Luminous bacteria synthesize luciferase anaerobically

Four species of luminous bacteria, Photobacterium phosphoreum, P. leiognathi, P. fischeri and Beneckea harveyi (two strains of each), were shown to synthesize luciferase anaerobically. One of these, P. phosphoreum, produced as much luciferase anaerobically as it did aerobically, and all four species were found to grow almost equally rapidly under the two sets of conditions. Previous work with B. harveyi and P. fischeri had shown that aerobic luciferase synthesis can proceed only after an inhibitor in the complex medium has been removed and a species-specific autoinducer secreted. All strains tested also removed the inhibitor and secreted an autoinducer anaerobically. The small amount of luciferase produced anaerobically by some strains is thus apparently not due either to lack of removal of inhibitor or to insufficient production of autoinducer but may involve an oxygen-dependent control mechanism.Abbreviations LU light units - OD optical density     

Purification of lumazine proteins from Photobacterium leiognathi and Photobacterium phosphoreum: bioluminescence properties

Bright strains of the marine bioluminescent bacterium Photobacterium leiognathi produce a "lumazine protein" in amounts comparable to that previously found in Photobacterium phosphoreum. New protocols are developed for the purification to homogeneity of the proteins from both species in yields up to 60%. In dimmer strains the amounts of lumazine protein in extracts are less, and also there is an accompanying shift of the bioluminescence spectral maximum to longer wavelength, 492 nm. Both types of lumazine proteins have identical fluorescence spectra, with maxima at 475 nm, so it is suggested that, whereas lumazine protein is the major emitter in bright strains, there is a second emitter also present with a fluorescence maximum at longer wavelength. The two species of lumazine protein have the same 276 nm/visible absorbance ratio, 2.2, but differ in visible maxima: P. phosphoreum, 417 nm; P. leiognathi, 420 nm. For the latter the bound lumazine has epsilon 420 = 10 100 M-1 cm-1, practically the same as in free solution. The two lumazine proteins also differ quantitatively in their effect on the in vitro bioluminescence reaction, i.e., at blue shifting the bioluminescence spectrum or altering the kinetics. The P. phosphoreum lumazine protein is more effective with its homologous luciferase or with P. leiognathi luciferase than is the lumazine protein from P. leiognathi. These differences may have an electrostatic origin.     

Rapid identification of marine bioluminescent bacteria by amplified 16S ribosomal RNA gene restriction analysis

To rapidly identify natural isolates of marine bioluminescent bacteria, we developed amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) methods. ARDRA, which is based on the restriction patterns of 16S rRNA gene digested with five enzymes (EcoRI, DdeI, HhaI, HinfI, RsaI), clearly distinguished the 14 species of marine bioluminescent bacteria currently known, which belong to the genera Vibrio, Photobacterium, and Shewanella. When we applied ARDRA to 129 natural isolates from two cruises in Sagami Bay, Japan, 127 were grouped into six ARDRA types with distinctive restriction patterns; these isolates represented the bioluminescent species, P. angustum, P. leiognathi, P. phosphoreum, S. woodyi, V. fischeri, and V. harveyi. The other two isolates showing unexpected ARDRA patterns turned out to have 16S rRNA gene sequences similar to P. leiognathi and P. phosphoreum. Nevertheless, ARDRA provides a simple and fairly robust means for rapid identification of the natural isolates of marine bioluminescent bacteria, and is therefore useful in studying their diversity.     

Detection of luciferase gene sequence in nonluminescent Vibrio cholerae by colony hybridization and polymerase chain reaction.

Bioluminescence is a trait observed among approximately 10% of Vibrio cholerae isolates. We have demonstrated that not only do some strains of V. cholerae produce low levels of light, undetectable by the human eye, but the luciferase gene sequence is present in strains of V. cholerae which emit no detectable light, evidenced by hybridization with a luciferase DNA probe. Comparisons of the amino acid sequences of luciferase enzymes of marine species have shown that these proteins have diverged to the point where they have only short regions of amino acid identity. The polymerase chain reaction method of DNA amplification with oligonucleotide primers based on these regions was used to isolate a region of the luxA gene from both luminescent and nonluminescent V. cholerae strains. The nucleotide sequence of this region was determined and reveals that nonluminescent V. cholerae have 99.7% nucleotide sequence similarity in this region with the luminescent biovar V. cholerae bv. albensis as well as significant similarity to other species of bioluminescent bacteria, a finding that is in accord with the hypothesis that these species have a common luminescent ancestor, most probably from the marine environment.     

Detection of luciferase gene sequence in nonluminescent Vibrio cholerae by colony hybridization and polymerase chain reaction.

Bioluminescence is a trait observed among approximately 10% of Vibrio cholerae isolates. We have demonstrated that not only do some strains of V. cholerae produce low levels of light, undetectable by the human eye, but the luciferase gene sequence is present in strains of V. cholerae which emit no detectable light, evidenced by hybridization with a luciferase DNA probe. Comparisons of the amino acid sequences of luciferase enzymes of marine species have shown that these proteins have diverged to the point where they have only short regions of amino acid identity. The polymerase chain reaction method of DNA amplification with oligonucleotide primers based on these regions was used to isolate a region of the luxA gene from both luminescent and nonluminescent V. cholerae strains. The nucleotide sequence of this region was determined and reveals that nonluminescent V. cholerae have 99.7% nucleotide sequence similarity in this region with the luminescent biovar V. cholerae bv. albensis as well as significant similarity to other species of bioluminescent bacteria, a finding that is in accord with the hypothesis that these species have a common luminescent ancestor, most probably from the marine environment.     

Physical characterization of lumazine proteins from Photobacterium

The physicochemical properties of Photobacterium lumazine proteins have been investigated. The molecular weights obtained by several physical techniques are in good agreement, and the averages are 2% and 8% higher than the minimum molecular weights from amino acid and ligand content. The average molecular weights, sedimentation coefficients, and molecular radii are respectively the following: Photobacterium leiognathi lumazine protein, 21 200 +/- 300, 2.18 S, and 22.9 A; Photobacterium phosphoreum lumazine protein, 21 300 +/- 500, 2.16 S, and 23.0 A. The hydrations of the lumazine proteins, estimated in several ways, indicate less hydration for P. leiognathi than for P. phosphoreum. The frictional ratios corrected for hydration give axial ratios less than 1.3 for both lumazine proteins. These values agree with those obtained by a combination of rotational and translational frictional parameters and elimination of the common hydrated volume terms. There is insufficient area on the exterior surface to accommodate hydration when the lumzine proteins are considered as smooth-surfaced ellipsoids. The required surface area can be accommodated however by surface roughness with a minimum of 30% internal water.     

Chemical characterization of lumazine protein from Photobacterium leiognathi: comparison with lumazine protein from Photobacterium phosphoreum

The properties of lumazine proteins purified from the marine bioluminescent bacteria Photobacterium phosphoreum, a psychrophile, and Photobacterium leiognathi, a relatively thermophilic species, are compared. An accurate 1:1 stoichiometry of binding of the ligand 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine to each lumazine protein is established by back-titration of the apoprotein with the authentic ligand, using both fluorescence and absorption measurements. Neither protein contains metal cofactors, organic phosphorus, or carbohydrate. Both proteins are anionic and hydrophilic. They each contain a single Trp residue and have blocked amino terminals but otherwise differ in amino acid composition and other properties (P. phosphoreum and P. leiognathi, respectively): Met (internal), 1, 2; Cys, 2, 1; Arg, 4, 7; pI, 4.78 and 4.83, 4.38 and 4.45; Mr, 19 750, 21 300. In the P. phosphoreum protein both Cys residues are accessible, but in the P. leiognathi protein the single Cys is "buried". Modification of this buried Cys and at least one Cys in the P. phosphoreum protein prevents binding of the ligand. The UV and visible absorption spectra of both lumazine proteins denatured in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride can be accurately modeled by using the number of equivalents of the lumazine derivative and blocked aromatic amino acid model compounds determined by chemical and spectrophotometric analyses for Trp, Tyr, and Phe.     

Characterization of marine luminous bacteria isolated off the Coast of China and description ofVibrio orientalis sp. nov.

Luminous strains of marine bacteria, isolated off the Coast of China, were subjected to a phenotypic characterization, which included a test of their ability to utilize 82 organic compounds as sole or principal sources of carbon and energy. A numerical analysis of the data revealed five clusters which were readily identified asPhotobacterium phosphoreum, P. leiognathi, Vibrio harveyi, andV. splendidus biotype I. The remaining cluster of luminous isolates was phenotypically distinct from all the previously described species ofVibrio andPhotobacterium and was given the species designation,Vibrio orientalis. This species differed from all the other luminous species ofVibrio by its ability to accumulate poly-β-hydroxybutyrate as an intracellular reserve product. Additional distinctive properties were the presence of an arginine dihydrolase system, growth at 4° but not 40°C, and the ability to utilize putrescine and spermine.     

Immunological relationships of glutamine synthetases from marine and terrestrial enterobacteria

Glutamine synthetase (GS) fromBeneckea alginolytica strain 90 was purified to homogeneity as indicated by sodium dodecyl sulface polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme was injected into rabbits, and the antiserum, as well as previously prepared antiserum against the GS fromEscherichia coli, was used in Ouchterlony double diffusion experiments. From the results of these studies, the marine and terrestrial enterobacteria could be separated into five major groups consisting of (i)Beneckea and related organisms, (ii)Photobacterium phosphoreum, P. leiognathi, andP. angustum, (iii) species ofAeromonas, (iv)Xenorhabdus luminescens, and (v) species of terrestrial enterobacteria. Evidence is presented that inB. alginolytica, as in other Gramnegative eubacteria, GS activity is regulated by adenylylation and deadenylylation.     

The lux genes of the luminous bacterial symbiont, Photobacterium leiognathi, of the ponyfish. Nucleotide sequence, difference in gene organization, and high expression in mutant Escherichia coli

The lux genes required for light expression in the luminescent bacterium Photobacterium leiognathi (ATCC 25521) have been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and their organization and nucleotide sequence determined. Transformation of a recombinant 9.5-kbp chromosomal DNA fragment of P. leiognathi into an E. coli mutant (43R) gave luminescent colonies that were as bright as those of the parental strain. Moreover, expression of the lux genes in the mutant E. coli was strong enough so that not only were high levels of luciferase detected in crude extracts, but the fatty-acid reductase activity responsible for synthesis of the aldehyde substrate for the luminescent reaction could readily be measured. Determination of the 7.3-kbp nucleotide sequence of P. leiognathi DNA, including the genes for luciferase (luxAB) and fatty-acid reductase (luxCDE) as well as a new lux gene (luxG) found recently in luminescent Vibrio species, showed that the order of the lux genes was luxCDABEG. Moreover, luxF, a gene homologous to luxB and located between luxB and luxE in Photobacterium but not Vibrio strains, was absent. In spite of this different lux gene organization, an intergenic stem-loop structure between luxB and luxE was discovered to be highly conserved in other Photobacterium species after luxF.     

Synthesis of reserve polyhydroxyalkanoates by luminescent bacteria

The ability of marine luminescent bacteria to synthesize polyesters of hydroxycarboxylic acids (polyhydroxyalkanoates, PHA) as reserve macromolecules was studied. Twenty strains from the collection of the luminescent bacteria CCIBSO (WDCM839) of the Institute of Biophysics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, assigned to different taxa (Photobacterium leiognathi, Ph. phosphoreum, Vibrio harveyi, and V. fischeri) were analyzed. The most productive strains were identified, and the conditions ensuring high polymer yields in batch culture (40–70% of the cell dry mass weight) were determined. The capacity for synthesizing two-and three-component polymers containing hydroxybutyric acid as the main monomer and hydroxyvaleric and hydroxyhexanoic acids was revealed in Ph. leiognathi and V. harveyi strains. The results allow luminescent microorganisms to be regarded as new producers of multicomponent polyhydroxyalkanoates.     

Electronic excitation transfer in the complex of lumazine protein with bacterial bioluminescence intermediates

Fluorescence dynamics measurements have been made on the bioluminescence reaction intermediates using Photobacterium leiognathi, Vibrio fischeri, and Vibrio harveyi luciferases, both alone and in mixtures with Photobacterium phosphoreum lumazine protein. Each luciferase produces a "fluorescent transient" intermediate on reaction with the bioluminescence substrates, FMNH2, tetradecanal, and O2, and all have a fluorescence quantum yield about 0.3, with a predominant lifetime around 10 ns. The P. leiognathi luciferase fluorescent transient has a rotational correlation time of 79 ns at 2 degrees C, as expected for the rotational diffusion of a 77-kDa macromolecule. In the presence of lumazine protein however a faster correlation time of about 3 ns predominates. This rapid channel of anisotropy loss is attributed to energy transfer from the flavin intermediate bound on the luciferase to the lumazine ligand, reflects the presence of protein-protein complexation, and is greatest in the case of P. leiognathi, but not at all for V. fischeri. This fact is consistent with the strong influence of lumazine protein on the bioluminescence reaction of P. leiognathi, and not at all with V. fischeri. The rate of energy transfer is of order 10(9) s-1, much greater than the 10(8) s-1 fluorescence rate of the donor. Thus the bioluminescence excitation of lumazine protein could occur by a similar photophysical mechanism of interprotein energy transfer from a chemically excited fluorescent transient donor to the lumazine acceptor.     

Sensitivity of Vibrio and Aeromonas to antibiotics]

The antibiotic sensitivity of 696 cultures belonging to the family Vibrionaceae (V. cholerae O1, V. cholerae non-O1, V. albensis, V. parahaemolyticus, V. alginolyticus and Aeromonas spp.) was studied and general regularities of the antibiotic sensitivity were shown: a high sensitivity to broad-spectrum antibiotics (tetracycline and chloramphenicol) and a low sensitivity to ++beta lactams (carbenicillin and ampicillin). The comparative examinations revealed similarity in the antibioticograms of V. cholerae O1 (el Tor++), V. cholerae non-O1 and V. albensis, especially the latter two groups, as well as the tested halophilic Vibrio cultures by the range of the MICs, Mo, Me and the nature of the antibiotic resistance. Cultures of V. cholerae and luminescent Vibrio tended to preserve a high sensitivity. High resistance levels were noted in the halophilic Vibrio and Aeromonas cultures. No significant differences in the sensitivity of the strains of various origin (from man and environmental objects) were detected. However, several more resistant strains were isolated from the environmental objects.     

Nonbioluminescent strains of Photobacterium phosphoreum produce the cell-to-cell communication signal N-(3-Hydroxyoctanoyl)homoserine lactone

Bioluminescence is a common phenotype in marine bacteria, such as Vibrio and Photobacterium species, and can be quorum regulated by N-acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs). We extracted a molecule that induced a bacterial AHL monitor (Agrobacterium tumefaciens NT1 [pZLR4]) from packed cod fillets, which spoil due to growth of Photobacterium phosphoreum. Interestingly, AHLs were produced by 13 nonbioluminescent strains of P. phosphoreum isolated from the product. Of 177 strains of P. phosphoreum (including 18 isolates from this study), none of 74 bioluminescent strains elicited a reaction in the AHL monitor, whereas 48 of 103 nonbioluminescent strains did produce AHLs. AHLs were also detected in Aeromonas spp., but not in Shewanella strains. Thin-layer chromatographic profiles of cod extracts and P. phosphoreum culture supernatants identified a molecule similar in relative mobility (Rf value) and shape to N-(3-hydroxyoctanoyl)homoserine lactone, and the presence of this molecule in culture supernatants from a nonbioluminescent strain of P. phosphoreum was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography-positive electrospray high-resolution mass spectrometry. Bioluminescence (in a non-AHL-producing strain of P. phosphoreum) was strongly up-regulated during growth, whereas AHL production in a nonbioluminescent strain of P. phosphoreum appeared constitutive. AHLs apparently did not influence bioluminescence, as the addition of neither synthetic AHLs nor supernatants delayed or reduced this phenotype in luminescent strains of P. phosphoreum. The phenotypes of nonbioluminescent P. phosphoreum strains regulated by AHLs remains to be elucidated.     

Structure and Arrangement of Flagella in Species of the Genus Beneckea and Photobacterium fischeri

Species of marine bacteria belonging to the genus Beneckea and strains of Photobacterium fischeri were negatively stained and examined by means of the electron microscope to determine the structure and arrangement of their flagella. All of the species of the genus Beneckea had single, polar, sheathed flagella when grown in liquid medium. When grown on solid medium, most strains of B. campbellii and B. neptuna and all strains of B. alginolytica and B. parahaemolytica had unsheathed, peritrichous flagella in addition to the single, sheathed, polar flagellum. The remaining species, B. nereida, B. pelagia, and B. natriegens, had a single, polar, sheathed flagellum when grown on solid medium. Strains of P. fischeri had sheathed flagella arranged in polar tufts. Only one group (B-2) of marine bacteria included in this study was found to have polar, unsheathed flagella.     

Development of species-specific hybridization probes for marine luminous bacteria by using in vitro DNA amplification.

By using two highly conserved region of the luxA gene as primers, polymerase chain reaction amplification methods were used to prepare species-specific probes against the luciferase gene from four major groups of marine luminous bacteria. Laboratory studies with test strains indicated that three of the four probes cross-reacted with themselves and with one or more of the other species at low stringencies but were specific for members of their own species at high stringencies. The fourth probe, generated from Vibrio harveyi DNA, cross-reacted with DNAs from two closely related species, V. orientalis and V. vulnificus. When nonluminous cultures were tested with the species-specific probes, no false-positive results were observed, even at low stringencies. Two field isolates were correctly identified as Photobacterium phosphoreum by using the species-specific hybridization probes at high stringency. A mixed probe (four different hybridization probes) used at low stringency gave positive results with all of the luminous bacteria tested, including the terrestrial species, Xenorhabdus luminescens, and the taxonomically distinct marine bacterial species Shewanella hanedai; minimal cross-hybridization with these species was seen at higher stringencies.     

Development of species-specific hybridization probes for marine luminous bacteria by using in vitro DNA amplification.

By using two highly conserved region of the luxA gene as primers, polymerase chain reaction amplification methods were used to prepare species-specific probes against the luciferase gene from four major groups of marine luminous bacteria. Laboratory studies with test strains indicated that three of the four probes cross-reacted with themselves and with one or more of the other species at low stringencies but were specific for members of their own species at high stringencies. The fourth probe, generated from Vibrio harveyi DNA, cross-reacted with DNAs from two closely related species, V. orientalis and V. vulnificus. When nonluminous cultures were tested with the species-specific probes, no false-positive results were observed, even at low stringencies. Two field isolates were correctly identified as Photobacterium phosphoreum by using the species-specific hybridization probes at high stringency. A mixed probe (four different hybridization probes) used at low stringency gave positive results with all of the luminous bacteria tested, including the terrestrial species, Xenorhabdus luminescens, and the taxonomically distinct marine bacterial species Shewanella hanedai; minimal cross-hybridization with these species was seen at higher stringencies.     

Conditions that influence bacterial luminescence in the presence of blood serum

Conditions that influence the luminescence of natural and recombinant luminescent bacteria in the presence of blood serum were studied. In general, blood serum quenched the luminescence of the marine Photobacterium phosphoreum and the recombinant Escherichia coli strains harboring the luminescent system genes of Photobacterium leiognathi, but enhanced the luminescence of the soil bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens Zm1 and the recombinant E. coli strain harboring the lux operon of P. luminescens Zm1. The quenching effect of blood serum increased with its concentration and the time and temperature of incubation. The components of blood serum that determine the degree and specificity of its action on bacterial luminescence were identified.     

Genomic and phylogenetic characterization of luminous bacteria symbiotic with the deep-sea fish Chlorophthalmus albatrossis (Aulopiformes: Chlorophthalmidae)

Bacteria forming light-organ symbiosis with deep-sea chlorophthalmid fishes (Aulopiformes: Chlorophthalmidae) are considered to belong to the species Photobacterium phosphoreum. The identification of these bacteria as P. phosphoreum, however, was based exclusively on phenotypic traits, which may not discriminate between phenetically similar but evolutionarily distinct luminous bacteria. Therefore, to test the species identification of chlorophthalmid symbionts, we carried out a genomotypic (repetitive element palindromic PCR genomic profiling) and phylogenetic analysis on strains isolated from the perirectal light organ of Chlorophthalmus albatrossis. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene of 10 strains from 5 fish specimens placed these bacteria in a cluster related to but phylogenetically distinct from the type strain of P. phosphoreum, ATCC 11040(T), and the type strain of Photobacterium iliopiscarium, ATCC 51760(T). Analysis of gyrB resolved the C. albatrossis strains as a strongly supported clade distinct from P. phosphoreum and P. iliopiscarium. Genomic profiling of 109 strains from the 5 C. albatrossis specimens revealed a high level of similarity among strains but allowed identification of genomotypically different types from each fish. Representatives of each type were then analyzed phylogenetically, using sequence of the luxABFE genes. As with gyrB, analysis of luxABFE resolved the C. albatrossis strains as a robustly supported clade distinct from P. phosphoreum. Furthermore, other strains of luminous bacteria reported as P. phosphoreum, i.e., NCIMB 844, from the skin of Merluccius capensis (Merlucciidae), NZ-11D, from the light organ of Nezumia aequalis (Macrouridae), and pjapo.1.1, from the light organ of Physiculus japonicus (Moridae), grouped phylogenetically by gyrB and luxABFE with the C. albatrossis strains, not with ATCC 11040(T). These results demonstrate that luminous bacteria symbiotic with C. albatrossis, together with certain other strains of luminous bacteria, form a clade, designated the kishitanii clade, that is related to but evolutionarily distinct from P. phosphoreum. Members of the kishitanii clade may constitute the major or sole bioluminescent symbiont of several families of deep-sea luminous fishes.     

A calorimetric investigation of the growth of the luminescent bacteria Beneckea harveyi and Photobacterium leiognathi.

Direct calorimetric determinations of the rate of heat production along with simultaneous determinations of the rate of photon emission and the number of viable cells have provided insight into the growth of Beneckea harveyi and Photobacterium leiognathi. These experiments were performed with a Tronac isothermal microcalorimeter modified with a fiber optic light guide to allow in situ detection of light. Escherichia coli and a dark variant of P. leiognathi were also examined to provide points of reference. It is demonstrated that B. harveyi seems to pause in the rate of metabolic heat production at the same point in time that the enzyme luciferase begins to be synthesized. This effect is not removed if B. harveyi is grown in conditioned medium. The thermograms for all species are correlated with cell generation time. The heat production per cell indicates that uncrowded cultures produce more heat than older, more crowded cultures, supporting the original observation of Bayne-Jones and Rhees (1929). These observations reopen for examination the suggestion that living systems tend toward a state of minimum metabolism per unit mass.