of GTP. Empty reconstituted 80S ribosomes were found to contain two subpopulations of ribosomes, with approximately 80% capable of binding EF-2.GuoPP[CH2]P with high affinity (Kd less than 10(-9) M) and the rest only capable of binding the factor-nucleotide complex with low affinity (Kd = 3.7 x 10(-7) M). The activity of the EF-2- and 80S-ribosome dependent GTPase did not respond linearly to increasing factor concentrations. At low EF-2/ribosome ratios the number of GTP molecules hydrolyzed/factor molecule was considerably lower than at higher ratios. The low response coincided with the formation of the high-affinity complex. At increasing EF-2/ribosome ratios, the ribosomes capable of forming the high-affinity complex was saturated with EF-2, thus allowing formation of the low-affinity ribosome.EF-2 complex. Simultaneously, the GTPase activity/factor molecule increased, indicating that the low-affinity complex was responsible for activating the GTP hydrolysis. The large ribosomal subunits constituted a homogeneous population that interacted with EF-2 in a low-affinity (Kd = 1.3 x 10(-6) M) GTPase active complex, suggesting that the ribosomal domain responsible for activating the GTPase was located on the 60S subunit. Ricin treatment converted the 80S particles to the type of conformation only capable of interacting with EF-2 in a low-affinity complex. The structural alteration was accompanied by a dramatic increase in the EF-2-dependent GTPase activity. Surprisingly, ricin had no effect on the factor-catalyzed GTP hydrolysis in the presence of 60S subunits alone.     

Protein stabilization by osmolytes from hyperthermophiles: effect of mannosylglycerate on the thermal unfolding of recombinant nuclease a from Staphylococcus aureus studied by picosecond time-resolved fluorescence and calorimetry

2-O-alpha-Mannosylglycerate, a negatively charged osmolyte widely distributed among (hyper)thermophilic microorganisms, is known to provide notable protection to proteins against thermal denaturation. To study the mechanism responsible for protein stabilization, pico-second time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize the thermal unfolding of a model protein, Staphylococcus aureus recombinant nuclease A (SNase), in the presence or absence of mannosylglycerate. The fluorescence decay times are signatures of the protein state, and the pre-exponential coefficients are used to evaluate the molar fractions of the folded and unfolded states. Hence, direct determination of equilibrium constants of unfolding from molar fractions was carried out. Van't Hoff plots of the equilibrium constants provided reliable thermodynamic data for SNase unfolding. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to validate this thermodynamic analysis. The presence of 0.5 m potassium mannosylglycerate caused an increase of 7 degrees C in the SNase melting temperature and a 2-fold increase in the unfolding heat capacity. Despite the considerable degree of stabilization rendered by this solute, the nature and population of protein states along unfolding were not altered in the presence of mannosylglycerate, denoting that the unfolding pathway of SNase was unaffected. The stabilization of SNase by mannosylglycerate arises from decreased unfolding entropy up to 65 degrees C and from an enthalpy increase above this temperature. In molecular terms, stabilization is interpreted as resulting from destabilization of the denatured state caused by preferential exclusion of the solute from the protein hydration shell upon unfolding, and stabilization of the native state by specific interactions. The physiological significance of charged solutes in hyperthermophiles is discussed.     

Activity,stability and flexibility in glycosidases adapted to extreme thermal environments

To elucidate the strategy of low temperature adaptation for a cold-adapted family 8 xylanase, the thermal and chemical stabilities, thermal inactivation, thermodependence of activity and conformational flexibility, as well as the thermodynamic basis of these processes, were compared with those of a thermophilic homolog. Differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescence monitoring of guanidine hydrochloride unfolding and fluorescence quenching were used, among other techniques, to show that the cold-adapted enzyme is characterized by a high activity at low temperatures, a poor stability and a high flexibility. In contrast, the thermophilic enzyme is shown to have a reduced low temperature activity, high stability and a reduced flexibility. These findings agree with the hypothesis that cold-adapted enzymes overcome the quandary imposed by low temperature environments via a global or local increase in the flexibility of their molecular edifice, with this in turn leading to a reduced stability. Analysis of the guanidine hydrochloride unfolding, as well as the thermodynamic parameters of irreversible thermal unfolding and thermal inactivation shows that the driving force for this denaturation and inactivation is a large entropy change while a low enthalpy change is implicated in the low temperature activity. A reduced number of salt-bridges are believed to be responsible for both these effects. Guanidine hydrochloride unfolding studies also indicate that both family 8 enzymes unfold via an intermediate prone to aggregation.     

Characterization of the ATPase and GTPase activities of elongation factor 3 (EF-3) purified from yeasts

Three steps of chromatography of a post-ribosomal supernatant fraction have provided a highly purified preparation of peptide elongation factor 3 (EF-3) with a molecular weight of 125,000 from the typical budding yeast Saccharomyces carlsbergensis and of the factor with a molecular weight of 120,000 from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Both of the proteins consist of a single peptide chain. The purified factors fulfilled the requirement for polyphenylalanine synthesis on yeast ribosomes and exhibited strong ATPase and GTPase activities dependent on yeast ribosomes. The activity profiles of the nucleotidases dependent on pH and salt concentration and the inhibition studies indicated that the ATPase and GTPase activities of EF-3 were displayed by the same active site with a wide substrate specificity, showing the highest activity with ATP. Those experiments also revealed that the ATPase and GTPase of EF-3 were characteristically different from the GTPases of EF-1 alpha and EF-2. Both Km and kcat of EF-3 for ATP (Km = 0.12 mM and Kcat = 610 mol/mol/min) and GTP (Km = 0.20 mM and kcat = 390 mol/mol/min) are much higher than those of the GTPases of EF-1 alpha and EF-2. Inactivation experiments and studies on the ATP effect led us to conclude that this ATPase activity was an essential requirement for the functional role of EF-3 and therefore, in addition to the GTPases of EF-1 alpha and EF-2, the third nucleoside triphosphate hydrolyzing step by the ATPase of EF-3 was necessary for the yeast peptide elongation cycle.     

Osmolytic Effect of Sucrose on Thermal Denaturation of Pea Seedling Copper Amine Oxidase

Protein stability is a subject of interest by many researchers. One of the common methods to increase the protein stability is using the osmolytes. Many studies and theories analyzed and explained osmolytic effect by equilibrium thermodynamic while most proteins undergo an irreversible denaturation. In current study we investigated the effect of sucrose as an osmolyte on the thermal denaturation of pea seedlings amine oxidase by the enzyme activity, fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and differential scanning calorimetry. All experiments are in agreement that pea seedlings amine oxidase denaturation is controlled kinetically and its kinetic stability is increased in presence of sucrose. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments at different scanning rates showed that pea seedlings amine oxidase unfolding obeys two-state irreversible model. Fitting the differential scanning calorimetry data to two-state irreversible model showed that unfolding enthalpy and T ^*, temperature at which rate constant equals unit per minute, are increased while activation energy is not affected by increase in sucrose concentration. We concluded that osmolytes decrease the molecular oscillation of irreversible proteins which leads to decline in unfolding rate constant.     

Predicted roles for hypothetical proteins in the low-temperature expressed proteome of the Antarctic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii

Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, 528 proteins were identified that are expressed during growth at 4 degrees C in the cold adapted archaeon, Methanococcoides burtonii. Of those, 135 were annotated previously as unique or conserved hypothetical proteins. We have performed a comprehensive, integrated analysis of the latter proteins using threading, InterProScan, predicted subcellular localization and visualization of conserved gene context across multiple prokaryotic genomes. Functional information was obtained for 55 proteins, providing new insight into the physiology of M. burtonii. Many of the proteins were predicted to be involved in DNA/RNA binding or modification and cell signaling, suggesting a complex, uncharacterized regulatory network controlling cellular processes during growth at low-temperature. Novel enzymatic functions were predicted for several proteins, including a putative candidate gene for the posttranslational modification of the key methanogenesis enzyme coenzyme M methyl reductase. A bacterial-like CRISPR locus was identified as a strong candidate for archaeal-bacterial lateral gene transfer. Gene context analysis proved a valuable augmentation to the other predictive methods in several cases, by revealing conserved gene associations and annotations in other microbial genomes. Our results underscore the importance of addressing the "hypothetical protein problem" for a complete understanding of cell physiology.     

Unsaturated diether phospholipids in the Antartic methanogen Methanococcoides burtonii

Abstract The Antarctic methanogen Methanococcoides burtonii contained only diether phospholipids. These membrane components were analysed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Of particular interest was the occurrence of unsaturated diether lipids in M. burtonii ; unsaturated ether lipids accounted for 57% of the diether phospholipids. To our knowledge, unsaturated ether lipids have not been previously reported in a methanogen. The presence of the unsaturated ether lipids in M. burtonii is probably the result of temperature adaptation by the bacterium. It may be possible to use these components as a chemical signature for methanogens in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments.     

Glucosylglycerate biosynthesis in the deepest lineage of the Bacteria: characterization of the thermophilic proteins GpgS and GpgP from Persephonella marina

The pathway for the synthesis of glucosylglycerate (GG) in the thermophilic bacterium Persephonella marina is proposed based on the activities of recombinant glucosyl-3-phosphoglycerate (GPG) synthase (GpgS) and glucosyl-3-phosphoglycerate phosphatase (GpgP). The sequences of gpgS and gpgP from the cold-adapted bacterium Methanococcoides burtonii were used to identify the homologues in the genome of P. marina, which were separately cloned and overexpressed as His-tagged proteins in Escherichia coli. The recombinant GpgS protein of P. marina, unlike the homologue from M. burtonii, which was specific for GDP-glucose, catalyzed the synthesis of GPG from UDP-glucose, GDP-glucose, ADP-glucose, and TDP-glucose (in order of decreasing efficiency) and from d-3-phosphoglycerate, with maximal activity at 90 degrees C. The recombinant GpgP protein, like the M. burtonii homologue, dephosphorylated GPG and mannosyl-3-phosphoglycerate (MPG) to GG and mannosylglycerate, respectively, yet at high temperatures the hydrolysis of GPG was more efficient than that of MPG. Gel filtration indicates that GpgS is a dimeric protein, while GpgP is monomeric. This is the first characterization of genes and enzymes for the synthesis of GG in a thermophile.     

Proteomic and computational analysis of secreted proteins with type I signal peptides from the Antarctic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii

LC-MS/MS was used to identify secreted proteins in the Antarctic archaeon Methanococcoides burtonii. Seven proteins possessing a classical class 1 signal peptide were identified in the supernatant from cultures grown at 4 and 23 degrees C. The proteins included a putative S-layer cell surface protein, cell surface protein involved with cell adhesion, and trypsin-like serine protease. Protease activity was detected in the secreted fraction, and the signal peptide cleavage site of the protease was confirmed using Edman sequencing. The expression profile of putative cell surface proteins suggests a requirement for cell interactions during growth at low temperature. Sequences of the secreted proteins were used to compile a dataset containing a further 32 predicted secreted proteins from the Methanosarcinaceae. Many of these proteins were also S-layer cell surface proteins with a variety of predicted roles, particularly in cell-cell interaction. Computational analysis of signal peptides revealed a preference for lysine in the n-region, leucine in the h-region, and a eucaryal-type cleavage site, highlighting the mosaic nature of signal peptides in Archaea. This is the first study to experimentally characterize secreted proteins from a cold-adapted archaeon and provides new insight and a functional dataset for studying secretion in Archaea.     

Natural selection for kinetic stability is a likely origin of correlations between mutational effects on protein energetics and frequencies of amino acid occurrences in sequence alignments

It appears plausible that natural selection constrains, to some extent at least, the stability in many natural proteins. If, during protein evolution, stability fluctuates within a comparatively narrow range, then mutations are expected to be fixed with frequencies that reflect mutational effects on stability. Indeed, we recently reported a robust correlation between the effect of 27 conservative mutations on the thermodynamic stability (unfolding free energy) of Escherichia coli thioredoxin and the frequencies of residues occurrences in sequence alignments. We show here that this correlation likely implies a lower limit to thermodynamic stability of only a few kJ/mol below the unfolding free energy of the wild-type (WT) protein. We suggest, therefore, that the correlation does not reflect natural selection of thermodynamic stability by itself, but of some other factor which is linked to thermodynamic stability for the mutations under study. We propose that this other factor is the kinetic stability of thioredoxin in vivo, since( i) kinetic stability relates to irreversible denaturation, (ii) the rate of irreversible denaturation in a crowded cellular environment (or in a harsh extracellular environment) is probably determined by the rate of unfolding, and (iii) the half-life for unfolding changes in an exponential manner with activation free energy and, consequently, comparatively small free energy effects can have deleterious consequences for kinetic stability. This proposal is supported by the results of a kinetic study of the WT form and the 27 single-mutant variants of E. coli thioredoxin based on the global analyses of chevron plots and equilibrium unfolding profiles determined from double-jump unfolding assays. This kinetic study suggests, furthermore, one of the factors that may contribute to the high activation free energy for unfolding in thioredoxin (required for kinetic stability), namely the energetic optimization of native-state residue environments in regions, which become disrupted in the transition state for unfolding.     

Affinity labelling of the eukaryotic elongation factor EF-2 with the guanosine nucleotide analogue 5′-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoylguanosine

During the translocation of the nascent peptide chain from the ribosomal aminoacyl-site to the peptidyl-site, GTP is hydrolyzed by a mechanism dependent on both ribosomes and the elongation factor EF-2. For insight into the mechanism of GTP hydrolysis, we studied the ability of the GTP analogue 5′-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoylguanosine (FSO₂BzGuo) to act as an affinity label of the guanine-specific site. Pre-incubation of EF-2 with FSO₂BzGuo at increasing concentrations progressively inactivated the EF-2 and ribosome-dependent GTPase activity. Up to 0.5 mM FSO₂BzGuo, the inactivation of the GTPase activity was stoichiometrically correlated with the covalent binding of [³H]FSO₂BzGuo. Thus, one molecule of covalently bound FSO₂BzGuo completely inactivated the GTPase activity of EF-2. Ribosomes or 60-S ribosomal subunits pre-incubated with FSO₂BzGuo were not inactivated, consistent with the idea that the GTP hydrolysis involved in the ribosomal translocation takes place on EF-2.     

Structural and functional studies of the interaction of the eukaryotic elongation factor EF-2 with GTP and ribosomes

The structure of the guanosine nucleotide binding site of EF-2 was studied by affinity labelling with the GTP analogue, oxidized GTP (oGTP), and by amino acid sequencing of polypeptides generated after partial degradation with trypsin and N-chlorosuccinimide. Native EF-2 contains two exposed trypsin-sensitive cleavage sites. One site is at Arg66 with a second site at Lys571/Lys572. oGTP was covalently bound to the factor between Arg66 and Lys571. After further cleavage of this fragment with the tryptophan-specific cleavage reagent N-chlorosuccinimide, oGTP was found associated with a polypeptide fragment originating from a cleavage at Trp261 and Trp343. The covalent oGTP . EF-2 complex was capable of forming a high-affinity complex with ribosomes, indicating that oGTP, in this respect, induced a conformation in EF-2 indistinguishable from that produced by GTP. Although GTP could be substituted by non-covalently linked oGTP in the factor and ribosome-dependent GTPase reaction, the factor was unable to utilize the covalently bound oGTP as a substrate. This indicates that the conformational flexibility in EF-2 required for the ribosomal activation of the GTPase was inhibited by the covalent attachment of the nucleotide to the factor. EF-2 cleaved at Arg66 were unable to form the high-affinity complex with ribosomes while retaining the ability to form the low-affinity complex and to hydrolyse GTP. The second cleavage at Lys571/Lys572 was accompanied by a total loss of both the low-affinity binding and the GTPase activity.     

Effects of substrate structure on the kinetics of circle opening reactions of the self-splicing intervening sequence from Tetrahymena thermophila: evidence for substrate and Mg2+ binding interactions.

The self-splicing intervening sequence from the precursor rRNA of Tetrahymena thermophila cyclizes to form a covalently closed circle. This circle can be reopened by reaction with oligonucleotides or water. The kinetics of circle opening as a function of substrate and Mg2+ concentrations have been measured for dCrU, rCdU, dCdT, and H2O addition. Comparisons with previous results for rCrU suggest: (1) the 2' OH of the 5' sugar of a dinucleoside phosphate is involved in substrate binding, and (2) the 2' OH of the 3' sugar of a dimer substrate is involved in Mg2+ binding. Evidently, the binding site for a required Mg2+ ion is dependent on both the ribozyme and the dimer substrate. The apparent activation energy and entropy for circle opening by hydrolysis are 31 kcal/mol and 50 eu, respectively. The large, positive activation entropy suggests a partial unfolding of the ribozyme is required for reaction.     

Calmodulin and Ca2+/calmodulin-binding proteins are involved in Tetrahymena thermophila phagocytosis

The ciliated protist, Tetrahymena thermophila, possesses one oral apparatus for phagocytosis, one of the most important cell functions, in the anterior cell cortex. The apparatus comprises four membrane structures which consist of ciliated and unciliated basal bodies, a cytostome where food is collected by oral ciliary motility, and a cytopharynx where food vacuoles are formed. The food vacuole is thought to be transported into the cytoplasm by a deep fiber which connects with the oral apparatus. Although a large number of studies have been done on the structure of the oral apparatus, the molecular mechanisms of phagocytosis in Tetrahymena thermophila are not well understood. In this study, using indirect immunofluorescence, we demonstrated that the deep fiber consisted of actin, CaM, and Ca2+/CaM-binding proteins, p85 and EF-1alpha, which are closely involved in cytokinesis. Moreover, we showed that CaM, p85, and EF-1alpha are colocalized in the cytostome and the cytopharynx of the oral apparatus. Next, we examined whether Ca2+/CaM signal regulates Tetrahymena thermophila phagocytosis, using Ca2+/CaM inhibitors chlorpromazine, trifluoperazine, N-(6-aminohexyl)-1-naphthalenesulfonamide, and N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide HCI. In Tetrahymena, it is known that Ca2+/CaM signal is closely involved in ciliary motility and cytokinesis. The results showed that one of the inhibitors, N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide HCl, inhibited the food vacuole formation rather than the ciliary motility, while the other three inhibitors effectively prevented the ciliary motility. Considering the colocalization of CaM, p85, and EF-1alpha to the cytopharynx, these results suggest that the Ca2+/CaM signal plays a pivotal role in Tetrahymena thermophila food vacuole formation.     

Chaperone action of a versatile small heat shock protein from Methanococcoides burtonii, a cold adapted archaeon

The Methanococcoides burtonii small heat shock protein (Mb-sHsp) is an alphaB-crystallin homolog that delivers protein stabilizing and protective functions to model enzymes, presumably reflecting its role as a molecular chaperone in vivo. Although the gene encoding Mb-shsp was cloned from a cold-adapted microorganism, the Mb-sHsp is an efficient protein chaperone at temperatures far above the optimum growth temperature of M. burtonii. We show that Mb-sHsp can prevent aggregation in E. coli cell free extracts at 60 degrees C for 4 h and can stabilize bovine liver glutamate dehydrogenase for 3 h at 50 degrees C. Surface plasmon resonance was used to determine the binding affinity of Mb-sHsp for denatured proteins. Mb-sHsp bound tightly to denatured lysozyme but not to the native form. When Mb-Cpn and Mg(2+)-ATP were added to the reaction, bound lysozyme was released from Mb-sHsp establishing that Mb-Cpn is able to off-load folding intermediates from Mb-sHsp. In addition, Mb-sHsp and Mb-Cpn also function cooperatively to protect an enzyme substrate. Through characterization of these M. burtonii chaperones, we were able to reconstitute a key heat shock regulated protein folding function of this cold adapted organism in vitro.     

Protein content and enzyme activities in methanol- and acetate-grown Methanosarcina thermophila.

The cell extract protein content of acetate- and methanol-grown Methanosarcina thermophila TM-1 was examined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. More than 100 mutually exclusive spots were present in acetate- and methanol-grown cells. Spots corresponding to acetate kinase, phosphotransacetylase, and the five subunits of the carbon monoxide dehydrogenase complex were identified in acetate-grown cells. Activities of formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase, formylmethanofuran:tetrahydromethanopterin formyltransferase, 5,10-methenyltetrahydromethanopterin cyclohydrolase, methylene tetrahydromethanopterin:coenzyme F420 oxidoreductase, formate dehydrogenase, and carbonic anhydrase were examined in acetate- and methanol-grown Methanosarcina thermophila. Levels of formyltransferase in either acetate- or methanol-grown Methanosarcina thermophila were approximately half the levels detected in H2-CO2-grown Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum. All other enzyme activities were significantly lower in acetate- and methanol-grown Methanosarcina thermophila.     

Glucose regulates EF-2 phosphorylation and protein translation by a protein phosphatase-2A-dependent mechanism in INS-1-derived 832/13 cells

The role of elongation factor (EF)-2 phosphorylation in the regulation of pancreatic beta-cell protein synthesis by glucose was investigated in the INS-1-derived cell line 832/13. Incubation of cells in media containing 1 mm glucose resulted in a progressive increase in EF-2 phosphorylation that was maximal by 1-2 h. Readdition of 10 mm glucose promoted a rapid dephosphorylation of EF-2 that was complete in 10 min and maintained over the ensuing 2 h. Similar results were obtained using primary rat islets or Min-6 insulinoma cells. The glucose effect in 832/13 cells was replicated by addition of pyruvate or alpha-ketocaproate, but not 2-deoxyglucose, suggesting that mitochondrial metabolism was required. Accordingly, glucose-mediated dephosphorylation of EF-2 was completely blocked by the mitochondrial respiratory antagonists antimycin A and oligomycin. The hyperglycemic effect was not mimicked by incubation of cells in 100 nm insulin, 30 mm potassium chloride, or 0.25 mm diazoxide, indicating that insulin secretion and/or depolarization of beta cells was not required. The locus of the high glucose effect appeared to be protein phosphatase-2A, the principal phosphatase acting on EF-2. Protein phosphatase-2A activity was stimulated by glucose addition to 832/13 cells, but neither protein phosphatase-1 nor calmodulin kinase III (EF-2 kinase) activity was affected under these conditions. The slower rephosphorylation of EF-2 during the transition from high to low glucose may involve effects on EF-2 kinase activity. Addition of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide 1-beta-d-ribofuranoside in high glucose led to a marked stimulation of EF-2 phosphorylation, consistent with the possibility that increased AMP kinase activity in low glucose stimulates EF-2 kinase. In parallel with the effects on EF-2 dephosphorylation, addition of high glucose to 832/13 cells markedly increased the incorporation of [(35)S]methionine into total protein. Taken together, these results suggest that modulation of extracellular glucose impacts protein translation rate in beta cells at least in part through regulation of the elongation step, via phosphorylation/dephosphorylation of EF-2.