Newly identified cytochrome c oxidase operon in the nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 specifically induced in heterocysts

Two operons have been cloned from Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 DNA, each of which encodes the three core subunits of distinct mitochondrial-type cytochrome c oxidases. The two operons are only 72 to 85% similar to one another at the nucleotide level in the most conserved subunit. One of these, coxBACII, is induced >20-fold in the middle to late stages of heterocyst differentiation. Analysis of green fluorescent protein reporters indicates that this operon is expressed specifically in proheterocysts and heterocysts. The other operon, coxBACI, is induced only 2.5-fold following nitrogen step-down and is expressed in all cells. Surprisingly, a disruption mutant of coxAII, the gene encoding subunit I of the heterocyst-specific oxidase, grows normally in the absence of combined nitrogen. It is likely that coxBACI and/or two other putative terminal oxidases present in the Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 genome are able to compensate for the loss of the heterocyst-specific oxidase in providing ATP for nitrogen fixation and maintaining a low oxygen level in heterocysts.     

Respiratory terminal oxidases in the facultative chemoheterotrophic and dinitrogen fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis strain ATCC 29413: characterization of the cox2 locus

Upon nitrogen step-down, some filamentous cyanobacteria differentiate heterocysts, cells specialized for dinitrogen fixation, a highly oxygen sensitive process. Aerobic respiration is one of the mechanisms responsible for a microaerobic environment in heterocysts and respiratory terminal oxidases are the key enzymes of the respiratory chains. We used Anabaena variabilis strain ATCC 29413, because it is one of the few heterocyst-forming facultatively chemoheterotrophic cyanobacteria amenable to genetic manipulation. Using PCR with degenerate primers, we found four gene loci for respiratory terminal oxidases, three of which code for putative cytochrome c oxidases and one whose genes are homologous to cytochrome bd-type quinol oxidases. One cytochrome c oxidase, Cox2, was the only enzyme whose expression, tested by RT-PCR, was evidently up-regulated in diazotrophy, and therefore cloned, sequenced, and characterized. Up-regulation of Cox2 was corroborated by Northern and primer extension analyses. Strains were constructed lacking Cox1 (a previously characterized cytochrome c oxidase), Cox2, or both, which all grew diazotrophically. In vitro cytochrome c oxidase and respiratory activities were determined in all strains, allowing for the first time to estimate the relative contributions to total respiration of the different respiratory electron transport branches under different external conditions. Especially adding fructose to the growth medium led to a dramatic enhancement of in vitro cytochrome c oxidation and in vivo respiratory activity without significantly influencing gene expression.     

Respiratory terminal oxidases in the facultative chemoheterotrophic and dinitrogen fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis strain ATCC 29413: characterization of the cox2 locus

Upon nitrogen step-down, some filamentous cyanobacteria differentiate heterocysts, cells specialized for dinitrogen fixation, a highly oxygen sensitive process. Aerobic respiration is one of the mechanisms responsible for a microaerobic environment in heterocysts and respiratory terminal oxidases are the key enzymes of the respiratory chains. We used Anabaena variabilis strain ATCC 29413, because it is one of the few heterocyst-forming facultatively chemoheterotrophic cyanobacteria amenable to genetic manipulation. Using PCR with degenerate primers, we found four gene loci for respiratory terminal oxidases, three of which code for putative cytochrome c oxidases and one whose genes are homologous to cytochrome bd-type quinol oxidases. One cytochrome c oxidase, Cox2, was the only enzyme whose expression, tested by RT-PCR, was evidently up-regulated in diazotrophy, and therefore cloned, sequenced, and characterized. Up-regulation of Cox2 was corroborated by Northern and primer extension analyses. Strains were constructed lacking Cox1 (a previously characterized cytochrome c oxidase), Cox2, or both, which all grew diazotrophically. In vitro cytochrome c oxidase and respiratory activities were determined in all strains, allowing for the first time to estimate the relative contributions to total respiration of the different respiratory electron transport branches under different external conditions. Especially adding fructose to the growth medium led to a dramatic enhancement of in vitro cytochrome c oxidation and in vivo respiratory activity without significantly influencing gene expression.     

Evidence that the barrier to the penetration of oxygen into heterocysts depends upon two layers of the cell envelope

Mutants of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 with O₂-sensitive acetylene-reducing activity were studied to identify envelope components that contribute to the barrier limiting diffusion of oxygen into the heterocyst. Mutant strain EF114, deficient in a heterocyst-specific glycolipid, reduced acetylene only under strictly anaerobic conditions. Analysis of in vivo O₂ uptake as a function of dissolved pO₂ showed that EF114 has lost the low affinity, diffusion-limited respiratory component associated with heterocysts in wild-type filaments. The low affinity respiratory activity was also lost in EF116, a mutant in which the cohesiveness of the outer polysaccharide layer was reduced. Restoration of aerobic nitrogen fixation in a spontaneous revertant of EF116 and in a strain complemented with cosmid 41E11 was associated with restoration of the low affinity component of respiratory activity. The results provide evidence that the barrier to diffusion of gas into heterocysts depends upon both the glycolipid layer and the polysaccharide layer of the heterocyst envelope.Abbreviations DCMU 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea     

Septum-localized protein required for filament integrity and diazotrophy in the heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120

Heterocysts, formed when filamentous cyanobacteria, such as Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, are grown in the absence of combined nitrogen, are cells that are specialized in fixing atmospheric nitrogen (N(2)) under oxic conditions and that transfer fixed nitrogen to the vegetative cells of the filament. Anabaena sp. mutants whose sepJ gene (open reading frame alr2338 of the Anabaena sp. genome) was affected showed filament fragmentation and arrested heterocyst differentiation at an early stage. In a sepJ insertional mutant, a layer similar to a heterocyst polysaccharide layer was formed, but the heterocyst-specific glycolipids were not synthesized. The sepJ mutant did not exhibit nitrogenase activity even when assayed under anoxic conditions. In contrast to proheterocysts produced in the wild type, those produced in the sepJ mutant still divided. SepJ is a multidomain protein whose N-terminal region is predicted to be periplasmic and whose C-terminal domain resembles an export permease. Using a green fluorescent protein translationally fused to the carboxyl terminus of SepJ, we observed that in mature heterocysts and vegetative cells, the protein is localized at the intercellular septa, and when cell division starts, it is localized in a ring whose position is similar to that of a Z ring. SepJ is a novel composite protein needed for filament integrity, proper heterocyst development, and diazotrophic growth.     

Cell Wall Amidase AmiC1 Is Required for Cellular Communication and Heterocyst Development in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120 but Not for Filament Integrity

Filamentous cyanobacteria of the order Nostocales display typical properties of multicellular organisms. In response to nitrogen starvation, some vegetative cells differentiate into heterocysts, where fixation of N(2) takes place. Heterocysts provide a micro-oxic compartment to protect nitrogenase from the oxygen produced by the vegetative cells. Differentiation involves fundamental remodeling of the Gram-negative cell wall by deposition of a thick envelope and by formation of a neck-like structure at the contact site to the vegetative cells. Cell wall-hydrolyzing enzymes, like cell wall amidases, are involved in peptidoglycan maturation and turnover in unicellular bacteria. Recently, we showed that mutation of the amidase homologue amiC2 gene in Nostoc punctiforme ATCC 29133 distorts filament morphology and function. Here, we present the functional characterization of two amiC paralogues from Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. The amiC1 (alr0092) mutant was not able to differentiate heterocysts or to grow diazotrophically, whereas the amiC2 (alr0093) mutant did not show an altered phenotype under standard growth conditions. In agreement, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) studies showed a lack of cell-cell communication only in the AmiC1 mutant. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged AmiC1 was able to complement the mutant phenotype to wild-type properties. The protein localized in the septal regions of newly dividing cells and at the neck region of differentiating heterocysts. Upon nitrogen step-down, no mature heterocysts were developed in spite of ongoing heterocyst-specific gene expression. These results show the dependence of heterocyst development on amidase function and highlight a pivotal but so far underestimated cellular process, the remodeling of peptidoglycan, for the biology of filamentous cyanobacteria.     

Characterization of devA, a gene required for the maturation of proheterocysts in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.

Mutant M7, obtained by transposon mutagenesis of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, is impaired in the development of mature heterocysts. Under aerobic conditions, the mutant is unable to fix N2 because of a deficiency of at least two components of the oxygen-protective mechanisms: a hemoprotein-coupled oxidative reaction and heterocyst-specific glycolipids. DNA contiguous with the inserted transposon was recovered from the mutant and sequenced. The transposon had inserted itself within a 732-bp open reading frame designated devA. The wild-type form of devA, obtained from a lambda-EMBL3 library of Anabaena sp. DNA, had the identical sequence. Directed mutagenesis of devA in the wild-type strain showed that the phenotype of the mutant was caused by insertion of the transposon. The wild-type form of devA on a shuttle vector complemented the mutation in M7. Expression of devA by whole filaments, monitored following nitrogen stepdown by using luxAB as the reporter, increased ca. eightfold during differentiation; the increase within differentiating cells was much greater. The deduced sequence of the DevA protein shows strong similarity to the ATP-binding subunit of binding protein-dependent transport systems. The product of devA may, therefore, be a component of a periplasmic permease that is required for the transition from a proheterocyst to a mature, nitrogen-fixing heterocyst.     

H2, N2, and O2 metabolism by isolated heterocysts from Anabaena sp. strain CA.

Metabolically active heterocysts isolated from wild-type Anabaena sp. strain CA showed high rates of light-dependent acetylene reduction and hydrogen evolution. These rates were similar to those previously reported in heterocysts isolated from the mutant Anabaena sp. strain CA-V possessing fragile vegetative cell walls. Hydrogen production was observed with isolated heterocysts. The ratio of C2H4 to H2 produced ranged from 0.9 to 1.2, and H2 production exhibited unique biphasic kinetics consisting of a 1 to 2-min burst of hydrogen evolution followed by a lower, steady-state rate of hydrogen production. This burst was found to be dependent upon the length of the dark period immediately preceding illumination and may be related to dark-to-light ATP transients. The presence of 100 nM NiCl2 in the growth medium exerted an effect on both acetylene reduction and hydrogen evolution in the isolated heterocysts from strain CA. H2-stimulated acetylene reduction was increased from 2.0 to 3.2 mumol of C2H4 per mg (dry weight) per h, and net hydrogen production was abolished. A phenotypic Hup- mutant (N9AR) of Anabaena sp. strain CA was isolated which did not respond to nickel. In isolated heterocysts from N9AR, ethylene production rates were the same under both 10% C2H2-90% Ar and 10% C2H2-90% H2 with or without added nickel, and net hydrogen evolution was not affected by the presence of 100 nM Ni2+. Isolated heterocysts from strain CA were shown to have a persistent oxygen uptake of 0.7 mumol of O2 per mg (dry weight) per h, 35% of the rate of whole filaments, at air saturating O2 levels, indicating that O2 impermeability is not a requirement for active heterocysts.     

Hydrogenase mutants of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 show alterations in the electron transport system

Mutations in the genes coding for the soluble and the membrane-bound hydrogenase of Alcaligenes eutrophus strain H16 significantly affected the expression of respiratory chain components. In lithoautotrophically grown wild type cells electron flow mainly proceeded via the cytochrome c oxidases. Mutants defective in the membrane-bound hydrogenase contained a 2- to 3-fold higher cytochrome a content than the wild type and cytochrome c oxidase of the aa3-type was preferentially used by these cells for substrate oxidation. Mutants impaired in the soluble hydrogenase revealed slow growth on hydrogen, presumably due to inefficient reverse electron flow mechanisms which provide the cells with NADH for autotrophic CO2-fixation. In this class of mutants the two quinol oxidases of the o- and d-type in addition to the co-type oxidase were the predominant electron-transport branches.     

hetC, a gene coding for a protein similar to bacterial ABC protein exporters, is involved in early regulation of heterocyst differentiation in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.

Transposon-generated mutant C3 of Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is unable to form heterocysts upon deprivation of combined nitrogen but forms a pattern of spaced, weakly fluorescent cells after 2 days of deprivation. Sequence analysis of chromosomal DNA adjacent to the ends of transposon Tn5-1058 in mutant C3 showed a 1,044-amino-acid open reading frame, designated hetC, whose predicted protein product throughout its C-terminal two-thirds has extensive similarity to the HlyB family of bacterial protein exporters. Its N-terminal third is unique and does not resemble any known protein. hetC lies 1,165 bp 5' from the previously described gene hetP. Reconstruction of the C3 mutation and its complementation in trans with a wild-type copy of hetC confirmed that hetC has an essential regulatory role early in heterocyst development. hetC is induced ca. 4 h after nitrogen stepdown, hours after induction of hetR. Expression of hetC depends on HetR and may depend on HetC. Highly similar sequences are present 5' from the initiation codons and in the 3' untranslated regions of hetC and of two heterocyst-specific genes, devA and hetP.