Non-Growth-Associated Demethylation of Dimethylsulfoniopropionate by (Homo)acetogenic Bacteria

The demethylation of the algal osmolyte dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) to methylthiopropionate (MTPA) by (homo)acetogenic bacteria was studied. Five Eubacterium limosum strains (including the type strain), Sporomusa ovata DSM 2662^T, Sporomusa sphaeroides DSM 2875^T, and Acetobacterium woodii DSM 1030^T were shown to demethylate DMSP stoichiometrically to MTPA. The (homo)acetogenic fermentation based on this demethylation did not result in any significant increase in biomass. The analogous demethylation of glycine betaine to dimethylglycine does support growth of acetogens. In batch cultures of E. limosum PM31 DMSP and glycine betaine were demethylated simultaneously. In mixed substrates experiments with fructose-DMSP or methanol-DMSP, DMSP was used rapidly but only after exhaustion of the fructose or the methanol. In steady-state fructose-limited chemostat cultures (at a dilution rate of 0.03 h⁻¹) with DMSP as a second reservoir substrate, DMSP was biotransformed to MTPA but this did not result in higher biomass values than in cultures without DMSP; cells from such cultures demethylated DMSP at rates of approximately 50 nmol min⁻¹ mg of protein⁻¹, both after growth in the presence of DMSP and after growth in its absence. In cell extracts of glycine betaine-grown strain PM31, DMSP demethylation activities of 21 to 24 nmol min⁻¹ mg of protein⁻¹ were detected with tetrahydrofolate as a methyl acceptor; the activities seen with glycine betaine were approximately 10-fold lower. A speculative explanation for the demethylation of DMSP without an obvious benefit for the organism is that the DMSP-demethylating activity is catalyzed by the glycine betaine-demethylating enzyme and that a transport-related factor, in particular a higher energy demand for DMSP transport across the cytoplasmic membrane than for glycine betaine transport, may reduce the overall ATP yield of the fermentation to virtually zero.