The Respiratory System of the Piezophile Photobacterium profundum SS9 Grown under Various Pressures

It is known that the facultative piezophile Shewanella violacea DSS12 alters its respiratory components under the influence of hydrostatic pressure during growth. This can be considered one of the mechanisms of bacterial adaptation to high pressure. In this study, we investigated the respiratory system of another well-studied piezophile, Photobacterium profundum SS9. We analyzed cytochrome contents, the expression of genes encoding respiratory components in P. profundum SS9 grown under various conditions, and the pressure dependency of the terminal oxidase activities. Activity was more tolerant of relatively high pressures, such as 125 MPa when the cells were grown under high pressure as compared with cells grown under atmospheric pressure. Such properties observed are similar to the case of S. violacea. However, the contents of the cytochromes and expression of the respiratory genes were not influenced by growth pressure in P. profundum SS9, inconsistent with the case of S. violacea. We suggest that the mechanism of the piezoadaptation of the respiratory system of P. profundum SS9 differs from that of S. violacea, as described above, and that each strain chooses its own strategy.     

Piezotolerance of the respiratory terminal oxidase activity of the piezophilic Shewanella violacea DSS12 as compared with non-piezophilic Shewanella species

The facultative piezophile Shewanella violacea DSS12 is known to alter its respiratory components under the influence of hydrostatic pressure during growth, suggesting that it has a respiratory system that functions in adaptation to high pressure. We investigated the pressure- and temperature-dependencies of the respiratory terminal oxidase activity of the membrane of S. violacea relative to non-piezophilic Shewanella species. We observed that the activity in the membrane of S. violacea was more resistant to high pressure than those of non-piezophilic Shewanella even though DSS12 was cultured under atmospheric pressure. On the other hand, the temperature dependency of this activity was almost the same for all of the tested strain regardless of optimal growth temperature. Both high pressure and low temperature are expected to lower protein flexibility, causing a decrease in enzyme activity, but the results of this study suggest that the mechanism maintaining enzyme activity under high hydrostatic pressure is different from that at low temperature. Additionally, the responses of the activity to the pressure- and temperature-changes were independent of membrane lipid composition. Therefore, the piezotolerance of the respiratory terminal oxidases of S. violacea is perhaps dependent on the properties of the protein itself and not on the lipid composition of the membrane. Our observations suggest that S. violacea constitutively express piezotolerant respiratory terminal oxidases that serve adaptation to the deep-sea environment.     

Regulation of Cytochrome c- and Quinol Oxidases,and Piezotolerance of Their Activities in the Deep-Sea Piezophile Shewanella violacea DSS12 in Response to Growth Conditions

The facultative piezophile Shewanella violacea DSS12 is known to have respiratory components that alter under the influence of hydrostatic pressure during growth, suggesting that its respiratory system is adapted to high pressure. We analyzed the expression of the genes encoding terminal oxidases and some respiratory components of DSS12 under various growth conditions. The expression of some of the genes during growth was regulated by both the O₂ concentration and hydrostatic pressure. Additionally, the activities of cytochrome c oxidase and quinol oxidase of the membrane fraction of DSS12 grown under various conditions were measured under high pressure. The piezotolerance of cytochrome c oxidase activity was dependent on the O₂ concentration during growth, while that of quinol oxidase was influenced by pressure during growth. The activity of quinol oxidase was more piezotolerant than that of cytochrome c oxidase under all growth conditions. Even in the membranes of the non-piezophile Shewanella amazonensis, quinol oxidase was more piezotolerant than cytochrome c oxidase, although both were highly piezosensitive as compared to the activities in DSS12. By phylogenetic analysis, piezophile-specific cytochrome c oxidase, which is also found in the genome of DSS12, was identified in piezophilic Shewanella and related genera. Our observations suggest that DSS12 constitutively expresses piezotolerant respiratory terminal oxidases, and that lower O₂ concentrations and higher hydrostatic pressures induce higher piezotolerance in both types of terminal oxidases. Quinol oxidase might be the dominant terminal oxidase in high-pressure environments, while cytochrome c oxidase might also contribute. These features should contribute to adaptation of DSS12 in deep-sea environments.     

Effects of ionophores and TPMP+ on light-induced responses in Dictyostelium discoideum

In spite of previous reports, the activities of respiratory oxygen uptake by whole cells are higher with chemotrophically than with phototrophically grown cells of Rhodospirillum rubrum and Rhodospirillum tenue. The same applies to NADH dependent respiratory reactions as determined with isolated crede membrane preparations. This is largely, but not only, due to an outstandingly high increase in activity of cytochrome c-oxidase measurable upon adaptation of phototrophically grown cells to chemotrophic conditions. In R. rubrum the dependency of the total respiratory chain on the activities of different sections of this chain becomes confused by the presence of differently composed membranes (i.e. cytoplasmic and intracytoplasmic membranes) which under the experimental conditions become functionally differentiated to different extents. But in R. tenue, which does not produce intracytoplasmic membranes, respiration at low activities parallels clearly cytochrome c oxidase activities while high respiratory activities parallel the activities of NADH dehydrogenase. The data are interpreted to indicate that, in cells of facultative phototrophic bacteria, the formation of the respiratory chain, up to certain stages, depends on the formation of the terminal oxidase. At least in R. tenue this is comparable to the role of bacteriochlorophyll in the formation of the photosynthetic apparatus.Abbreviation Bchl bacteriochlorophyll     

Analysis of the respiratory chain in Ethanologenic Zymomonas mobilis with a cyanide-resistant bd-type ubiquinol oxidase as the only terminal oxidase and its possible physiological roles

The respiratory chain of the ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis was investigated, in which the pyruvate-to-ethanol pathway has been demonstrated to be mainly responsible for NADH oxidation and the tricarboxylic acid cycle is incomplete. Membranes from cells cultivated under aerobic or anaerobic growth conditions showed dehydrogenase and oxidase activities for NADH, D-lactate and D-glucose and ubiquinol oxidase activity. Intriguingly, the NADH oxidase activity level of membrane fractions from cells grown aerobically was found to be higher than that of membrane fractions from Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas putida grown aerobically, indicating a crucial role of the respiratory chain in NADH oxidation in the organism. Cyanide-resistant terminal oxidase activity was observed and appeared to be due to a bd-type ubiquinol oxidase as the only terminal oxidase encoded by the entire genome. The terminal oxidase with a relatively strong ubiquinol oxidase activity exhibited remarkably weak signals of cytochrome d. Considering these findings and the presence of a type-II NADH dehydrogenase but not a type-I, a simple respiratory chain that generates less energymay have evolved in Z. mobilis.     

Change of the terminal oxidase from cytochrome a1 in shaking cultures to cytochrome o in static cultures of Acetobacter aceti.

Acetobacter aceti has an ability to grow under two different culture conditions, on shaking submerged cultures and on static pellicle-forming cultures. The respiratory chains of A. aceti grown on shaking and static cultures were compared, especially with respect to the terminal oxidase. Little difference was detected in several oxidase activities and in cytochrome b and c contents between the respiratory chains of both types of cells. Furthermore, the results obtained here suggested that the respiratory chains consist of primary dehydrogenases, ubiquinone, and terminal ubiquinol oxidase, regardless of the culture conditions. There was a remarkable difference, however, in the terminal oxidase, which is cytochrome a1 in cells in shaking culture but cytochrome o in cells grown statically. Change of the culture condition from shaking to static caused a change in the terminal oxidase from cytochrome a1 to cytochrome o, which is concomitant with an increase of pellicle on the surface of the static culture. In contrast, reappearance of cytochrome a1 in A. aceti was attained only after serial successive shaking cultures of an original static culture; cytochrome a1 predominated after the culture was repeated five times. In the culture of A. aceti, two different types of cells were observed; one forms a rough-surfaced colony, and the other forms a smooth-surfaced colony. Cells of the former type predominated in the static culture, while the cells of the latter type predominated in the shaking culture. Thus, data suggest that a change of the culture conditions, from static to shaking or vice versa, results in a change of the cell type, which may be related to the change in the terminal oxidase from cytochrome a1 to cytochrome o in A. aceti.     

Membrane-bound respiratory of Spirillum itersonii.

The membrane-bound respiratory system of the gram-negative bacterium Spirillum itersonii was investigated. It contains cytochromes b (558), c (550), and o (558) and beta-dihydro-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and succinate oxidase activities under all growth conditions. It is also capable of producing D-lactate and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenases when grown with lactate or glycerol as sole carbon source. Membrane-bound malate dehydrogenase was not detectable under any conditions, although there is high activity of soluble nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide: malate dehydrogenase. When grown with oxygen as the sole terminal electron acceptor, approximately 60% of the total b-type cytochrome is present as cytochrome o, whereas only 40% is present as cytochrome o in cells grown with nitrate in the presence of oxygen. Both NADH and succinate oxidase are inhibited by azide, cyanide, antimycin A, and 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxidase at low concentrations. The ability of these inhibitors to completely inhibit oxidase activity at low concentrations and their effects upon the aerobic steady-state reduction levels of b- and c-type cytochromes as well as the aerobic steady-state reduction levels obtained with NADH, succinate, and ascorbate-dichlorophenolindophenol suggest that presence of an unbranched respiratory chain in S. itersonii with the order ubiquinone leads to b leads to c leads to c leads to oxygen.     

The respiratory electron transport system of heterotrophically-grown Rhodopseudomonas palustris.

The enzymatic activities and the cytochrome components of the respiratory chain were investigated with membrane fractions from chemoheterotrophically growth Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Whereas the level of electron transfer carriers was not distinctly affected by a change of the culture conditions, the potential activities of the enzymes were clearly increased when the cells were grown aerobically. Reduced-minus oxidized difference spectra of the membrane fractions prepared from dark aerobically grown cells revealed the presence of three beta-types cytochromes b561, b560 and b558, and at least two c-type cytochromes c556 and c2 as electron carriers in the electron transfer chain. Cytochrome of a-type could not be detected in these membranes. Reduced plus CO minus reduced difference spectra of the membrane fractions were indicative of cytochrome o, which may be equivalent to cytochrome b560, appearing in substrate-reduced minus oxidized difference spectra. Cytochrome o was found to be the functional terminal oxidase. CO difference spectra of the high speed supernatant fraction indicated the presence of cytochrome c'. Succinate and NADH reduced the same types of cytochromes. However, a considerable amount of cytochrome b561 with associated beta and gamma bands at 531 and 429 nm, respectively, was reducible by succinate, but not by NADH. A substantial fraction of the membrane-bound b-type cytochrome was non-substrate reducible and was found in dithionite-reduced minus substrate-reduced spectra. Cytochrome c2 may be localized in a branch of the electron transport system, with the branch-point at the level of ubiquinone. The separate pathways rejoined at a common terminal oxidase. Two terminal oxidases with different KCN sensitivity were present in the respiratory chain, one of which was sensitive to low concentrations of KCN and was connected with the cytochrome chain. The other terminal oxidase which was inhibited only by high concentrations of cyanide was located in a branched pathway, through which the electrons could flow from ubiquinone to oxygen bypassing the cytochrome chain.     

Pressure response in deep-sea piezophilic bacteria

Several piezophilic bacteria have been isolated from deep-sea environments under high hydrostatic pressure. Taxonomic studies of the isolates showed that the piezophilic bacteria are not widely distributed in terms of taxonomic positions, and all were assigned to particular branches of the Proteobacteria gamma-subgroup. A pressure-regulated operon from piezophilic bacteria of the genus Shewanella, S. benthica and S. violacea, was cloned and sequenced, and downstream of this operon another pressure regulated operon, cydD-C, was found. The cydD gene was found to be essential for the bacterial growth under high-pressure conditions, and the product of this gene was found to play a role in their respiratory system. Results obtained later indicated that the respiratory system in piezophilic bacteria may be important for survival in a high-pressure environment, and more studies focusing on other components of the respiratory chain have been conducted. These studies suggested that piezophilic bacteria are capable of changing their respiratory system in response to pressure conditions, and a proposed respiratory chain model has been suggested in this regard.     

Influences of growth substrates and oxygen on the electron transport system in Acinetobacter sp. HO1-N.

The electron transport system of Acinetobacter sp. HO1-N was studied to determine the specific cytochromes and to measure changes in the composition of the respiratory system due to growth in various concentrations of oxygen or types of growth substrates. Spectrophotometric analysis revealed that the quantity and types of cytochromes changed in response to growth under various concentrations of oxygen. Growth on alkane and nonalkane substrates resulted in only minor differences in cytochrome composition or oxidase activities. Membranes prepared from cells grown under oxygen-limiting conditions contained at least one b-type cytochrome, cytochrome o, cytochrome d, and slight traces of cytochrome a1, whereas membranes prepared from cells grown in the presence of high oxygen concentrations contained only low levels of cytochromes b and o. Polarographic measurements, electron transport inhibitor studies, and photoaction spectrum analyses indicated that cytochromes o, a1, and d were potentially capable of functioning as terminal oxidases in this organism. These experiments also revealed that all three cytochromes may be involved in the oxidation of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, succinate, or N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine.     

Eicosapentaenoic acid plays a role in stabilizing dynamic membrane structure in the deep-sea piezophile Shewanella violacea: a study employing high-pressure time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurement

Shewanella violacea DSS12 is a psychrophilic piezophile that optimally grows at 30MPa. It contains a substantial amount of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in the membrane. Despite evidence linking increased fatty acid unsaturation and bacterial growth under high pressure, little is known of how the physicochemical properties of the membrane are modulated by unsaturated fatty acids in vivo. By means of the newly developed system performing time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurement under high pressure (HP-TRFAM), we demonstrate that the membrane of S. violacea is highly ordered at 0.1MPa and 10°C with the order parameter S of 0.9, and the rotational diffusion coefficient D(w) of 5.4μs(-1) for 1-[4-(trimethylamino)pheny]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene in the membrane. Deletion of pfaA encoding the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid synthase caused disorder of the membrane and enhanced the rotational motion of acyl chains, in concert with a 2-fold increase in the palmitoleic acid level. While the wild-type membrane was unperturbed over a wide range of pressures with respect to relatively small effects of pressure on S and D(w), the ΔpfaA membrane was disturbed judging from the degree of increased S and decreased D(w). These results suggest that EPA prevents the membrane from becoming hyperfluid and maintains membrane stability against significant changes in pressure. Our results counter the generally accepted concept that greater fluidity is a membrane characteristic of microorganisms that inhabit cold, high-pressure environments. We suggest that retaining a certain level of membrane physical properties under high pressure is more important than conferring membrane fluidity alone.     

Tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine oxidase reaction in Azotobacter vinelandii.

It was possible to quantitate the tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) oxidase reaction in Azotobacter vinelandii strain O using turbidimetrically standarized resting cell suspensions. The Q(O2) value obtained for whole cell oxidation of ascorbate-TMPD appeared to reflect the full measure of the high respiratory oxidative capability usually exhibited by this genera of organisms. The Q(O2) value for the TMPD oxidase reaction ranged from 1,700 to 2,000 and this value was equivalent to that obtained for the oxidation of the growth substrate, e.g., acetate. The kinetic analyses for TMPD oxidation by whole cells was similar to that obtained for the "particulate" A. vinelandii electron transport particle, that fraction which TMPD oxidase activity is exclusively associated with. Under the conditions used, there appeared to be no permeability problems; TMPD (reduced by ascorbate) readily penetrated the cell and oxidized at a rate comparable to that of the growth substrate. This, however, was not true for the oxidation of another electron donor, 2,6-dichloroindophenol, whose whole cell Q(O2) values, under comparable conditions, were twofold lower. The TMPD oxidase activity in A. vinelandii whole cells was found to be affected by the physiological growth conditions, and resting cells obtained from cells grown on sucrose, either under nitrogen-fixing conditions or on nitrate as the combined nitrogen source, exhibited low TMPD oxidase rates. Such low TMPD oxidase rates were also noted for chemically induced pleomorphic A. vinelandii cells, which suggests that modified growth conditions can (i) alter the nature of the intracellular terminal oxidase formed (or induced), or (ii) alter surface permeability, depending upon the growth conditions used. Preliminary studies on the quantitative TMPD oxidation reaction in mutant whole cells of both Azotobacter and a well-known Mucor bacilliformis strain AY1, deficient in cytochrome oxidase activity, showed this assay can be very useful for detecting respiratory deficiencies in the metabolism of whole cells.     

Regulation of metabolic and electron transport pathways in the freshwater bacterium Beggiatoa leptomitiformis D-402

The biomass yield of freshwater filamentous sulfur bacteria of the genus Beggiatoa, when grown lithoheterotrophically or mixotrophically, has been shown to increase 2 to 2.5 times under microaerobic conditions (0.12 mg/l oxygen) as compared to aerobic conditions (9 mg/l oxygen). The activity of the glyoxylate cycle key enzymes have been found to increase two to three times under microaerobic conditions (at an O2 concentration of 2 mg/l), and the activities of the sulfur metabolism enzymes increased three to five times (at an O2 concentration of 0.1-0.5 mg/l). It has also been found that, under microaerobic conditions, thiosulfate was almost completely oxidized to sulfate by the bacteria, without accumulation of intermediate metabolites. At the same time, a 2- to 15-fold decrease in the activities of the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes involved in the reduction of NAD and FAD was observed. Reorganization of the respiratory chain after changes in aeration and type of nutrition was also observed. It has been found that, in cells grown heterotrophically, the terminal part of the respiratory chain contained an aa3-type oxidase, whereas, during mixotrophic, lithoheterotrophic, and autotrophic growth, aa3-type oxidase synthesis was inhibited, and the synthesis of a cbb3-type oxidase, which is induced under microaerobic conditions, was activated. The gene of the catalytic subunit CcoN of the cbb3-type oxidase was sequenced and proved to be highly homologous to the corresponding genes of other proteobacteria.     

Piezoresponse of the cyo-operon coding for quinol oxidase subunits in a deep-sea piezophilic bacterium, Shewanella violacea

We have isolated the genes for quinol oxidase from a deep-sea piezophilic bacterium, Shewanella violacea. Analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences of the cyo subunits showed that this oxidase has high similarity to Escherichia coli bo-type quinol oxidase. Northern blot analysis showed that these genes are expressed at a high level when the bacterium is grown at elevated pressure. Upstream in the cyo-operon, a sigma54-binding motif and an octamer sequence unit were found, suggesting that these elements may play a role in regulation of expression of the cyo-operon in response to changes in pressure.     

Favourable effects of eicosapentaenoic acid on the late step of the cell division in a piezophilic bacterium, Shewanella violacea DSS12, at high-hydrostatic pressures

Shewanella violacea DSS12, a deep-sea bacterium, produces eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) as a component of membrane phospholipids. Although various isolates from the deep sea, such as Photobacterium profundum SS9, Colwellia psychrerythraea 34H and various Shewanella strains, produce EPA- or docosahexaenoic acid-containing phospholipids, the physiological role of these polyunsaturated fatty acids remains unclear. In this article, we illustrate the physiological importance of EPA for high-pressure adaptation in strain DSS12 with the help of an EPA-deficient mutant (DSS12(pfaA)). DSS12(pfaA) showed significant growth retardation at 30 MPa, but not at 0.1 MPa. We also found that DSS12(pfaA) grown at 30 MPa forms filamentous cells. When an EPA-containing phospholipid (sn-1-oleoly-sn-2-eicosapentaenoyl phosphatidylethanolamine) was supplemented, the growth retardation and the morphological defect of DSS12(pfaA) were suppressed, indicating that the externally added EPA-containing phospholipid compensated for the loss of endogenous EPA. In contrast, the addition of an oleic acid-containing phospholipid (sn-1,2-dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine) did not affect the growth and the morphology of the cells. Immunofluorescent microscopic analysis with anti-FtsZ antibody revealed a number of Z-rings and separated nucleoids in DSS12(pfaA) grown at 30 MPa. These results demonstrate the physiological importance of EPA for the later step of Z-ring formation of S. violacea DSS12 under high-pressure conditions.     

Methanol and ethanol oxidase respiratory chains of the methylotrophic acetic acid bacterium, Acetobacter methanolicus.

Acetobacter methanolicus is a unique acetic acid bacterium which has a methanol oxidase respiratory chain, as seen in methylotrophs, in addition to its ethanol oxidase respiratory chain. In this study, the relationship between methanol and ethanol oxidase respiratory chains was investigated. The organism is able to grow by oxidizing several carbon sources, including methanol, glycerol, and glucose. Cells grown on methanol exhibited a high methanol-oxidizing activity and contained large amounts of methanol dehydrogenase and soluble cytochromes c. Cells grown on glycerol showed higher oxygen uptake rate and dehydrogenase activity with ethanol but little methanol-oxidizing activity. Furthermore, two different terminal oxidases, cytochrome c and ubiquinol oxidases, have been shown to be involved in the respiratory chain; cytochrome c oxidase predominates in cells grown on methanol while ubiquinol oxidase predominates in cells grown on glycerol. Both terminal oxidases could be solubilized from the membranes and separated from each other. The cytochrome c oxidase and the ubiquinol oxidase have been shown to be a cytochrome co and a cytochrome bo, respectively. Methanol-oxidizing activity was diminished by several treatments that disrupt the integrity of the cells. The activity of the intact cells was inhibited with NaCl and/or EDTA, which disturbed the interaction between methanol dehydrogenase and cytochrome c. Ethanol-oxidizing activity in the membranes was inhibited with 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline N-oxide, which inhibited ubiquinol oxidase but not cytochrome c oxidase. Alcohol dehydrogenase has been purified from the membranes of glycerol-grown cells and shown to reduce ubiquinone-10 as well as a short side-chain homologue in detergent solution.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Vitreoscilla hemoglobin aids respiration under hypoxic conditions in its native host

When Vitreoscilla were grown in medium containing 60mM sodium nitrite under both normal and limited aeration conditions, the levels of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) were decreased by greater than 90%, while the levels of the terminal respiratory oxidase, cytochrome bo, were increased 350% under normal aeration and 7-23% under limited aeration. Cytochrome function, as measured by both NADH and ubiquinol oxidases for cells grown under both conditions, increased in parallel (by 150-222% and 8-56%, respectively, for the two activities). Nitrite in the medium inhibited Vitreoscilla growth at both normal and limited aeration. The inhibition of VHb at 60mM nitrite decreased whole cell respiration to the greatest degree in stationary phase for growth in limited aeration conditions, which was the most oxygen poor condition tested. These results are consistent with the originally proposed role for VHb, as an aid to respiration under hypoxic conditions.