Transformation by extracellular DNA produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains are capable of producing extracellular DNA. Very closely linked chromosomal markers (leu+ and trp+) were co-transferred to P. aeruginosa PAO1819 (leu9001, trp9008) by the extracellular DNA produced by P. aeruginosa strains IFO3445 and PAO1 at a frequency of 10(-7) to 10(-8). Treatment of the extracellular DNA with DNase, heating at 95 C or sonication completely destroyed its transforming ability. The R plasmid in the extracellular DNA produced by P. aeruginosa IFO3445 (RP4) or PAO2142 (RLb679) could be transferred to Escherichia coli ML4901 or P. aeruginosa PAO1819. The resultant transformants showed identical resistance patterns in the respective donors, and the sizes of the DNAs of RLb679 and RP4 isolated from the transformants were the same as those in the respective donors. These results demonstrate that the extracellular DNA contains both chromosomal DNA and plasmid DNA, and that it exhibits transforming ability. This implies that transformation by the extracellular DNA produced by P. aeruginosa may occur in nature and this seems to be of clinical importance in view of the spread of R plasmids among pathogens.     

Mechanism of foreign DNA recognition by a CRISPR RNA-guided surveillance complex from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The Type I-F CRISPR-mediated (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) adaptive immune system in Pseudomonas aeruginosa consists of two CRISPR loci and six CRISPR-associated (cas) genes. Foreign DNA surveillance is performed by a complex of Cas proteins (Csy1–4) that assemble with a CRISPR RNA (crRNA) into a 350-kDa ribonucleoprotein called the Csy complex. Here, we show that foreign nucleic acid recognition by the Csy complex proceeds through sequential steps, initiated by detection of two consecutive guanine–cytosine base pairs (G–C/G–C) located adjacent to the complementary DNA target. We show that this motif, called the PAM (protospacer adjacent motif), must be double-stranded and that single-stranded PAMs do not provide significant discriminating power. Binding assays performed with G–C/G–C-rich competitor sequences indicate that the Csy complex interacts directly with this dinucleotide motif, and kinetic analyses reveal that recognition of a G–C/G–C motif is a prerequisite for crRNA-guided binding to a target sequence. Together, these data indicate that the Csy complex first interacts with G–C/G–C base pairs and then samples adjacent target sequences for complementarity to the crRNA guide.     

DNA gyrase (Topoisomerase II) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

DNA gyrase (Topoisomerase II) has been purified from Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO. This enzyme is inhibited by novobiocin and nalidixic acid. DNA gyrase from P. aeruginosa is resistant to a much higher level of nalidixic acid than is Escherichia coli DNA gyrase. This increased level of resistance may explain, at least in part, the higher levels of natural resistance exhibited by P. aeruginosa toward nalidixic acid.     

DNA vaccines against chronic lung infections by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Vaccines containing outer membrane protein F (OprF) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa are effective in reducing lesion severity in a mouse pulmonary chronic infection model. One OprF-based vaccine, called F/I, contains carboxy oprF sequences fused to oprI in an expression vector. When delivered three times biolistically by gene gun, the F/I vaccine induces protection that is antibody-mediated in outbred mice. To demonstrate the role of F/I-induced antibody-mediated immunity, B-cell-deficient [B(-)] and B-cell-intact [B(+)] mice were immunized with F/I, challenged with Pseudomonas, and examined for lesion severity. As expected, F/I-immunized B(+) mice had fewer and less severe lesions than vector-immunized B(+) mice. However, surprisingly, F/I- and vector-immunized B(-) mice were equally protected to levels similar to F/I-immunized B(+) mice. Examination of immune cell populations and cytokine levels indicated a relative increase in the quantity of CD3+ T-lymphocytes in vector- or F/I-immunized and challenged B(-) mice compared to B(+) mice. These data indicate the protective role played by cell-mediated immunity in B(-) mice, which supports our hypothesis that cell-mediated immunity can play an important role in protection against P. aeruginosa.     

Respiratory stimulation and generation of superoxide radicals in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by fungal naphthoquinones

The mechanism of action of antimicrobial naphthoquinones from the fungus Fusarium was studied by using Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Bostricoidin, methyl ether fusarubin, and fusarubin stimulated the oxygen consumption of bacterial cells and induced cyanide-insensitive oxygen consumption. These activities of the tested compounds were also observed in bacterial membrane preparations in a dose-dependent manner. Naphthoquinones stimulated the generation of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide. The naphthoquinone effectively acted as the electron acceptors for bacterial diaphorase, which could explain the antibacterial activity of Fusarium naphthoquinones since electron acceptors lead to the stimulation of respiratory activity and the generation of oxygen radical species. Received: 12 July 1996 / Accepted: 31 October 1996     

Inactivation of allantoinase from Pseudomonas aeruginosa by a subunit of urease

Cell-free extracts prepared from Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells, cultured in a medium containing allantoin as sole source of carbon, nitrogen and energy and harvested in the stationary phase, contain an enzymicly inactive allantoinase-inhibitor complex. Pure inhibitor was isolated by dissociation of this complex followed by gelfiltration. The inhibitor had a molecular weight of about 5500 daltons. Association between inhibitor and allantoinase was demonstrated by gelfiltration and by polyacrylamide gel-electrophoresis. The inhibitor was unstable in the absence of 1 M urea and the inactivation was accompanied by aggregate formation and appearance of urease activity. The inhibitor was also isolated from cells containing urease but no allantoinase. It was concluded that the inhibitor is a subunit of urease. Inhibitors isolated from P. aeruginosa and P. acidovorans cells were active against both allantoinase from P. aeruginosa and allantoinase from P. acidovorans.     

Acquisition of iron from citrate by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Transport of [14C]citrate, ferric [14C]citrate and [55Fe]ferric citrate into Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown in synthetic media containing citrate, succinate, or succinate and citrate as carbon and energy sources was measured. Cells grown in citrate-containing medium transported radiolabelled citrate and iron, whereas the succinate-grown cells transported iron but not citrate. Binding studies revealed that isolated outer and inner membranes of citrate-grown cells contain a citrate receptor, absent from membranes of succinate-grown cells. [55Fe]Ferric citrate bound to the isolated outer membranes of each cell type. The failure of citrate to compete with this binding suggests the presence of a ferric citrate receptor on the outer membranes of each cell type. Citrate induced the synthesis of two outer-membrane proteins of 41 and 19 kDa. A third protein of 17 kDa was more dominant in citrate-grown cells than in succinate-grown cells.     

Isolation of inc P-2 plasmid DNA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Plasmids of the Inc P-2 group found in Pseudomonas species have a buoyant density between 1.716 and 1.721 g/ml. This makes it possible to resolve them from the P. aeruginosa chromosome in analytical CsCl gradients. DNA of a CAM-OCT::Tn401 plasmid will separate from the P. aeruginosa chromosome in two cycles of centrifugation in CsCl without dye in a vertical rotor. Addition of the AT-specific dye Hoechst 33258 permits quantitative isolation of Inc P-2 plasmid DNA in a single overnight centrifugation. Restriction endonuclease analysis of isolated plasmid DNAs reveals molecular weights in excess of 200 megadaltons for all Inc P-2 plasmids examined. This high molecular weight may explain the difficulty in isolating these plasmids by more conventional methods.     

Nutritional factors controlling exocellular protease production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A defined medium capable of supporting growth and exocellular protease production by clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been developed. Control of protease production is effected by a mixture of three amino acids and glucose.     

Nitrite Formation from Hydroxylamine and Oximes by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Nitrite was formed from hydroxylamine and several oximes by intact cells and extracts of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The activity was induced by the presence of oximes in the culture medium. Nitroalkanes were not intermediates in the conversion of acetaldoxime, acetone oxime, or butanone oxime to nitrite, since nitromethane inhibited the formation of nitrite from the nitro compounds but not from the corresponding oximes. The oxime apparently functions as a constant source of hydroxylamine during growth of the bacterium. Hydroxylamine at low concentration was converted stoichiometrically to nitrite by extracts of the bacterium; high concentrations were inhibitory. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, oxygen, and other unidentified cofactors were necessary for the reaction. Actively nitrifying extracts possessed no hydroxylamine-cytochrome c reductase activity. Hyponitrite, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide were not metabolized.     

Reconstitution of a minimal mtDNA replisome in vitro

We here reconstitute a minimal mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replisome in vitro. The mtDNA polymerase (POLgamma) cannot use double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) as template for DNA synthesis. Similarly, the TWINKLE DNA helicase is unable to unwind longer stretches of dsDNA. In combination, POLgamma and TWINKLE form a processive replication machinery, which can use dsDNA as template to synthesize single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules of about 2 kb. The addition of the mitochondrial ssDNA-binding protein stimulates the reaction further, generating DNA products of about 16 kb, the size of the mammalian mtDNA molecule. The observed DNA synthesis rate is 180 base pairs (bp)/min, corresponding closely to the previously calculated value of 270 bp/min for in vivo DNA replication. Our findings provide the first biochemical evidence that TWINKLE is the helicase at the mitochondrial DNA replication fork. Furthermore, mutations in TWINKLE and POLgamma cause autosomal dominant progressive external ophthalmoplegia (adPEO), a disorder associated with deletions in mitochondrial DNA. The functional interactions between TWINKLE and POLgamma thus explain why mutations in these two proteins cause an identical syndrome.     

Fatty acids synthesized from hexadecane by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Romero, Ethel M. (Universidad Nacional de la Plata, La Plata, Argentina), and Rodolfo M. Brenner. Fatty acids synthesized from hexadecane by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J. Bacteriol. 91:183-188. 1966.-The lipids extracted from Pseudomonas aeruginosa incubated with hexadecane in a mineral medium were separated into a nonpolar and three polar fractions by thin-layer chromatography. The fatty acid composition of the four cellular fractions and that of the lipids excreted into the medium was studied by gas-liquid chromatography. Saturated fatty acids with 14 to 22 carbons were recognized, together with monoenoic, dienoic, and hydroxylated acids. Hydroxylated fatty acids were principally found in two polar fractions containing rhamnose and glucose; the other polar fraction, containing serine, alanine, ethanolamine, and leucine, was richer in monoenoic fatty acids. Octadecadienoic acid was found in the neutral fraction.     

Biosurfactant synthesis by Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI isolated from a hydrocarbon-contaminated site

Aims: Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI (Industrial Biotechnology Laboratory) was isolated from hydrocarbon-contaminated soil as a potential producer of biosurfactant and evaluated for hydrocarbon biodegradation. The emulsifying power and stability of the product was assessed in the laboratory, simulating water contamination with benzene, toluene, kerosene, diesel oil and crude oil at various concentrations. Methods and Results: Bacteria were grown at 30°C and shaken at 200 rpm for 168 h, with three repetitions. Surface tension, pH and biosurfactant stability were observed in the cell-free broth after 168 h of incubation. The strain was able to produce biosurfactant and grow in all the carbon sources under study, except benzene and toluene. When cultivated in 30% (w/v) diesel oil, the strain produced the highest quantities (9·9 g l⁻¹) of biosurfactant. The biosurfactant was capable of emulsifying all the hydrocarbons tested. Conclusion: The results from the present study demonstrate that Ps. aeruginosa LBI can grow in diesel oil, kerosene, crude oil and oil sludge and the biosurfactant produced has potential applications in the bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. Significance and Impact of the Study: Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI or the biosurfactant it produces can be used in the bioremediation of environmental pollution induced by industrial discharge or accidental hydrocarbon spills.     

Mechanism of stimulation by a specific protein factor of de novo DNA synthesis by mouse DNA replicase with fd phage single stranded circular DNA.

Mouse DNA replicase is a functional multienzyme complex consisting of DNA polymerase and DNA primase. The DNA and initiator RNA syntheses by DNA replicase with single stranded DNA as template are stimulated by a stimulating factor (T. Yagura, T. Kozu and T. Seno, 1982, J. Biochem. (Tokyo).91, 607-618). The action mechanism of the stimulating factor on this novel DNA synthesis with fd phage single stranded circular DNA as template was studied. The stimulating factor directly stimulated initiator RNA synthesis but did not change the length of either initiator RNA (8 to 10 nucleotides long) or the product DNA (300 to 1,000 nucleotides long). Kinetic studies and analysis of the products by neutral agarose gel electrophoresis show that the stimulating factor increased the affinity of DNA replicase for template DNA without changing the apparent Km values for deoxy- and ribonucleotide substrates. Thus, in combination with a sufficient amount of the stimulating factor, DNA replicase quantitatively converted the template DNA to the position of double-stranded circular replicative form II DNA, as shown by agarose gel electrophoresis.