Drosophila Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase gene confers resistance to paraquat in Escherichia coli

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is known to protect organisms from reactive oxygen metabolites. We tested the hypothesis that the Drosophila Cu,Zn SOD is capable of protecting Escherichia coli from oxidative damage caused by the herbicide paraquat. The Cu,Zn Sod gene of Drosophila sechellia was subcloned into pET-20b(+) expression vector. Transformation of E. coli with the constructed vector resulted in an overexpression of this eukaryotic superoxide dismutase, as evidenced by dramatically increased levels of the Cu,Zn SOD polypeptide in bacterial cytosolic extracts. As well, the E. coli transformants showed resistance to paraquat-mediated inhibition of growth and survival. Paraquat is known to promote formation of the superoxide radical anion inside cells and thus the data have been interpreted as indicating that the cloned superoxide dismutase provides protection in E. coli against damage attributable to free radicals.     

Light-dependent expression of superoxide dismutase from cyanobacterium<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Synechocystis</Emphasis> sp. strain PCC 6803

The oxygenic phototrophic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 inevitably evolves superoxide during photosynthesis. Synechocystis 6803 contains only one type of superoxide dismutase, designated as SodB; therefore, this protein plays an important role in preventing oxidative damages caused by light. Because there was no direct evidence that SodB in Synechocystis 6803 could be regulated by light, the relationship between SodB and light was investigated in the present study. The activity of SodB from the cells grown in continuous light culture was about 3.5-fold higher than that from the cells cultivated in continuous dark. Illumination maximally activated SodB within 12 h. The level of sodB mRNA increased 12-fold by light, and that of SodB protein proportionally. Therefore, the expression and activity of SodB from Synechocystis 6803 were dependent on the light.     

集胞藻PCC6803中S2P同源蛋白基因sll0862缺失突变株对热胁迫与氧化胁迫的响应

原核生物中S2P参与应答外界环境刺激,然而行光合作用的蓝细菌-集胞藻PCC6803的S2P同源蛋白功能未知。【目的】考察集胞藻PCC6803中S2P同源蛋白sll0862是否参与外界环境刺激的应答。【方法】监测在高温和氧化胁迫的条件下sll0862基因缺失突变株与野生株在生长速率或存活率上的差异,利用水样调制叶绿素荧光仪(water-PAM,脉冲-振幅-调制叶绿素荧光仪)测量在高温和氧化胁迫的条件下突变株与野生株叶绿素荧光参数的差异,来考察其光合作用差异。【结果】sll0862突变株与野生株在正常的培养环境中生长速率并无差异,但是将sll0862突变株与野生株在48℃加热处理半小时后,sll0862突变株的存活率明显低于野生株。当初始OD730值为0.1的藻液中添加终浓度为1 mmol/L双氧水的时候,sll0862突变株的生长速率比野生株明显低,而且氧化胁迫条件下突变株与野生株的调制叶绿素荧光有差异。【结论】集胞藻PCC6803中sll0862基因的缺失导致突变体对高温与氧化胁迫响应出现缺陷,提示有功能的sll0862参与响应热和氧化胁迫。研究结果为进一步阐述S2P同源蛋白sll0862在集胞藻PCC6803中的功能奠定基础。     

The Escherichia coli btuE gene, encodes a glutathione peroxidase that is induced under oxidative stress conditions

Most aerobic organisms are exposed to oxidative stress. Looking for enzyme activities involved in the bacterial response to this kind of stress, we focused on the btuE-encoded Escherichia coli BtuE, an enzyme that shares homology with the glutathione peroxidase (GPX) family. This work deals with the purification and characterization of the btuE gene product.Purified BtuE decomposes in vitro hydrogen peroxide in a glutathione-dependent manner. BtuE also utilizes preferentially thioredoxin A to decompose hydrogen peroxide as well as cumene-, tert-butyl-, and linoleic acid hydroperoxides, confirming that its active site confers non-specific peroxidase activity. These data suggest that the enzyme may have one or more organic hydroperoxide as its physiological substrate.The btuE gene was induced when cells were exposed to oxidative stress elicitors that included potassium tellurite, menadione and hydrogen peroxide, among others, suggesting that BtuE could participate in the E. coli response to reactive oxygen species. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a glutathione peroxidase in E. coli.     

Identification of genes expressed in response to acid stress in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 using DNA microarrays

Plant cells are always exposed to various environmental stresses such as high light, low temperature and acid rain, and thus have to respond in order to survive these stresses. Although some mechanisms of responses to high light and low temperature etc., have been clarified, there is little information about the acclimation process to acid stress. In this study, the gene expression changes of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in response to acid stress were examined using DNA microarrays (CyanoCHIP). We compared gene expression profiles of the cells treated at pH 8 (control) and pH 3 for 0.5, 1, 2 or 4 h. As a result, we found that 32 genes were upregulated by more than 3-fold, and 29 genes were downregulated by at least 3-fold after the acid treatment. Among these upregulated genes, expressions of slr0967 and sll0939 kept-increasing until 4 h under the acid stress and increased by 7 to 16-fold after the 4 h treatment. This suggests that the products of these two genes play important roles in the acid acclimation process.     

Microevolution in Cyanobacteria: Re-sequencing a Motile Substrain of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a widely used model cyanobacterium for studying photosynthesis, phototaxis, the production of biofuels and many other aspects. Here we present a re-sequencing study of the genome and seven plasmids of one of the most widely used Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 substrains, the glucose tolerant and motile Moscow or ‘PCC-M’ strain, revealing considerable evidence for recent microevolution. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) specifically shared between ‘PCC-M’ and the ‘PCC-N and PCC-P’ substrains indicate that ‘PCC-M’ belongs to the ‘PCC’ group of motile strains. The identified indels and SNPs in ‘PCC-M’ are likely to affect glucose tolerance, motility, phage resistance, certain stress responses as well as functions in the primary metabolism, potentially relevant for the synthesis of alkanes. Three SNPs in intergenic regions could affect the promoter activities of two protein-coding genes and one cis-antisense RNA. Two deletions in ‘PCC-M’ affect parts of clustered regularly interspaced short palindrome repeats-associated spacer-repeat regions on plasmid pSYSA, in one case by an unusual recombination between spacer sequences.     

Identification of substrain-specific mutations by massively parallel whole-genome resequencing of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, was the first photosynthetic organism whose genome sequence was determined in 1996 (Kazusa strain). It thus plays an important role in basic research on the mechanism, evolution, and molecular genetics of the photosynthetic machinery. There are many substrains or laboratory strains derived from the original Berkeley strain including glucose-tolerant (GT) strains. To establish reliable genomic sequence data of this cyanobacterium, we performed resequencing of the genomes of three substrains (GT-I, PCC-P, and PCC-N) and compared the data obtained with those of the original Kazusa strain stored in the public database. We found that each substrain has sequence differences some of which are likely to reflect specific mutations that may contribute to its altered phenotype. Our resequence data of the PCC substrains along with the proposed corrections/refinements of the sequence data for the Kazusa strain and its derivatives are expected to contribute to investigations of the evolutionary events in the photosynthetic and related systems that have occurred in Synechocystis as well as in other cyanobacteria.     

Computational protein structure modeling and analysis of UV-B stress protein in Synechocystis PCC 6803

This study focuses on Ultra Violet stress (UVS) gene product which is a UV stress induced protein from cyanobacteria, Synechocystis PCC 6803. Three dimensional structural modeling of target UVS protein was carried out by homology modeling method. 3F2I pdb from Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 was selected as a suitable template protein structure. Ultimately, the detection of active binding regions was carried out for characterization of functional sites in modeled UV-B stress protein. The top five probable ligand binding sites were predicted and the common binding residues between target and template protein was analyzed. It has been validated for the first time that modeled UVS protein structure from Synechocystis PCC 6803 was structurally and functionally similar to well characterized UVS protein of another cyanobacterial species, Nostoc sp PCC 7120 because of having same structural motif and fold with similar protein topology and function. Investigations revealed that UVS protein from Synechocystis sp. might play significant role during ultraviolet resistance. Thus, it could be a potential biological source for remediation for UV induced stress.     

Genomic Structure of the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 Strain GT-S

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is the most popular cyanobacterial strain, serving as a standard in the research fields of photosynthesis, stress response, metabolism and so on. A glucose-tolerant (GT) derivative of this strain was used for genome sequencing at Kazusa DNA Research Institute in 1996, which established a hallmark in the study of cyanobacteria. However, apparent differences in sequences deviating from the database have been noticed among different strain stocks. For this reason, we analysed the genomic sequence of another GT strain (GT-S) by 454 and partial Sanger sequencing. We found 22 putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in comparison to the published sequence of the Kazusa strain. However, Sanger sequencing of 36 direct PCR products of the Kazusa strains stored in small aliquots resulted in their identity with the GT-S sequence at 21 of the 22 sites, excluding the possibility of their being SNPs. In addition, we were able to combine five split open reading frames present in the database sequence, and to remove the C-terminus of an ORF. Aside from these, two of the Insertion Sequence elements were not present in the GT-S strain. We have thus become able to provide an accurate genomic sequence of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for future studies on this important cyanobacterial strain.     

Effects of temperature shifts on growth rate and lipid characteristics of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 in a bench-top photobioreactor

Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 exhibited a high degree of variation in biomass and lipid production rates in response to temperature changes in a photobioreactor. Compared with an optimal temperature of 30-33°C, a higher temperature of 44°C and lower temperatures of 22°C and 18°C severely inhibited the specific growth rate (up to a 66% decrease), biomass production rate (up to a 71% decrease), nutrient utilization rates (up to a 77% decrease), and lipid production rate (up to a 80% decrease). Temperature stress triggered changes in the relative percentage of individual fatty acids (mainly for C16:0 and C18:3), and degree of unsaturation significantly changed: 0.87 at 30°C, 0.62 at 44°C, and 1.29 at 18°C. Although PCC6803 survived temperature stress and maintained its predominate position in the culture, it could not fully recover from long-term temperature stress. Thus, avoiding prolonged exposure to extreme temperature is crucial for using PCC6803 as feedstock for biofuel production.     

Identification of novel targets of cyanobacterial glutaredoxin

Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are small ubiquitous glutathione-disulfide oxidoreductase that reduce disulfide bonds of target proteins and maintain the redox homoeostasis of cells. Disruption of ssr2061 reduced the viability of cells indicated Grx2061 has a protective role against oxidative stress in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. To understand the function of Grx2061 in cyanobacteria and its difference from plant, Grx targets were retained specifically on an affinity media coupled with a mutated monocysteinic Grx and identified by mass spectra. Among 42 identified targets, 26 of them are novel ones compared with those known in higher plants. These proteins are supposed to be involved in 12 cellular processes including oxidative stress response, Calvin cycle, protein synthesis, and etc. Biochemical tests highlighted four of them which showed a Grx-dependent activation of peroxiredoxin and deactivation of catalase. Oxidized Grx2061 could keep redox equilibrium with another probable Grx and be reduced by thioredoxin reductase, indicating that Grx2061 can accept electrons from either glutathione or thioredoxin reductase. Our studies suggest Grx2061 in cyanobacteria plays an important role in redox network and its targets are as extensive as that in other organisms.     

Construction of an Escherichia coli K-12 strain deleted for manganese and iron superoxide dismutase genes and its use in cloning the iron superoxide dismutase gene of Legionella pneumophila.

Summary An Escherichia coli K-12 strain deleted for sodA and sodB (manganese and iron superoxide dismulases) was constructed and characterized by Southern blotting, enzyme assays, and physiological analyses. The sod deletion strain was used to clone the iron superoxide dismutase gene of Legionella pneumophila by complementation to paraquat resistance.     

Identification of trimethylation at C-terminal lysine of pilin in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803

Various post-translational modifications (PTMs) of pilin in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 have been proposed. In this study, we investigated previously unidentified PTMs of pilin by mass spectrometry (MS). MALDI-TOF MS and TOF/TOF MS showed that the molecular mass of the C-terminal lysine of pilin was increased by 42 Da, which could represent acetylation (ΔM = 42.0470) or trimethylation (ΔM = 42.0106). To discriminate between these isobaric modifications, the molecular mass of the C-terminal tryptic peptide was measured using 15T Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) MS. The high magnetic field FT-ICR provided sub-ppm mass accuracy, revealing that the C-terminal lysine was modified by trimethylation. We could also detect the existence of mono- and di-methylation of the C-terminal lysine. Cells expressing a pilin point mutant with glutamine replacing the C-terminal lysine showed dramatically reduced motility and short pili. These findings suggest that trimethylation of pilin at the C-terminal lysine may be essential for the biogenesis of functional pili.     

EXAFS investigation of the active site of iron superoxide dismutase of Escherichia coli and Propionibacterium shermanii

The local structure of the iron site in ferric superoxide dismutase from P. shermanii was analyzed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The metal-ligand cluster of the enzyme is found to be similar to the crystallographically investigated ferric superoxide dismutase from E. coli. At pH 6.4 the enzyme is five-fold coordinated with three histidines, an aspartate and a water molecule. The average bond lengths between the metal and the histidines are about 2.10 Å, between metal and aspartate they are about 1.86 Å and between metal and water 1.96 Å. With an increase in pH a change in the coordination number from five to six is observed both in pre-edge peak and EXAFS spectra analysis. However, the bond lengths of the ligands do not change dramatically, they are conserved for the aspartate and increase slightly to 2.13 Å for the average metal - histidine distance at pH 9.3. The observation of the increase in coordination number is correlated with a decrease in enzymatic activity which occurs in the high pH range. The zinc EXAFS spectra of P. shermanii superoxide dismutase have shown that zinc can be incorporated in the active center instead of the iron.     

Cloning expression and analysis of phytochelatin synthase (pcs) gene from Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 offering multiple stress tolerance in Escherichia coli

Phytochelatin synthase (PCS) is involved in the synthesis of phytochelatins (PCs), plays role in heavy metal detoxification. The present study describes for first time the functional expression and characterization of pcs gene of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 in Escherichia coli in terms of offering protection against heat, salt, carbofuron (pesticide), cadmium, copper, and UV-B stress. The involvement of pcs gene in tolerance to above abiotic stresses was investigated by cloning of pcs gene in expression vector pGEX-5X-2 and its transformation in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The E. coli cells transformed with pGEX-5X-pcs showed better growth than control cells (pGEX-5X-2) under temperature (47 °C), NaCl (6% w/v), carbofuron (0.025 mg ml⁻¹), CdCl₂ (4 mM), CuCl₂ (1 mM), and UV-B (10 min) exposure. The enhanced expression of pcs gene revealed by RT-PCR analysis under above stresses at different time intervals further advocates its role in tolerance against above abiotic stresses.     

Role of respiration and glutathione in cadmium-induced oxidative stress in Escherichia coli K-12

Cadmium is a widespread pollutant that has been associated with oxidative stress, but the mechanism behind this effect in prokaryotes is still unclear. In this work, we exposed two glutathione deficient mutants (ΔgshA and ΔgshB) and one respiration deficient mutant (ΔubiE) to a sublethal concentration of cadmium. The glutathione mutants show a similar increase in reactive oxygen species as the wild type. Experiments performed using the ΔubiE strain showed that this mutant is more resistant to cadmium ions and that Cd-induced reactive oxygen species levels were not altered. In the light of these facts, we conclude that the interference of cadmium with the respiratory chain is the cause of the oxidative stress induced by this metal and that, contrary to previously proposed models, the reactive oxygen species increase is not due to glutathione depletion, although this peptide is crucial for cadmium detoxification.