Synthesis of nitrate reductase components in chlorate-resistant mutants of Escherichia coli.

Specific antibody to purified nitrate reductase from Escherichia coli was used to identify enzyme components present in mutants which lack functional nitrate reductase. chlA and B mutants contained all three subunits present in the wild-type enzyme. Different peptides with a broad range of molecular weights could be precipitated from chlCmutants, and chlE mutants contained either slightly degraded enzyme subunits or no precipitable protein. No mutants produced significant amounts of cytoplasmic enzyme. The chlA and B loci are suggested to function in the synthesis and attachment of a molybdenum-containing factor. The chlC locus is suggested to be the structural gene for nitrate reductase subunit A and chlE is suggested to be involved in the synthesis of the cytochrome b1 apoprotein.     

Inactivation of Nitrate Reductase of the Yeast, Rhodotorula glutinis

Nitrate reductase (NR) from the yeast, Rhodotorula glutinis var. salinaria was composed of two enzymatic components, diaphorase and terminal nitrate reducing moieties. The enzyme used NADPH as electron donor and FAD as cofactor. The synthesis of nitrate reductase was promoted specifically by nitrate and repressed by ammonium and amino acids. Nitrate reductase from this yeast had an inactive as well as an active form. Inactive enzyme was reactivated by oxidation with ferricyanide in vitro. Hydroxylamine promoted the formation of inactive enzyme in vivo. Ammonium could neither promote the inactivation nor reduce the total level of nitrate reductase activity. Nitrate could protect nitrate reductase from inactivation caused by nitrogen starvation or hydroxylamine.     

Relationships between sensitivity to hydroxyurea and 4-methyl-5-amino-1-formylisoquinoline thiosemicarbazone (MAIO) and ribonucleotide reductase RNR2 mRNA levels in strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Ribonucleotide reductase is responsible for providing the deoxyribonucleotide precursors for DNA synthesis. In most species the enzyme consists of a large and a small subunit, both of which are required for activity. In mammalian cells, the small subunit is the site of action of several antitumor agents, including hydroxyurea and 4-methyl-5-amino-1-formylisoquinoline thiosemicarbazone (MAIQ). The mRNA levels for the small subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR2) and sensitivity to hydroxyurea and MAIQ were determined in four strains of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Two strains exhibited significantly different sensitivities to both hydroxyurea and MAIQ, which closely correlated with differences in the levels of RNR2 mRNA. These results are consistent with recent observations with mammalian cells in culture, and indicate that a common mechanism of resistance to hydroxyurea and related drugs occurs through the elevation in ribonucleotide reductase message levels. A transplason mutagenized strain with marked structural modifications in RNR2 DNA and mRNA showed an extreme hypersensitivity to hydroxyurea but not to MAIQ, providing evidence that the two drugs do not inhibit the RNR2 subunit by the same mechanism. In addition, a yeast strain isolated for low but reproducible resistance to MAIQ exhibited a sensitivity to hydroxyurea similar to the parental wild-type strain, supporting the idea that the two drugs inhibit the activity of RNR2 by unique mechanisms. These yeast strains provide a useful approach for further studies into the regulation of eucaryotic ribonucleotide reduction and drug resistance mechanism involving a key rate-limiting step in DNA synthesis.     

Localization and Regulation of Synthesis of Nitrate Reductase in Escherichia coli

The nitrate reductase of Escherichia coli K-12 was localized in a particulate fraction of the cell and it sedimented as if it were bound to a large substructure that is subject to fragmentation during cell disruption procedures. Soluble enzyme, exhibiting a homogenous profile in sucrose gradients, was released from this fraction by an alkaline-heat treatment. Less than 1.5% of total active nitrate reductase apparently occurred in this soluble form during the course of formation of the particulate enzyme. Enzyme synthesis was repressed by aeration in the presence or absence of nitrate. Under anaerobic conditions, nitrate reductase was synthesized at a rate that could be increased 20-fold by the addition of nitrate. When enzyme synthesis was initiated by induction with nitrate or anaerobiosis, biphasic kinetics were obtained. We interpreted the results as evidence for the existence of a redox-sensitive repressor which mediates nitrate reductase regulation.     

Role of protein synthesis in the carbohydrate-induced changes in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase in cultured rat hepatocytes.

Changes in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) reductase were studied in primary cultures of adult-rat hepatocytes after exposure of the cells to insulin and/or carbohydrates. To determine the contribution of protein synthesis to changes in enzyme activity, the relative rate of synthesis of each enzyme was measured and the amount of translatable mRNA coding for the enzymes was determined by translation in vitro and immunoprecipitation. Addition of insulin to the culture medium increased the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA reductase by approx. 4- and 3-fold respectively. Although similar increases in the relative rate of synthesis of each protein and template activity were noted, initial increases in the activity of each enzyme occurred before any changes in protein synthesis were observed, suggesting the involvement of post-translational modification of enzyme activity in addition to changes in protein synthesis. The addition of fructose to the culture medium, in the absence of insulin, increased the activity of the carboxylase and the reductase approx. 3-fold, similar to the effects of insulin. However, the effect of fructose was to increase the rate of synthesis and the amount of translatable mRNA coding for acetyl-CoA carboxylase, whereas the increase in the activity of HMG-CoA reductase was not accompanied by any changes in the rate of synthesis or template activity. The effects of fructose could not be mimicked by glucose unless insulin was also present in the culture medium. Similar to observations in vitro, the injection of insulin or the feeding of a high-fructose diet to rats made diabetic by the injection of streptozotocin produced an increase in the activities of acetyl-CoA carboxylase and HMG-CoA reductase, and only the increase in the activity of the carboxylase was accompanied by an increase in the amount of translatable mRNA coding for the enzyme. The results are discussed in terms of the effects of fructose on the synthesis of enzymes involved in lipogenesis.     

Regulation of nitrate reductase of Neurospora at the level of transcription and translation

The presence of nitrate is required for the induced synthesis of NADPH-nitrate reductase and its related partial activity Benzyl Viologen-nitrate reductase in a wild-type strain of Neurospora. In nit-3, a mutant lacking complete NADPH-nitrate reductase activity but retaining the partial activity Benzyl Viologen-nitrate reductase, the presence of nitrate ions is not required for the de-repressed synthesis of the latter enzyme. The accumulation of the capacity to synthesize nitrate reductase, and the related Benzyl Viologen-nitrate reductase, in the absence of protein synthesis does not require nitrate in the normal strain or in strain nit-3. Ammonia antagonizes the accumulation of this capacity in both strains. Nitrate is required for the synthesis of nitrate reductase and related activities from presumedly preformed mRNA in the wild-type strain. Nitrate is not required for the comparable function in strain nit-3. Ammonia appears to stop the synthesis of nitrate reductase and related activities from presumedly preformed mRNA in the wild-type strain and in strain nit-3. The effects of nitrate, or ammonia and of no nitrogen source on the induced synthesis of nitrate reductase cannot be explained on the basis of the effects of the different nitrogen sources on general synthesis of RNA or of protein.     

Biochemical analysis of mutants defective in nitrate assimilation in Neurospora crassa: evidence for autogenous control by nitrate reductase

Summary A biochemical analysis of mutants altered for nitrate assimilation in Neurospora crassa is described. Mutant alleles at each of the nine nit (nitrate-nonutilizing) loci were assayed for nitrate reductase activity, for three partial activities of nitrate reductase, and for nitrite reductase activity. In each case, the enzyme deficiency was consistent with data obtained from growth tests and complementation tests in previous studies. The mutant strains at these nit loci were also examined for altered regulation of enzyme synthesis. Such exeriments revealed that mutations which affect the structural integrity of the native nitrate reductase molecule can result in constitutive synthesis of this enzyme protein and of nitrite reductase. These results provide very strong evidence that, as in Aspergillus nidulans, nitrate reductase autogenously regulates the pathway of nitrate assimilation. However, only mutants at the nit-2 locus affect the regulation of this pathway by nitrogen metabolite repression.     

Regulation of Nitrate Assimilation and Nitrate Respiration in Aerobacter aerogenes

The influence of growth conditions on assimilatory and respiratory nitrate reduction in Aerobacter aerogenes was studied. The level of nitrate reductase activity in cells, growing in minimal medium with nitrate as the sole nitrogen source, was much lower under aerobic than anaerobic conditions. Further, the enzyme of the aerobic cultures was very sensitive to sonic disintegration, as distinct from the enzyme of anaerobic cultures. When a culture of A. aerogenes was shifted from anaerobic growth in minimal medium with nitrate and NH(4) (+) to aerobiosis in the same medium, but without NH(4) (+), the production of nitrite stopped instantaneously and the total activity of nitrate reductase decreased sharply. Moreover, there was a lag in growth of about 3 hr after such a shift. After resumption of growth, the total enzymatic activity increased again slowly and simultaneously became gradually sensitive to sonic disintegration. These findings show that oxygen inactivates the anaerobic nitrate reductase and represses its further formation; only after a de novo synthesis of nitrate reductase with an assimilatory function will growth be resumed. The enzyme in aerobic cultures was not significantly inactivated by air, only by pure oxygen. The formation of the assimilatory enzyme complex was repressed, however, by NH(4) (+), under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The results indicate that the formation of the assimilatory enzyme complex and that of the respiratory enzyme complex are regulated differently. We suggest that both complexes have a different composition, but that the nitrate reductase in both cases is the same protein.     

Asymmetric distribution of nitrate reductase subunits in the cytoplasmic membrane of Escherichia coli: evidence derived from surface labeling studies with transglutaminase.

The enzyme transglutaminase has been used to label surface proteins of Escherichia coli cytoplasmic membranes by covalently attaching to them a small fluorescent primary amine, dansyl cadaverine. Spheroplasts lacking outer membrane, osmotically lysed vesicles from the spheroplasts, and vesicles made by breaking cells in a French pressure cell were each labeled with transglutaminase and dansyl cadaverine. When the total cytoplasmic membrane proteins of each were examined on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels, three rather different labeling patterns were obtained. Labeling of the respiratory enzyme, nitrate reductase, in the membranes of each of these preparations was also examined. Membrane-bound nitrate reductase contains three subunits: A, B, and C. Dansyl cadaverine labeling of nitrate reductase in the presence of Triton X-100 indicated that subunits A and C could be labeled. When nitrate reductase was isolated from dansyl cadaverine-labeled spheroplasts, none of the subunits was labeled. When nitrate reductase was isolated from French press vesicles, subunit A was labeled and labeling was enhanced by the presence of nitrate during labeling. When nitrate reductase from osmotic vesicles was examined, subunit A was labeled in the presence of nitrate but no labeled subunits appeared when the vesicles were labeled in the absence of nitrate. It was concluded that (i) nitrate reductase is buried in the membrane with subunit A exposed only on the inner surface of the membrane, (ii) subunit C is sufficiently buried within the membrane so that it is inaccessible to transglutaminase, (iii) subunit B is not labeled under any condition, so its location is not known, and (iv) large osmotic vesicles are probably mosaics in which some protein components have been reoriented.     

Biosynthesis of membrane-bound nitrate reductase in Escherichia coli: evidence for a soluble precursor.

Membrane-bound nitrate reductase of Escherichia coli consists of three subunits designated as A, B, and C, with subunit C being the apoprotein of cytochrome b, A hemA mutant that cannot synthesize delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) produces a normal, stable, membrane-bound enzyme when grown with ALA. When grown without ALA, this mutant makes a reduced amount of membrane-bound enzyme that is unstable and contains no C subunit. Under the same growth conditions, this mutant accumulates a large amount of a soluble form of the enzyme in the cytoplasm. Accumulation of this cytoplasmic form begins immediately upon induction of the enzyme with nitrate. The cytoplasmic form is very similar to the soluble form of the enzyme obtained by alkaline heat extraction. It is a high-molecular-weight complex with a Strokes radius of 8.0 nm and consists of intact A and B subunits. When ALA is added to a culture growing without ALA, the cytoplasmic form of the enzyme is incorporated into the membrane in a stable form, coincident with the formation of functional cytochrome b. Reconstitution experiments indicate that subunit C is present in cultures grown without ALA but is reduced in amount or unstable. These results indicate that membrane-bound nitrate reductase is synthesized via a soluble precursor containing subunits A and B, which then binds to the membrane upon interaction with the third subunit, cytochrome b.     

Role of Ammonium Ion in the Biosynthesis of β-Nitropropionic Acid

The metabolism of inorganic nitrogen compounds was studied in extracts of Penicillium atrovenetum which had been grown under conditions in which beta-nitropropionic acid (BNP) synthesis varied from 0 to 12.5 mumoles per ml. None of the extracts was able to oxidize ammonium ion or nitrite. An enzyme was detected which catalyzed the oxidation of hydroxylamine with cytochrome c as the electron acceptor. The activity of this enzyme was not related to the ability of the organism to produce BNP. Nitrate and nitrite reductase activities were detected only in P. atrovenetum cultures grown on nitrate as a nitrogen source. These results indicated that BNP synthesis is probably not directly associated with the metabolism of inorganic nitrogen compounds and that an organic pathway for the formation of the nitro group is more likely. The activities of certain enzymes related to the metabolism of aspartic acid were investigated. Aspartate ammonia-lyase activity could not be detected in P. atrovenetum extracts. Aspartate aminotransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase activities were found in the extracts but were highest in the cultures which did not produce BNP. beta-Nitroacrylic acid reductase activity was highest in extracts of cultures which were actively synthesizing BNP.     

Regulation of Nitrate Reductase in Neurospora crassa: Stability In Vivo

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form (NADPH)-nitrate reductase and its related enzyme activities, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and reduced benzyl viologen-nitrate reductase, are all induced following the transfer of ammonia-grown wild-type Neurospora mycelia to nitrate medium. After nitrate reductase is induced to the maximal level, the addition of an ammonium salt to, or the removal of nitrate from, the cultures results in a rapid inactivation of nitrate reductase and its two partial component activities. This rapid inactivation is slowed down by the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. Experiments on the mixing of extracts in vitro rule out the presence of an inhibitor of nitrate reductase in free form in extracts containing inactivated nitrate reductase. Ammonia does not inhibit the uptake of nitrate by the mycelia. Inactivation of nitrate reductase in vivo by ammonia depends on the concentration of the ammonium salt and is not reversed by increasing the nitrate concentration of the medium. The nitrate-inducible NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity and reduced benzyl viologen-nitrate reductase activity respectively of the nitrate-nonutilizing mutants nit-1 and nit-3 are not inactivated in vivo by the addition of an ammonium salt or the withdrawal of nitrate. This finding suggests that the integrity of the nitrate reductase complex is required for the in vivo inactivation of nitrate reductase and its associated activities.     

Constitutive non-inducible expression of the Arabidopsis thaliana Nia 2 gene in two nitrate reductase mutants of Nicotiana Plumbaginifolia

We have isolated a haploid cell line of N. plumbaginifolia, hNP 588, that is constitutive and not inducible for nitrate reductase. Nitrate reductase mutants were isolated from hNP 588 protoplasts upon UV irradiation. Two of these nitrate reductase-deficient cell lines, nia 3 and nia 25, neither of which contained any detectable nitrate reductase activity, were selected for complementation studies. A cloned Arabidopsis thaliana nitrate reductase gene Nia 2 was introduced into each of the two mutants resulting in 56 independent kanamycin-resistant cell lines. Thirty of the 56 kanamycin-resistant cell lines were able to grow on nitrate as the sole nitrogen source. Eight of these were further analyzed for nitrate reductase enzyme activity and nitrate reductase mRNA production. All eight lines had detectable nitrate reductase activity ranging from 7% to 150% of wild-type hNP 588 callus. The enzyme activity levels were not influenced by the nitrogen source in the medium. The eight lines examined expressed a constitutive, non-inducible 3.2 kb mRNA species that was not present in untransformed controls.     

植物氮代谢硝酸还原酶水平调控机制的研究进展

氮代谢是植株体内最基本的物质代谢之一,硝酸还原酶是植物氮代谢的关键酶。主要对植物氮代谢在硝酸还原酶水平上调控的研究新进展,尤其是其合成／降解及活性调控机制进行了较为系统的综述。硝酸还原酶合成的调控主要发生在转录水平和翻译水平上,硝酸还原酶降解的调控主要发生在翻译后水平上,同时NO3^-及光在硝酸还原酶转录水平调控上的作用重大,硝酸还原酶编码基因转录的mRNA的稳定性强弱影响植物的氮代谢,而影响mRNA稳定性的因素很多,机理复杂;磷酸化／去磷酸化在硝酸还原酶活性调控中占举足轻重的地位,研究也比较深入。钝化蛋白也能够影响硝酸还原酶活性,许多小分子物质对硝酸还原酶活性有影响。     

Study of the Denitrifying Enzymatic System of Comamonas sp. Strain SGLY2 Under Various Aeration Conditions with a Particular View on Nitrate and Nitrite Reductases

This paper studies the effect of oxygen on the denitrifying enzymatic system of Comamonas sp. It is shown that nitrate respiration can take place in the presence of oxygen. Indeed, even if a protein synthesis inhibitor is added in the medium, immediate nitrate consumption is observed in an aerobic culture inoculated with cells that have never been subjected to nitrate. Existence of a constitutive nitrate reductase could explain this phenomenon. Moreover the nitrate and nitrite reductases are active and synthesized under aerobic conditions. The different levels of inhibition of nitrate reductase activity by respiratory inhibitors and detergent, according to the aerobic and anaerobic cultures, might suggest the existence of a double nitrate reductase enzymatic system.     

Regulation of molybdenum cofactor species in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) of molybdoenzymes is constitutively produced in cells of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii grown in ammonium media, under which conditions certain molybdoenzymes are not synthesized. In soluble form, MoCo was found to be present in several forms: (i) as a low Mr free species; (ii) bound to a MoCo-carrier protein of about 50 kDa that could release MoCo to directly reconstitute in vitro nitrate reductase activity in the nit-1 mutant of Neurospora crassa, but not to Thiol-Sepharose which, in contrast, bonded free MoCo; and (iii) bound to other proteins, putatively constitutive molybdoenzymes, which only released MoCo after a denaturing treatment. The amount of total MoCo (free, carrier-bound and heat releasable forms) was dependent on the growth phase of cell cultures. Constitutive levels of total MoCo in ammonium-grown cells markedly increased when cells were transferred to media lacking ammonium (nitrate, urea or nitrogen-free media). This increase did not require de novo protein synthesis and was stimulated by light. Levels of both total MoCo and free plus carrier-bound MoCo seemed to be unrelated to either nitrate reductase synthesis or functioning of nit-1 and nit-2 genes responsible for nitrate reductase structure and regulation, respectively. Results suggest that MoCo is continuously synthesized in C. reinhardtii and that its levels are regulated by ammonium in a way independent of nitrate reductase synthesis.