Plasmid transformation of Azotobacter vinelandii OP

Azotobacter vinelandii OP which had been naturally induced to competence by growth in iron- and molybdenum-limited medium was transformed with the broad-host-range cloning vector pKT210. However, the transformation frequency at nearly saturating levels of DNA was 1000-fold lower for pKT210 than for a single chromosomal DNA marker (nif+). Plasmid- and chromosomal-DNA-mediated transformation events were competitive, magnesium-dependent, 42 degrees C-sensitive processes specific to double-stranded DNA, suggesting a common mechanism of DNA binding and uptake. The low frequency of plasmid transformation was not related to restriction of transforming DNA or to the growth period allowed for phenotypic expression. Covalently-closed-circular and open-circular forms of pKT210 transformed cells equally well whereas EcoRI- or HindIII-linearized pKT210 transformed cells with two to three times greater efficiency. Genetic transformation was enhanced 10- to 50-fold when pKT210 contained an insert fragment of A. vinelandii nif DNA, indicating that A. vinelandii possessed a homology-facilitated transformation system. However, all transformants failed to maintain the plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance determinants, and extrachromosomal plasmid DNA was not recovered from these cells. Flush-ended pKT210 was not active in transformation; however, competent cells were transformed to Nif+ by HincII-digested plasmid DNA containing the cloned A. vinelandii nif-10 marker.     

Nitrogenase in synchronized Azotobacter vinelandii OP.

Azotobacter vinelandii OP was synchronized by the continuous phased culture technique. The nitrogenase (nitrogen:(acceptor)oxidoreductase)(EC 1.7.99.2) activity of the culture was determined continuously within the fermentor by acetylene reduction. Addition of NH4+ in excess of 5 x 10(-3)M to the culture lowered nitrogenase activity immediately. Other sources of fixed nitrogen had no immediate effect on nitrogenase activity, but nitrogenase synthesis decreased in the cell cycle following the one in which the fixed nitrogen was added.     

Bacterial Alginate Produced by a Mutant of Azotobacter vinelandii

The optimum conditions in shaken flasks for production of bacterial alginate by mutant C-14 of Azotobacter vinelandii NCIB 9068 and a comparison of the properties of bacterial and algal alginates were investigated. The largest amount of bacterial alginate was obtained in about 110 h by a culture grown on optimum medium at 34°C and 170-rpm shaking speed. The viscosity of the culture broth was 18,400 cps and the alginate concentration reached 6.22 g/liter. The viscosity of the purified bacterial alginate was as high as 11,200 cps at a low concentration (0.6%). A greater than fivefold concentration of algal alginate was required to reach the same viscosity at a low shear rate. A solution of bacterial alginate was more pseudoplastic than that of algal alginate was. No significant differences were observed in other properties of bacterial and algal alginates such as gel formation with calcium ion, thermostability, and effect of temperature, pH, and sodium chloride on viscosity.     

Cytokinins in Azotobacter vinelandii Culture Medium

Azotobacter vinelandii OP was grown to stationary phase in defined medium. The cell-free culture medium was analyzed for cytokinin content by XAD-2 and Sephadex LH-20 chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, tobacco callus bioassay, and enzyme immunoassay. Three cytokinin-active fractions were detected and tentatively identified as trans-zeatin, isopentenyladenosine, and isopentenyladenine. The total cytokinin activity was equivalent to 0.75 μg of kinetin per liter.     

Isolation and characterization of pyruvate carboxylase from Azotobacter vinelandii OP

Pyruvate carboxylase has been detected in, and partially purified from, cell-free extracts of Azotobacter vinelandii OP. The best preparations obtained have specific activities in the range of 4 units/mg and appear approximately 15% pure when analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The partially purified enzyme is activated by both univalent and divalent cations, contains one or more functional biotinyl residues, and exhibits apparent Michaelis constants for the substrates (pyruvate, Mg-ATP^2?, and HCO₃^?) which are in the same range as those observed for other pyruvate carboxylases. However, A. vinelandii pyruvate carboxylase is fully active in the absence of added acetyl-coenzyme A and is insensitive to inhibition by dicarboxylic acids such as l-aspartate, l-glutamate, and α-ketoglutarate. The molecular weight of the catalytically active species is obtained as 296,000.The level of pyruvate carboxylase is highest in extracts of A. vinelandii grown on pyruvate or l-lactate as sole carbon source and this level is further enhanced on addition of succinate to the medium. The enzyme is absent from cells grown on succinate and is present at intermediate levels in cells grown on sucrose, glucose, glycerol, or acetate. In contrast, the level of phosphoenolypyruvate carboxylase in these extracts is essentially independent of the carbon source. These data suggest that pyruvate carboxylase in A. vinelandii is induced by pyruvate or some closely related metabolite.     

Regulation of nitrogen fixation in Azotobacter vinelandii OP: the role of nitrate reductase

A number of chlorate-resistant mutants were selected, and one of these, clr68-5, was studied in detail. This mutant cannot utilize nitrate in vivo to overcome the effect of nonmetabolizable repressors of nitrogenase. The reason for this inability was that strain clr68-5 lacked nitrate reductase. Nitrate inhibited the activity of nitrogenase but did not act as a corepressor of nitrogenase in strain clr68-5 as it does in the wild type. Ammonia seemed to act as corepressor of nitrogenase in both strains.     

Regulation of Nitrogen Fixation in Azotobacter vinelandii OP and in an Apparently Partially Constitutive Mutant

Methylamine and 2-methylalanine appeared to act as co-repressors of nitrogenase in Azotobacter vinelandii OP. They inhibited the growth of this organism on molecular nitrogen but not on nitrate, ammonia, or Casamino Acids; they prevented the formation of nitrogenase by cells transferred from repression to induction conditions; and they did not inhibit the activity of nitrogenase in vitro. A mutant of strain OP, selected on the basis of its relative resistance to methylalanine, appeared partially constitutive because nitrogenase in this strain was less sensitive to repressors than was the enzyme in the wild-type strain.     

Novel exopolysaccharide production by Azotobacter vinelandii

Summary An isolate of Azotobacter vinelandii from the rhizosphere of the rhizomes of lotus produced a novel exopolysaccharide (EPS) having the composition of glucose: galactose: rhamnose (2.5: 1: 1.2). This composition has not been reported previously. The EPS has excellent viscosifying properties and could possibly be pseudoplastic in nature.     

Ubiquinone in hydrogen metabolism by Azotobacter vinelandii

Extraction with n-heptane abolished over 95% of the NADH oxidase and the hydrogenase activity in membrane preparations from Azotobacter vinelandii. Incorporation of ubiquinone-8 or plastoquinone restored each reaction to about 55% of its original activity.     

Metabolism of methylammonium by Azotobacter vinelandii

Azotobacter vinelandii takes up the ammonium analog methylammonium from the external medium and metabolizes it to a less polar compound which has been identified as N-methylglutamine. The enzyme glutamine synthetase appears responsible for methylammonium metabolism in this organism and full activity of the enzyme is required for maximal rates of methylammonium uptake. L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine or L-methionine sulfone, inhibitors of glutamine synthetase activity, were shown to reduce the rate of methylammonium uptake by wild type cultures. A mutant strain with low glutamine synthetase activity was shown to be unable to carry out in vitro N-methylglutamine synthesis or in vivo uptake of methylammonium. Thus, methylammonium uptake assays may prove useful as a method of identifying mutants with altered glutamine synthetase activity.Abbreviations MSX L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine - MSF L-methionine sulfone     

Beta-ketothiolase genes in Azotobacter vinelandii

Azotobacter vinelandii is proposed to contain a single β-ketothiolase activity participating in the formation of acetoacetyl-CoA, a precursor for poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) synthesis, and in β-oxidation (Manchak, J., Page, W.J., 1994. Control of polyhydroxyalkanoate synthesis in Azotobacter vinelandii strain UWD. Microbiology 140, 953–963). We designed a degenerate oligonucleotide from a highly conserved region among bacterial β-ketothiolases and used it to identify bktA, a gene with a deduced protein product with a high similarity to β-ketothiolases. Immediately downstream of bktA, we identified a gene called hbdH, which encodes a protein exhibiting similarity to β-hydroxyacyl-CoA and β-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenases. Two regions with homology to bktA were also observed. One of these was cloned and allowed the identification of the phbA gene, encoding a second β-ketothiolase. Strains EV132, EV133, and GM1 carrying bktA, hbdH and phbA mutations, respectively, as well as strain EG1 carrying both bktA and phbA mutations, were constructed. The hbdH mutation had no effect on β-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydrogenase activity or on fatty acid assimilation. The bktA mutation had no effect on β-ketothiolase activity, PHB synthesis or fatty acid assimilation, whereas the phbA mutation significantly reduced β-ketothiolase activity and PHB accumulation, showing that this is the β-ketothiolase involved in PHB biosynthesis. Strain EG1 was found to grow under β-oxidation conditions and to possess β-ketothiolase activity. Taken together, these results demonstrate the presence of three genes coding for β-ketothiolases in A. vinelandii.     

Nitrogen fixation by Azotobacter vinelandii in tungsten-containing medium

Nitrogenase was isolated and purified from wild-type and a tungsten-resistant mutant (LM2) of Azotobacter vinelandii strain OP derepressed on medium containing 1-10 mM W. While the enzyme from the wild-type strain contained the polypeptides of the conventional enzyme, metal analysis of component 1 demonstrated the existence of one atom each of molybdenum and tungsten. Furthermore, the ESR spectrum of this protein contained three signals, two of which originated from S = 3/2 spin states. One of these signals is nearly identical to that of the conventional MoFe-protein while the other is hypothesized to originate from a W-containing cofactor. In spite of the presence of W, the substrate reduction pattern of this enzyme is the same as that of the conventional enzyme.     

Biochemical Properties and Substrate Specificities of a Recombinantly Produced Azotobacter vinelandii Alginate Lyase

Alginate is a polysaccharide composed of β-d-mannuronic acid (M) and α-l-guluronic acid (G). An Azotobacter vinelandii alginate lyase gene, algL, was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli. The deduced molecular mass of the corresponding protein is 41.4 kDa, but a signal peptide is cleaved off, leaving a mature protein of 39 kDa. Sixty-three percent of the amino acids in this mature protein are identical to those in AlgL from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. AlgL was partially purified, and the activity was found to be optimal at a pH of 8.1 to 8.4 and at 0.35 M NaCl. Divalent cations are not necessary for activity. The pI of the enzyme is 5.1. When an alginate rich in mannuronic acid was used as the substrate, the K_m was found to be 4.6 × 10⁻⁴ M (sugar residues). AlgL was found to cleave M-M and M-G bonds but not G-M or G-G bonds. Bonds involving acetylated residues were also cleaved, but this activity may be sensitive to the extent of acetylation.

Alginate is a family of 1-4-linked copolymers of β-d-mannuronic acid (M) and α-l-guluronic acid (G). It is produced by brown algae and by some bacteria belonging to the genera Azotobacter and Pseudomonas (8, 17, 18, 31). The polymer is widely used in industry and biotechnology (36, 44), and the genetics of its biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been extensively studied due to its role in the disease cystic fibrosis (33). In bacterial alginates, some of the M residues may be O-2- and/or O-3-acetylated (42). The polymer is initially synthesized as mannuronan, and the G residues are introduced at the polymer level by mannuronan C-5-epimerases (13, 22, 23). The epimerized alginates contain a mixture of blocks of consecutive G residues (G blocks), consecutive M residues (M blocks), and alternating M and G residues (MG blocks). Alginates from Pseudomonas sp. do not contain G blocks (42).Alginate lyases catalyze the depolymerization of alginates by β-elimination, generating a molecule containing 4-deoxy-l-erythro-hex-4-enepyranosyluronate at the nonreducing end. Such lyases have been found in organisms using alginate as a carbon source, in bacteriophages specific for alginate-producing organisms, and in alginate-producing bacteria (45). An alginate molecule may contain four different glycosidic bonds, M-M, G-M, M-G, or G-G, and the relative rates at which each of these bonds are cleaved vary among different lyases (36a). The lyases also differ in the extent to which they are affected by acetylation (35, 43, 46).Davidson et al. (10) described an Azotobacter vinelandii lyase which preferred M blocks as a substrate. Kennedy et al. (28) later reported the purification of periplasmic alginate lyases from A. vinelandii and from Azotobacter chroococcum which also seemed to prefer deacetylated, M-rich alginate. The activities of these enzymes were found to be optimal at pH 6.8 and 7.2, respectively, while the enzyme reported by Davidson et al. (10) was found to display optimal activity at pH 7.8.A gene, algL, encoding an alginate lyase has been cloned from P. aeruginosa (2, 41). The gene was found to be located in a cluster containing most of the genes necessary for the biosynthesis of alginate. A homologous gene cluster has recently been identified in A. vinelandii (38) and shown to encode an alginate lyase (32). In our previous report, we showed that plasmid pHE102, which contains a part of this gene cluster, contains a DNA sequence sharing homology with algL from P. aeruginosa (38). We have now subcloned, sequenced, and expressed this gene in Escherichia coli. The lyase was shown to preferentially cleave deacetylated M-M and M-G bonds, but acetylated substrates were also cleaved.     

Continuous monitoring of nitrogenase activity in Azotobacter vinelandii fermentation using off-gas mass spectrometry

This study evaluated the feasibility of monitoring nitro-genase activity in situ through measurement of N(2) uptake rate (NUR) using off-gas mass spectrometry. Four 50-L cultures of Azotobacter vinelandii were grown aer-obically in nitrogen-free medium to cell densities of 1.0-1.3gL(-1) magnetic-sector mass spectrometer was used to monitor NUR along with other gas exchange rates. The small specific uptake rate (1.2 mmol g(-1) h(-1)) and low cell density were found to lead to a NUR below the measurement accuracy limits under normal conditions. An operating strategy and feed gas mixture (40% O(2), 45% N(2) 15% Ar) were designed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio while maintaining dissolved O(2) and N(2) levels in desired ranges. The fraction of N(2) removed from the air stream was increased approximately 5-fold from 0.2% to 1.0% and the measurement noise was reduced 25-fold from a baseline of +/-5to +/-0.2 mmol L(-1) h(-1). The NUR measurements were compared against in vivo and in vitro acetylene reduction assays as well as on-line cell growth rate measurements. While electron transfer requirements predict an NUR-to-acetylene reduction rate ratio of 0.33, measured ratios for the in vivo and in vitro assays were 0.8 and 0.44, respectively. This suggests that other rate-limiting steps were present in the case of the in vivo assay. In accordance with reports in the literature, no concomitant hydrogen evolution was detected. This is the first reported continuous and direct measurement of NUR in fermentation and demonstrates a novel approach for improving measurement accuracy through rational adjustment of operating conditions. The technique has potential to provide useful insight for development and control of microbial nitrogen fixation processes.(c) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.