Factors Limiting Aliphatic Chlorocarbon Degradation by Nitrosomonas europaea: Cometabolic Inactivation of Ammonia Monooxygenase and Substrate Specificity

The soil nitrifying bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea is capable of degrading trichloroethylene (TCE) and other halogenated hydrocarbons. TCE cometabolism by N. europaea resulted in an irreversible loss of TCE biodegradative capacity, ammonia-oxidizing activity, and ammonia-dependent O(2) uptake by the cells. Inactivation was not observed in the presence of allylthiourea, a specific inhibitor of the enzyme ammonia monooxygenase, or under anaerobic conditions, indicating that the TCE-mediated inactivation required ammonia monooxygenase activity. When N. europaea cells were incubated with [C]TCE under conditions which allowed turnover of ammonia monooxygenase, a number of cellular proteins were covalently labeled with C. Treatment of cells with allylthiourea or acetylene prior to incubation with [C]TCE prevented incorporation of C into proteins. The ammonia-oxidizing activity of cells inactivated in the presence of TCE could be recovered through a process requiring de novo protein synthesis. In addition to TCE, a series of chlorinated methanes, ethanes, and other ethylenes were screened as substrates for ammonia monooxygenase and for their ability to inactivate the ammonia-oxidizing system of N. europaea. The chlorocarbons could be divided into three classes depending on their biodegradability and inactivating potential: (i) compounds which were not biodegradable by N. europaea and which had no toxic effect on the cells; (ii) compounds which were cooxidized by N. europaea and had little or no toxic effect on the cells; and (iii) compounds which were cooxidized and produced a turnover-dependent inactivation of ammonia oxidation by N. europaea.     

Cometabolism of chlorinated solvents by nitrifying bacteria: kinetics, substrate interactions, toxicity effects, and bacterial response

Pure cultures of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, Nitrosomonas europaea, were exposed to trichloroethylene (TCE), 1,1-dichloroethylene (1,1-DCE), chloroform (CF), 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), or carbon tetrachloride (CT), in the presence of ammonia, in a quasi-steady-state bioreactor. Estimates of enzyme kinetics constants, solvent inactivation constants, and culture recovery constants were obtained by simultaneously fitting three model curves to experimental data using nonlinear optimization techniques and an enzyme kinetics model, referred to as the inhibition, inactivation, and recovery (IIR) model, that accounts for inhibition of ammonia oxidation by the solvent, enzyme inactivation by solvent product toxicity, and respondent synthesis of new enzyme (recovery). Results showed relative enzyme affinities for ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) of 1,1-DCE approximately TCE > CT > NH(3) > CF > 1,2-DCA. Relative maximum specific substrate transformation rates were NH(3) > 1,2-DCA > CF > TCE approximately 1,1-DCE > CT (=0). The TCE, CF, and 1,1-DCE inactivated the cells, with 1,1-DCE being about three times more potent than TCE or CF. Under the conditions of these experiments, inactivating injuries caused by TCE and 1,1-DCE appeared limited primarily to the AMO enzyme, but injuries caused by CF appeared to be more generalized. The CT was not oxidized by N. europaea while 1,2-DCA was oxidized quite readily and showed no inactivation effects. Recovery capabilities were demonstrated with all solvents except CF. A method for estimating protein yield, the relationship between the transformation capacity model and the IIR model, and a condition necessary for sustainable cometabolic treatment of inactivating substrates are presented. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 54: 520-534, 1997.     

Inhibition, Inactivation, and Recovery of Ammonia-Oxidizing Activity in Cometabolism of Trichloroethylene by Nitrosomonas europaea

The kinetics of the cometabolism of trichloroethylene (TCE) by the ammonia-oxidizing soil bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea in short-term (<10-min) incubations were investigated. Three individual effects of TCE cometabolism on this bacterium were characterized. First, we observed that TCE is a potent competitive inhibitor of ammonia oxidation by N. europaea. The K(infi) value for TCE (30 (mu)M) is similar to the K(infm) for ammonia (40 (mu)M). Second, we examined the toxicity associated with TCE cometabolism by N. europaea. Stationary-phase cells of N. europaea oxidized approximately 60 nmol of TCE per mg of protein before ammonia-oxidizing activity was completely inactivated by reactive intermediates generated during TCE oxidation. At the TCE concentrations used in these experiments, ammonia did not provide significant protection against inactivation. Third, we have determined the ability of cells to recover ammonia-oxidizing activity after exposure to TCE. Cells recovering from TCE inactivation were compared with cells recovering from the specific inactivation of ammonia-oxidizing activity by light. The recovery kinetics were indistinguishable when 40% or less of the activity was inactivated. However, at increased levels of inactivation, TCE-inactivated cells did not recover as rapidly as light-inactivated cells. The kinetics of recovery appear to be dependent on both the extent of inactivation of ammonia-oxidizing activity and the degree of specificity of the inactivating treatment.     

Selective inhibition of prostaglandin biosynthesis by gold salts and phenylbutazone

Gold salts and phenylbutazone selectively inhibit the synthesis of PGF_2α and PGE₂ respectively. Lowered production of one prostaglandin species is accompanied by an increased production of the other. Selective inhibition by these drugs was observed in the presence of adrenaline, reduced glutathione and copper sulphate under conditions when most anti-inflammatory compounds inhibited PGE₂ and PGF_2α syntheses equally. It is postulated that selective inhibitors may have a different mode of action in vivo and beneficial effects may be related to the endogenous ratio of PGE to PGF required for normal function.     

Nitrogenase switch-off by ammonia in Rhodopseudomonas palustris: Loss under nitrogen deficiency and independence from the adenylylation state of glutamine synthetase

Nitrogenase activity in Rhodopseudomonas palustris is subject to a rapid switch-off in response to exogenous ammonia. When cells were grown on limiting nitrogen and eventually became nitrogen deficient, nitrogenase synthesis was fully derepressed but the enzyme was insensitive to ammonia. The transformation of ammonia-sensitive to ammonia-insensitive cells was a slow, but fully reversible process. The switch-off effect in ammonia-sensitive cells paralleled changes in the adenylylation state of glutamine synthetase. Ammonia-insensitive cells, however, showed similar changes in glutamine synthetase activity although nitrogenase activity was unaffected. We conclude that nitrogenase regulation and adenylylation of glutamine synthetase are independent processes, at least under conditions of nitrogen deficiency.     

Natural occurrence of the mycotoxin penitrem a in moldy cream cheese

The occurrence of the mycotoxin penitrem A in refrigerated cream cheese that was involved in the intoxication of two dogs is described. Penitrem A and the fungus Penicillium crustosum were isolated from the cream cheese and identified. This is believed to be the first definitive case of the natural occurrence of penitrem A.     

Purification and properties of the particulate hydrogenase from the bacteroids of soybean root nodules.

The uptake hydrogenase (hydrogen:ferricytochrome c3 oxidoreductase, EC 1.12.2.1) from the bacteroids of soybean root nodules infected with Rhizobium japonicum 110 has been purified and characterized. Bacteroids were prepared, then broken by sonication. The particulate enzyme was solubilized by treatment with Triton X-100 and further purified by polyethylene glycol fractionation, DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. The specific activity has been increased 196-fold to 19.6 units/mg protein. The molecular weight is 63 300 as determined by gel filtration and 65 300 as determined by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, indicating that the enzyme is a monomer. The enzyme is O2 sensitive, with a half-life of 70 min when exposed to air. The pH optimum of the solubilized enzyme is near 5.5; the Km for H2 is 1.4 microM. Suitable electron acceptors are methylene blue, ferricyanide, 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, and cytochrome c. Benzyl viologen is reduced slowly; methyl viologen, NAD(P)+, FAD, FMN, and O2 are not reduced. The optimum temperature for activity is 65-70 degrees C with an activation energy of 9.2 kcal. H2 evolution by the enzyme has been demonstrated. The hydrogenase is well-suited to function in an environment where all the available H2 is generated in situ.     

Effects of Soil on Ammonia, Ethylene, Chloroethane, and 1,1,1-Trichloroethane Oxidation by Nitrosomonas europaea

Ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) from Nitrosomonas europaea catalyzes the oxidation of ammonia to hydroxylamine and has been shown to oxidize a variety of halogenated and nonhalogenated hydrocarbons. As part of a program focused upon extending these observations to natural systems, a study was conducted to examine the influence of soil upon the cooxidative abilities of N. europaea. Small quantities of Willamette silt loam (organic carbon content, 1.8%; cation-exchange capacity, 15 cmol/kg of soil) were suspended with N. europaea cells in a soil-slurry-type reaction mixture. The oxidations of ammonia and three different hydrocarbons (ethylene, chloroethane, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane) were compared to results for controls in which no soil was added. The soil significantly inhibited nitrite production from 10 mM ammonium by N. europaea. Inhibition resulted from a combination of ammonium adsorption onto soil colloids and the exchangeable acidity of the soil lowering the pH of the reaction mixture. These phenomena resulted in a substantial drop in the concentration of NH₄⁺ in solution (10 to 4.5 mM) and, depending upon the pH, in a reduction in the amount of available NH₃ to concentrations (8 to 80 μM) similar to the K_s value of AMO for NH₃ (~29 μM). At a fixed initial pH (7.8), the presence of soil also modified the rates of oxidation of ethylene and chloroethane and changed the concentrations at which their maximal rates of oxidation occurred. The modifying effects of soil on nitrite production and on the cooxidation of ethylene and chloroethane could be circumvented by raising the ammonium concentration in the reaction mixture from 10 to 50 mM. Soil had virtually no effect on the oxidation of 1,1,1-trichloroethane.     

Effects of Soil and Water Content on Methyl Bromide Oxidation by the Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea

Little information exists on the potential of NH₃-oxidizing bacteria to cooxidize halogenated hydrocarbons in soil. A study was conducted to examine the cooxidation of methyl bromide (MeBr) by an NH₃-oxidizing bacterium, Nitrosomonas europaea, under soil conditions. Soil and its water content modified the availability of NH₄⁺ and MeBr and influenced the relative rates of substrate (NH₃) and cosubstrate (MeBr) oxidations. These observations highlight the complexity associated with characterizing soil cooxidative activities when soil and water interact to differentially affect substrate and cosubstrate availabilities.     

Oxidation of monohalogenated ethanes and n-chlorinated alkanes by whole cells of Nitrosomonas europaea.

We have investigated the substrate specificity of ammonia monooxygenase in whole cells of the nitrifying bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea for a number of aliphatic halogenated hydrocarbons. To determine the effect of the halogen substituent and carbon chain length on substrate reactivity, we measured the rates of oxidation of the monohalogenated ethanes (fluoroethane, chloroethane, bromoethane, and iodoethane) and n-chlorinated C1 to C4 alkanes by whole cells of N. europaea. For monohalogenated ethanes, acetaldehyde was the major organic product and little or none of any of the alternate predicted products (2-halogenated alcohols) were detected. The maximum rate of haloethane oxidation increased with decreasing halogen molecular weight from iodoethane to chloroethane (19 to 221 nmol/min per mg of protein). In addition, the amount of substrate required for the highest rate of haloethane oxidation increased with decreasing halogen molecular weight. For the n-chlorinated alkanes, the rate of dechlorination, as measured by the appearance of the corresponding aldehyde product, was greatest for chloroethane and decreased dramatically for chloropropane and chlorobutane (118, 4, and 8 nmol of aldehyde formed per min per mg of protein, respectively). The concentration profiles for halocarbon oxidation by ammonia monooxygenase showed apparent substrate inhibition when ammonia was used as the reductant source. When hydrazine was used as the electron donor, no substrate inhibition was observed, suggesting that the inhibition resulted from reductant limitation.