Occurrence of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius,an extremely thermophilic acidophilic bacterium,in New Zealand hot springs

Several hot springs in the Rotorua-Taupo regions, North Island, New Zealand, were tested for the presence of extremely thermophilic acidophilic bacteria. In the majority of the springs, ranging in temperature from 43–96°C and in pH from 2.1–6.9, direct microscopic observations revealed the presence of both rod-shaped and spherical bacteria. Isolations were attempted at 70°C and pH 2.0 and 7.0, with either yeast extract for heterotrophic growth, or elemental sulfur as the sole source of energy for autotrophic growth. Eight of the samples produced grwoth at pH 2.0 with either yeast extract or sulfur, but none of the samples grew at pH 7.0. All the isolates obtained, resembled Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, a thermophilic acidophilic bacterium which has previously been reported from various regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Immunofluorescence examination of six of these isolates revealed varying degrees of cross reactions with two already characterized Sulfolobus isolates from the Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. This paper is the first published record of Sulfolobus from the Southern Hemisphere.     

Generation of a large, protonophore-sensitive proton motive force and pH difference in the acidophilic bacteria Thermoplasma acidophilum and Bacillus acidocaldarius.

The mechanism by which acidophilic bacteria generate and maintain their cytoplasmic pH close to neutrality was investigated. For this purpose we determined the components of proton motive force in the eubacterium Bacillus acidocaldarius and the archaebacterium Thermoplasma acidophilum. After correction for probe binding, the proton motive force of untreated cells was 190 to 240 mV between external pH 2 and 4. Anoxia diminished total proton motive force and the transmembrane pH difference by 60 to 80 mV. The protonophore 2,4-dinitrophenol abolished the total proton motive force almost completely and diminished the transmembrane pH difference by at least two units. However, even after correction for probe binding, protonophore-treated cells maintained a pH difference of approximately one unit.     

Cloning, expression, and isolation of the mannitol transport protein from the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus stearothermophilus.

A mannitol phosphotransferase system (PTS) was identified in Bacillus stearothermophilus by in vitro complementation with Escherichia coli EI, HPr, and IIA(Mtl). Degenerate primers based on regions of high amino acid similarity in the E. coli and Staphylococcus carnosus EII(Mt1) were used to develop a digoxigenin-labeled probe by PCR. Using this probe, we isolated three overlapping DNA fragments totaling 7.2 kb which contain the genes mtlA, mtlR, mtlF, and mtlD, encoding the mannitol IICB,a regulator, IIA, and a mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase, respectively. The mtl4 gene consists of 1,413 bp coding for a 471-amino-acid protein with a calculated mass of 50.1 kDa. The amino acid sequence shows high similarity with the sequence of IICB(Mtl) of S. carnosus and the IICB part of the IICBA(Mtl)s of E. coli and B. subtilis. The enzyme could be functionally expressed in E. coli by placing it behind the strong tac promoter. The rate of thermal inactivation at 60 degrees C of B. stearothermophilus HCB(Mt1) expressed in E. coli was two times lower than that of E. coli IICB(Mtl). IICB(Mtl) in B. stearothermophilus is maximally active at 85 degrees C and thus very thermostable. The enzyme was purified on Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid resin to greater than 95% purity after six histidines were fused to the C-terminal part of the transporter.     

Effect of starvation on cytoplasmic pH, proton motive force, and viability of an acidophilic bacterium, Thiobacillus acidophilus.

The question of whether Thiobacillus acidophilus maintains its cytoplasmic pH at values close to neutrality by active or passive means was explored by subjecting the organism to long-term starvation (up to 22 days). Starving cells maintained a delta pH of 2 to 3 U throughout starvation, although cellular poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid and ATP, the proton motive force, and culture viability were low or not detectable after 200 h. Cells exposed to azide or azide plus N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide immediately exhibited characteristics of cells starved for more than 200 h. Thus, a large delta pH in T. acidophilus was maintained in the absence of ATP, ATPase activity, respiration, significant levels of proton motive force, and cell viability and was therefore not dependent on chemiosmotic ionic pumping. The transition from a metabolically active to an inactive state was accompanied by a large increase in the positive membrane potential, which nearly completely compensated for the delta pH in the inactive cells. The longevity of the acidophile during starvation was comparable to that reported previously for neutrophiles, and the loss of viability occurred not because of the acidification of the cytoplasm but apparently because of energy depletion.     

Cytochrome oxidase of an acidophilic iron-oxidizing bacterium, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, functions at pH 3.5

Cytochrome oxidase of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was partially purified. The oxidase preparation had haems a and c, and oxidized ferrocytochrome c-552 of the bacterium. The optimal pH of the reaction was 3.5. The enzyme also oxidized the reduced form of rusticyanin, a copper protein of the bacterium. Our results indicate that the reduction of molecular oxygen by this enzyme may occur in the periplasm.     

Mechanism of delta pH maintenance in active and inactive cells of an obligately acidophilic bacterium.

The acidophilic bacterium PW2 possessed a delta pH of ca. 1.9 and a delta psi of 0 mV, corresponding to a proton motive force (delta p) of--114 mV. Protonophore-treated cells possessed little delta p but a delta pH of ca. 1.5, as measured by salicylic acid distribution or pH measurement of cell lysates. Starving PW2 cells continued to possess a delta pH of ca. 1.7, but exhibited converse changes in delta psi and delta p, with the former rising to +80 to +100 mV and the latter dropping essentially to 0; progressive loss of respiration, cellular ATP, and culture viability accompanied these changes. Thus, the protonophore-treated or starving PW2 cells attained an H+ electrochemical equilibrium. Net H+ influx resulting from declining respiration probably accounted for the increased delta psi in these cells; indeed, when respiration was progressively inhibited in active cells, there was increasing transient H+ influx and a proportional increase in delta psi. This transient H+ influx was sufficient to lethally acidify the cytoplasm, but for a buffering capacity of 85 nmol of H+/mg of protein per pH unit. Thus, the linkage of the transient H+ influx with the rise in the delta psi and the cytoplasmic buffering capacity play central roles in acidophilism, and it is conceivable that the same impermeant cellular macromolecule(s) accounts for both. If so, the delta psi would be a Donnan potential that in active cells is offset by energy-dependent H+ extrusion.     

Biochemical and structural studies of N5-carboxyaminoimidazole ribonucleotide mutase from the acidophilic bacterium Acetobacter aceti

N5-carboxyaminoimidazole ribonucleotide (N5-CAIR) mutase (PurE) catalyzes the reversible interconversion of acid-labile compounds N5-CAIR and 4-carboxy-5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (CAIR). We have examined PurE from the acidophilic bacterium Acetobacter aceti (AaPurE), focusing on its adaptation to acid pH and the roles of conserved residues His59 and His89. Both AaPurE and Escherichia coli PurE showed quasi-reversible acid-mediated inactivation, but wt AaPurE was much more stable at pH 3.5, with a > or = 20 degrees C higher thermal unfolding temperature at all pHs. His89 is not essential and does not function as part of a proton relay system. The kcat pH-rate profile was consistent with the assignment of pK1 to unproductive protonation of bound nucleotide and pK2 to deprotonation of His59. A 1.85 A resolution crystal structure of the inactive mutant H59N-AaPurE soaked in CAIR showed that protonation of CAIR C4 can occur in the absence of His59. The resulting species, modeled as isoCAIR [4(R)-carboxy-5-iminoimidazoline ribonucleotide], is strongly stabilized by extensive interactions with the enzyme and a water molecule. The carboxylate moiety is positioned in a small pocket proposed to facilitate nucleotide decarboxylation in the forward direction (N5-CAIR --> CAIR) [Meyer, E., Kappock, T. J., Osuji, C., and Stubbe, J. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 3012-3018]. Comparisons with model studies suggest that in the reverse (nonbiosynthetic) direction PurE favors protonation of CAIR C4. We suggest that the essential role of protonated His59 is to lower the barrier to decarboxylation by stabilizing a CO2-azaenolate intermediate.     

The intracellular pH of the thermophilic bacterium Thermoanaerobacter wiegelii during growth and production of fermentation acids

The thermophilic glycolytic anaerobe Thermoanaerobacter wiegelii grows over the pH range 5.1–7.7, and no growth is observed below pH 5.0 or above 7.7. When T. wiegelii was grown in pH-uncontrolled batch culture, glucose was fermented to ethanol, acetate, and lactate. Small amounts of lactic acid were produced once the external pH reached 6.0, and a fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) activated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was detected in cell-free crude extracts. Maximal activation of LDH by FDP was observed at pH 6.2. As the pH of the medium declined from 6.7 to 5.1 due to the production of acetate and lactate, the total protonmotive force (Δp) remained between −110 and −130 mV, and the membrane potential (ΔΨ) decreased from −104 to −65 mV. This decrease in ΔΨ was paralleled by an increase in the chemical gradient of protons (ZΔpH) from −31 to −62 mV at pH 5.1. Based on these results, T. wiegelii maintained a small ΔpH (0.3–0.9 units, inside alkaline) as the medium pH declined and interconverted ΔΨ to ZΔpH to maintain the total Δp relatively constant. Intracellular potassium decreased from 150 mM at pH 6.70 to 50 mM at pH 5.1, and this represented a 33-mV decline in the transmembrane chemical potential of potassium. The ability to synthesize ATP remained constant as the external pH declined, and therefore metabolic energy per se was not a critical aspect of pH sensitivity. Received: March 16, 2000 / Accepted: May 8, 2000     

Effect of temperature and pH on the hopanoid content of Bacillus acidocaldarius

Abstract A gas-liquid chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of hopanoids with an elongated side chain was developed. After extraction of lipids from Bacillus acidocaldarius , periodate oxidation, reduction and acetylation the 1-hydroxyethane-29-hopane acetate was quantitated by comparison with 1-octadecanyl-glycerol ether. The contents of extended hopanoids increased strongly with increasing temperature and moderately with decreasing pH. Hopene showed no significant alteration with temperature and pH.     

Structure and function of L-lactate dehydrogenases from thermophilic, mesophilic and psychrophilic bacteria, IX. Identification, isolation and nucleotide sequence of two L-lactate dehydrogenase genes of the psychrophilic bacterium Bacillus psychrosaccharolyticus

Two genes encoding for L-lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from the psychrophilic bacterium Bacillus psychrosaccharolyticus (DSM 6) were cloned and their nucleotide sequence determined using a pEMBL vector and gene hybridization probes. The deduced amino-acid sequence of the gene from clone pLDH(X), which is located on a 5.87-kb HindIII-fragment, shows an identity of 86% as compared with the sequence of the wildtype LDH(P) from B. psychrosaccharolyticus and consists of 319 amino acids. Clone pLDH(P) contained a gene on a 4-kb HindIII-EcoRI fragment, of which the amino-acid sequence is identical with the enzyme isolated from B. psychrosaccharolyticus. The nucleotide sequences of LDH(P) and LDH(X) show 77% identity. Both genes are expressed in E. coli and the proteins could be isolated as shown by enzyme activity tests and determination of the N-terminal amino-acid sequence. However no expression of LDH(X) could be detected in B. psychrosaccharolyticus itself under the conditions chosen for oxygen induction of LDH. The function of the additional, non-expressed enzyme is not known.     

Bacteriophage phiNS11: a lipid-containing phage of acidophilic thermophilic bacteria. III. Characterization of viral components

Components of a lipid-containing phage phiNS11 were characterized. The phage had five protein components, the molecular weights of which were 59,000, 44,000, 33,000, 23,000, and 18,000. Viral lipid consisted of six components, which were also found in the host bacterial lipid. The relative amounts of these viral lipid components were very similar to those of the bacterial lipid. The phage contained omega-cyclohexyl fatty acids characteristic of Bacillus acidocaldarius as the main fatty acids. The phage nucleic acid was a linear double-stranded DNA, the molecular weight of which was 9.3--9.4 X 10(6) daltons. The guanine plus cytosine content of the DNA was determined to be about 52% from chemical analysis, buoyant density (1.711 g/cm3 in CsCl) and melting temperature (90.6 degrees C in 0.15 M NaCl plus 0.015 M sodium citrate). The phage contained two kinds of polyamine; spermidine and spermine.     

Effects of pH and Temperature on the Fatty Acid Composition of Bacillus acidocaldarius

The fatty acid composition of lipid extracts from cells of Bacillus acidocaldarius grown at temperatures of 50 to 70 C and pH values of 2 to 5 was determined by gas chromatography of the methyl esters. The most abundant fatty acids are 11-cyclohexylundecanoic and 13-cyclohexyltridecanoic, followed by anteiso- and iso-heptadecanoic; unsaturated acids are absent. Highly aerated cultures produce more of the iso and anteiso acids and less of the cyclohexyl acids. The effects of temperature and pH are interdependent; at lower pH, increasing temperature raises the proportion of the iso and anteiso acids, but at higher pH the effect of increasing temperature is reversed and the proportion of the cyclohexyl acids is increased.     

Isolation and characterization of an acidophilic, heterotrophic bacterium capable of oxidizing ferrous iron.

A heterotrophic bacterium, isolated from an acidic stream in a disused pyrite mine which contained copious growths of "acid streamers," displayed characteristics which differentiated it from previously described mesophilic acidophiles. The isolate was obligately acidophilic, with a pH range of 2.0 to 4.4 and an optimum pH of 3.0. The bacterium was unable to fix carbon dioxide but oxidized ferrous iron, although at a slower rate than either Thiobacillus ferrooxidans or Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. Elemental sulfur and manganese(II) were not oxidized. In liquid media, the isolate produced macroscopic streamerlike growths. Microscopic examination revealed that the bacterium formed long (greater than 100 microns) filaments which tended to disintegrate during later growth stages, producing single, motile cells and small filaments. The isolate did not appear to utilize the energy from ferrous iron oxidation. Both iron (ferrous or ferric) and an organic substrate were necessary to promote growth. The isolate displayed a lower tolerance to heavy metals than other iron-oxidizing acidophiles, and growth was inhibited by exposure to light. There was evidence of extracellular sheath production by the isolate. In this and some other respects, the isolate resembles members of the Sphaerotilus-Leptothrix group of filamentous bacteria. The guanine-plus-cytosine content of the isolate was 62 mol%, which is less than that recorded for Sphaerotilus-Leptothrix spp. and greater than those of L. ferrooxidans and most T. ferrooxidans isolates.     

Isolation and characterization of an acidophilic, heterotrophic bacterium capable of oxidizing ferrous iron.

A heterotrophic bacterium, isolated from an acidic stream in a disused pyrite mine which contained copious growths of "acid streamers," displayed characteristics which differentiated it from previously described mesophilic acidophiles. The isolate was obligately acidophilic, with a pH range of 2.0 to 4.4 and an optimum pH of 3.0. The bacterium was unable to fix carbon dioxide but oxidized ferrous iron, although at a slower rate than either Thiobacillus ferrooxidans or Leptospirillum ferrooxidans. Elemental sulfur and manganese(II) were not oxidized. In liquid media, the isolate produced macroscopic streamerlike growths. Microscopic examination revealed that the bacterium formed long (greater than 100 microns) filaments which tended to disintegrate during later growth stages, producing single, motile cells and small filaments. The isolate did not appear to utilize the energy from ferrous iron oxidation. Both iron (ferrous or ferric) and an organic substrate were necessary to promote growth. The isolate displayed a lower tolerance to heavy metals than other iron-oxidizing acidophiles, and growth was inhibited by exposure to light. There was evidence of extracellular sheath production by the isolate. In this and some other respects, the isolate resembles members of the Sphaerotilus-Leptothrix group of filamentous bacteria. The guanine-plus-cytosine content of the isolate was 62 mol%, which is less than that recorded for Sphaerotilus-Leptothrix spp. and greater than those of L. ferrooxidans and most T. ferrooxidans isolates.     

Alkaline extracellular reduction: isolation and characterization of an alkaliphilic and halotolerant bacterium, Bacillus pseudofirmus MC02

Aims: To isolate an alkaliphilic bacterium and to investigate its ability of extracellular reduction. Methods and Results: An alkaliphilic and halotolerant humus‐reducing anaerobe, Bacillus pseudofirmus MC02, was successfully isolated from a pH 10·0 microbial fuel cell. To examine its ability of extracellular reduction, AQDS (anthraquinone‐2, 6‐disulfonae), humic acids (HA) and Fe(III) oxides were chosen as representative electron acceptors. All the experiments were conducted in a pH 9·5 carbonate buffer. The results are as follows: (i) Sucrose, lactate, glucose and glycerol were the favourable electron donors for AQDS reduction by the strain MC02; (ii) The strain had the ability of reducing HA in the presence of sucrose; (iii) It could effectively reduce Fe(III) oxides coupled with sucrose fermentation when AQDS was added as electron shuttle and its Fe(III) reducing capacity ranked as: lepidocrocite (γ‐FeOOH) > goethite (α‐FeOOH) > haematite(α‐Fe₂O₃); (iv) The strain could decolourize azo dye Orange I. Conclusions: Bacillus pseudofirmus MC02 was capable of extracellular reduction in AQDS, HA and Fe(III) oxides, and it can be used for decolourizing azo dye (Orange I) in alkaline conditions. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first report of an alkaliphlic strain of B. pseudofirmus capable of extracellular reduction in AQDS, HA, Fe(III) oxides and decolourization of Orange I. This study could provide valuable information on alkaline biotransformation in the printing and dyeing wastewater and saline‐alkali soil.     

Electron spin resonance measurements of the effect of ionophores on the transmembrane pH gradient of an acidophilic bacterium

The delta pH in ionophore-treated cells of an acidophile has been determined by electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The values obtained were comparable to those obtained using the more conventional techniques involving radiolabeled probes. No binding of the spin-labeled probe was observed as determined by two independent control experiments and by the characteristics of the probe signal. These results led us to conclude that the delta pH measured in protonophore/ionophore-treated cells is a result of a Donnan potential, which may be a physical property of all intact bacterial cells at low pH values.