The Calvin cycle enzyme pentose-5-phosphate 3-epimerase is encoded within the cfx operons of the chemoautotroph Alcaligenes eutrophus.

Several genes (cfx genes) encoding Calvin cycle enzymes in Alcaligenes eutrophus are organized in two highly homologous operons comprising at least 11 kb. One cfx operon is located on the chromosome; the other is located on megaplasmid pHG1 of the organism (B. Bowien, U. Windh?vel, J.-G. Yoo, R. Bednarski, and B. Kusian, FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 87:445-450, 1990). Corresponding regions of about 2.7 kb from within the operons were sequenced. Three open reading frames, designated cfxX (954 bp), cfxY (765 bp), and cfxE (726 bp), were detected at equivalent positions in the two sequences. The nucleotide identity of the sequences amounted to 94%. Heterologous expression of the subcloned pHG1-encoded open reading frames in Escherichia coli suggested that they were functional genes. The observed sizes of the gene products CfxX (35 kDa), CfxY (27 kDa), and CfxE (25.5 kDa) closely corresponded to the values calculated on the basis of the sequence information. E. coli clones harboring the cfxE gene showed up to about 19-fold-higher activities of pentose-5-phosphate 3-epimerase (PPE; EC 5.1.3.1) than did reference clones, suggesting that cfxE encodes PPE, another Calvin cycle enzyme. These data agree with the finding that in A. eutrophus, PPE activity is significantly enhanced under autotrophic growth conditions which lead to a derepression of the cfx operons. No functions could be assigned to CfxX and CfxY.     

Genetic determinants of a nickel-specific transport system are part of the plasmid-encoded hydrogenase gene cluster in Alcaligenes eutrophus.

Nickel-deficient (Nic-) mutants of Alcaligenes eutrophus requiring high levels of nickel ions for autotrophic growth with hydrogen were characterized. The Nic- mutants carried defined deletions in the hydrogenase gene cluster of the indigenous pHG megaplasmid. Nickel deficiency correlated with a low level of the nickel-containing hydrogenase activity, a slow rate of nickel transport, and reduced activity of urease. The Nic+ phenotype was restored by a cloned DNA sequence (hoxN) of a megaplasmid pHG1 DNA library of A. eutrophus H16. hoxN is part of the hydrogenase gene cluster. The nickel requirement of Nic- mutants was enhanced by increasing the concentration of magnesium. This suggests that the Nic- mutants are impaired in the nickel-specific transport system and thus depend on the second transport activity which normally mediates the uptake of magnesium.     

Cloning, nucleotide sequence, and heterologous expression of a high-affinity nickel transport gene from Alcaligenes eutrophus.

High-affinity nickel transport in Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 is mediated by a function designated hoxN. hoxN lies within the hydrogenase gene cluster of megaplasmid pHG1. An insertional mutation at the hoxN locus led to an increased nickel requirement. In this mutant (strain HF260) both autotrophic growth on hydrogen and wild-type level of urease, a nickel-containing enzyme, were dependent on high concentration of nickel in the medium. Studies with a heterologous in vivo expression system revealed that the hoxN locus encodes two proteins with Mr = 30,000 and 28,000. Only the larger polypeptide was essential for nickel transport. The hoxN locus was cloned on a 2.2-kilobase pair fragment. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the hoxN locus revealed an open reading frame with a coding capacity for a protein of 33.1 kDa. The insertion leading to the Nic- phenotype of strain HF260 maps within this open reading frame indicating that it does in fact have coding function. The deduced amino acid sequence of the hoxN gene has several features typical of a hydrophobic integral membrane protein. Alkaline phosphatase fusion proteins produced by insertion of the transposon TnphoA into hoxN gave significant levels of alkaline phosphatase activity indicating that protein HoxN contains periplasmic domains. Taken together, our results suggest that gene hoxN encodes the high-affinity nickel transporter of A. eutrophus.     

Identification of a novel gene, aut, involved in autotrophic growth of Alcaligenes eutrophus.

The aerobic facultative chemoautotroph Alcaligenes eutrophus was found to possess a novel gene, designated aut, required for both lithoautotrophic (hydrogen plus carbon dioxide) and organoautotrophic (formate) growth (Aut+ phenotype). Insertional mutagenesis by transposon Tn5-Mob localized the gene on a chromosomal 13-kbp EcoRI fragment. Physiological characterization of various Aut- mutants revealed pleiotropic effects caused by the transposon insertion. Heterotrophic growth of the mutants on substrates catabolized via the glycolytic pathway was slower than that of the parent strains, and the colony morphology of the mutants was altered when grown on nutrient agar. The heterotrophic derepression of the cbb operons encoding Calvin cycle enzymes was abolished, although their expression was still inducible in the presence of formate. Apparently, the mutation did not affect the cbb genes directly but impaired the autotrophic growth in a more general manner. The conjugally transferred wild-type EcoRI fragment allowed phenotypic in trans complementation of the mutants. Further subcloning and sequencing identified a single open reading frame (aut) of 495 bp that was sufficient for complementation. The monocistronic aut gene was constitutively transcribed into a 0.65-kb mRNA. However, its expression appeared to be low. Heterologous expression of aut was achieved in Escherichia coli, resulting in overproduction of an 18-kDa protein. Database searches yielded weak partial sequence similarities of the deduced Aut protein sequence to some cytidylyltransferases, but no indication for the exact function of the aut gene was obtained. Hybridizing DNA sequences that might be similar to the aut gene were detected by Southern hybridization in the genome of two other autotrophic bacteria.     

Molecular cloning of structural and regulatory hydrogenase (hox) genes of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16

A gene bank of the 450-kilobase (kb) megaplasmid pHG1 from the hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 was constructed in the broad-host-range mobilizable vector pSUP202 and maintained in Escherichia coli. hox DNA was identified by screening the E. coli gene bank for restoration of hydrogenase activity in A. eutrophus Hox mutants. Hybrid plasmids that contained an 11.6-kb EcoRI fragment restored soluble NAD-dependent hydrogenase activity when transferred by conjugation into one class of Hos- mutants. An insertion mutant impaired in particulate hydrogenase was partially restored in Hop activity by an 11-kb EcoRI fragment. A contiguous sequence of two EcoRI fragments of 8.6 and 2.0 kb generated Hox+ recombinants from mutants that were devoid of both hydrogenase proteins. hox DNA was subcloned into the vector pVK101. The resulting recombinant plasmids were used in complementation studies. The results indicate that we have cloned parts of the structural genes coding for Hos and Hop activity and a complete regulatory hox DNA sequence which encodes the thermosensitive, energy-dependent derepression signal of hydrogenase synthesis in A. eutrophus H16.     

基于rhaSR嵌合操纵子的构建及其在大肠杆菌中表达的研究

通过PCR等重组DNA技术,构建了含rhaSR启动子表达调控元件、RhaR基因、报告基因gst(谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶)的两个嵌合操纵子,并插入大肠杆菌表达载体pALEX中构成pALEX-PR1和pALEX-PR2。其中pALEX-PR2的RhaR基因上游为原有的SD序列,而pALEX-PR1的RhaR基因上游则插入了增强的SD序列。把这两个重组表达质粒分别转入大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中,报告基因gst能够在L-鼠李糖诱导下表达,其表达量是非诱导条件下的4～5倍,且pALEX-PR1的表达量是pALEX-PR2的3.14倍。以上结果表明,gst的表达既受L-鼠李糖诱导,同时又受RhaR的正调控。SDS-PAGE结果显示,GST占大肠杆菌培养物总可溶蛋白的5.41%(W/W),平均1L培养物可获得3.0mg纯化的GST。酶活性分析表明,所构建的嵌合操纵子表达的GST保持了正确的构型且具有很高的活性。     

The gene for 2-phosphoglycolate phosphatase (gph) in Escherichia coli is located in the same operon as dam and at least five other diverse genes

Downstream of the dam gene in the Escherichia coli genome the following three genes are located: first rpe, then a gene encoding a 27 kDa protein and finally trpS. Here we present evidence that the 27 kDa protein has 2-phosphoglycolate phosphatase activity, and we name the gene gph. Phosphoglycolate phosphatase is needed in autotrophic organisms performing the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) reductive pentose-phosphate cycle. E. coli is not capable of autotrophic growth and probably utilizes Gph activity for other function(s) than in the CBB cycle. We found no physiological effect of deleting gph and its function in E. coli remains unclear. The use of fusion plasmids, where lacZ was inserted into gph and trpS, and deletion derivatives of these fusion plasmids, showed that rpe, gph and trpS are all members of the dam-containing operon. A novel promoter was identified in the distal part of the dam gene. The operon, which contains aroK, aroB, urf74.3, dam, rpe, gph, and trpS, can be termed a superoperon, since it consists of (at least) seven apparently unrelated genes which are under complex regulatory control.     

大肠杆菌磷酸果糖激酶基因在极端嗜酸性氧化硫硫杆菌中的表达

构建了含大肠杆菌磷酸果糖激酶(EC 2.7.1.11)基因pfkA的重组质粒pSDK1,利用大肠杆菌pfk缺陷株筛选含目的基因的重组质粒,通过接合转移的方式将其导入氧化硫硫杆菌TtZ2中,接合转移频率达2.6×10-6。重组质粒在TtZ2中有较好的稳定性,在无选择压力条件下传代50次基本保持稳定(重组质粒保留68%以上)。酶活性测定、SDSPAGE及RTPCR结果表明,pfkA基因在氧化硫硫杆菌中得到表达,但其表达水平低于大肠杆菌。葡萄糖可促进含pSDK1的氧化硫硫杆菌TtZ2的生长,而对照菌株的生长则未受明显影响,说明重组菌可部分利用葡萄糖作为碳源生长。     

Regulation of hydrogenase formation is temperature sensitive and plasmid coded in Alcaligenes eutrophus

Alcaligenes eutrophus grew well autotrophically with molecular hydrogen at 30 degrees C, but failed to grow at 37 degrees C (Hox Ts). At this temperature the strain grew well heterotrophically with a variety of organic compounds and with formate as an autotrophic substrate, restricting the thermolabile character to hydrogen metabolism. The soluble hydrogenase activity was stable at 37 degrees C. The catalytic properties of the wild-type enzyme were identical to those of a mutant able to grow lithoautotrophically at 37 degrees C (Hox Tr). Soluble hydrogenase was not rapidly degraded at elevated temperatures since the preformed enzyme remained stable for at least 5 h in resting cells or was diluted by growth, as shown in temperature shift experiments. Immunochemical studies revealed that the formation of the hydrogenase proteins was temperature sensitive. No cross-reactivity was detected above temperatures of 34 degrees C. The genetic information of Hox resides on a self-transmissible plasmid in A. eutrophus. Using Hox Tr mutants as donors of hydrogen-oxidizing ability resulted in Hox+ transconjugants which not only had recovered plasmid pHG1 and both hydrogenase activities but also were temperature resistant. This is evidence that the Hox Tr phenotype is coded by plasmid pHG1.     

Chromosomal and plasmid locations for phosphoribulokinase genes in Alcaligenes eutrophus.

Genes coding for phosphoribulokinase (PRK), a key enzyme of the Calvin cycle, were localized in the genome of the chemoautotroph Alcaligenes eutrophus. The NH2-terminal sequence of the PRK subunit was determined. With a synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide probe complementary to a portion of this sequence, hybridization analysis revealed PRK genes to be located on both the chromosome and the megaplasmid pHG1 of A. eutrophus H16.     

Cloning of cold-active alkaline phosphatase gene of a psychrophile,Shewanella sp., and expression of the recombinant enzyme

A psychrophilic alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) from Shewanella sp. is a cold-active enzyme that has high catalytic activity at low temperature [Ishida et al. (1998) Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem., 62, 2246-2250]. Here, we identified the nucleotide sequence of a gene encoding the enzyme after cloning with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and inverted PCR techniques. The deduced amino acid sequence of the enzyme contained conserved amino acids found among mesophilic alkaline phosphatases and showed some structural characteristics including a high content of hydrophobic amino acid residues and the lack of single alpha-helix compared with the alkaline phosphatase of Escherichia coli, which were possibly efficient for catalytic reaction at low temperatures. The recombinant enzyme expressed in E. coli was purified to homogeneity with the molecular mass of 41 kDa. The recombinant enzyme had a specific activity of 1,500 units/mg and had high catalytic activity at low temperatures.     

Cloning of the argF gene encoding the ornithine carbamoyltransferase from Corynebacterium glutamicum.

The argF gene encoding ornithine carbamoyl-transferase (OTCase; EC2.1.3.3) has been cloned from Corynebacterium glutamicum by transforming the Escherichia coli arginine auxotroph with the genomic DNA library. The cloned DNA also complements the E. coli argG mutant, suggesting a clustered organization of the genes in the genome. We have determined the DNA sequence of the minimal fragment complementing the E. coli argF mutant. The coding region of the cloned gene is 957 nucleotides long with a deduced molecular mass of about 35 kDa polypeptide. The enzyme activity and size of the expressed protein in the E. coli auxotroph carrying the argF gene revealed that the cloned gene indeed codes for OTCase. Analysis of the amino acid sequence of the predicted protein revealed a strong similarity to the corresponding protein of other bacteria.     

Identification of cfxR, an activator gene of autotrophic CO2 fixation in Alcaligenes eutrophus

A regulatory gene, cfxR, involved in the carbon dioxide assimilation of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 has been characterized through the analysis of mutants. The function of cfxR is required for the expression of two cfx operons that comprise structural genes encoding Calvin cycle enzymes. CfxR (34.8 kDa) corresponds with an open reading frame of 954 bp, with a translational initiation codon 167 bp upstream of the chromosomal cfx operon. The cfx operon and cfxR are transcribed divergently. The N-terminal sequence of CfxR is very similar to those of bacterial regulatory proteins belonging to the LysR family. Heterologous expression of cfxR in Escherichia coli was achieved using the pT7-7 system. Mobility shift experiments demonstrated that CfxR is a DNA-binding protein with a target site upstream of both the chromosomal and the plasmid-encoded cfx operons.     

Structural gene (nirS) for the cytochrome cd1 nitrite reductase of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16.

Denitrification by Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 is genetically linked to megaplasmid pHG1. Unexpectedly, the gene encoding the nitrite reductase (nirS) was identified on chromosomal DNA. The nirS product showed extensive homology with periplasmic nitrite reductases of the heme cd1-type. Disruption of nirS abolished nitrite-reducing ability, indicating that NirS is the enzyme essential for denitrification in A.eutrophus.     

Cloning and expression of a nitroaryl reductase gene from Streptomyces aminophilus strain MCMB411 in E. coli JM109 and Streptomyces lividans TK64

A partial genomic library was prepared in E. coli JM109 using pBR322 as vector and 2.4 kb Sau 3A I chromosomal fragment, encoding a nitroaryl reductase (nbr A) gene, from Streptomyces aminophilus strain MCMB 411. From the library, 2.4 kb fragment was recloned in E. coli JM109 and S. lividans TK64 using pUC18 and pIJ702 as vectors respectively. The recombinant plasmids pSD103 and pSD105 expressed the reductase gene and exported the enzyme in periplasmic space of E. coli and in cytoplasm of S. lividans TK64. The proteins expressed by E. coli and S. lividans had the same molecular mass (70 kD) as that expressed by parent strain, which suggested that the enzyme was processed similarly by all strains. Activities of the enzymes cloned in E. coli JM109 and S. lividans TK64 containing recombinant plasmids pSD103 and pSD105 respectively were optimum at 30 degrees C and pH 9 and requirement of cofactors was same as that of the parent strain.