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Archives of Microbiology (v.170, #5)
Uptake and synthesis of compatible solutes as microbial stress responses to high-osmolality environments by Bettina Kempf; E. Bremer (pp. 319-330).
All microorganisms possess a positive turgor, and maintenance of this outward-directed pressure is essential since it is generally considered as the driving force for cell expansion. Exposure of microorganisms to high-osmolality environments triggers rapid fluxes of cell water along the osmotic gradient out of the cell, thus causing a reduction in turgor and dehydration of the cytoplasm. To counteract the outflow of water, microorganisms increase their intracellular solute pool by amassing large amounts of organic osmolytes, the so-called compatible solutes. These osmoprotectants are highly congruous with the physiology of the cell and comprise a limited number of substances including the disaccharide trehalose, the amino acid proline, and the trimethylammonium compound glycine betaine. The intracellular amassing of compatible solutes as an adaptive strategy to high-osmolality environments is evolutionarily well-conserved in Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. Furthermore, the nature of the osmolytes that are accumulated during water stress is maintained across the kingdoms, reflecting fundamental constraints on the kind of solutes that are compatible with macromolecular and cellular functions. Generally, compatible solutes can be amassed by microorganisms through uptake and synthesis. Here we summarise the molecular mechanisms of compatible solute accumulation in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, model organisms for the gram-negative and gram-positive branches of bacteria.
Keywords: Key words Osmoregulation; Stress protectants; Trehalose; Glycine betaine; K+ uptake; ABC; transporters; Efflux; Gene regulation; Escherichia coli; Bacillus subtilis
Taxonomic studies of deep-sea barophilic Shewanella strains and description of Shewanella violacea sp. nov. by Yuichi Nogi; C. Kato; Koki Horikoshi (pp. 331-338).
Several barophilic Shewanella species have been isolated from deep-sea sediments at depths of 2,485– 6,499 m. From the results of taxonomic studies, all of these isolates have been identified as strains of Shewanella benthica except for strain DSS12. Strain DSS12 is a member of a novel, moderately barophilic Shewanella species isolated from the Ryukyu Trench at a depth of 5,110 m. On Marine Agar 2216 plates, this organism produced a violet pigment, whereas the colonies of other isolates (S. benthica) were rose-colored. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16 S ribosomal RNA gene sequences showed that strain DSS12 represents a separate lineage within the genus Shewanella that is closely related to S. benthica and particularly to the members of the Shewanella barophiles branch. The temperature range for growth and some of the biochemical characteristics indicate that strain DSS12 differs from other Shewanella species. Furthermore, strain DSS12 displayed a low level of DNA similarity to the Shewanella type strains. Based on these differences, it is proposed that strain DSS12 represents a new deep-sea Shewanella species. The name Shewanella violacea (JCM 10179) is proposed.
Keywords: Key words Barophilic bacteria; Deep-sea; Hydrostatic; pressure; Shewanella violacea; Ryukyu Trench
Morphological and physical characterization of the capsular layer of Vibrio cholerae O139 by Y. Meno; Matthew K. Waldor; John J. Mekalanos; Kazunobu Amako (pp. 339-344).
The morphological and physical characteristics of the capsule of Vibrio cholerae O139 were examined. An electron microscopic study using the freeze-substitution technique showed that all of the V. cholerae strains of the O139 serogroup examined have a very thin fibrous layer on the outside of the outer membrane. In contrast, the mutants of strain O139, strain MO10T4 (which lacks capsule synthesis), and strain Bengal-2R1 (which fails to synthesize both the capsule and the O-antigen of lipopolysaccharide) were all found to have lost the surface layer. In addition, the capsule layer could also not be observed on the surface of V. cholerae strain O1. To determine the biological characteristics of the capsule of strains of the O139 serogroup, we investigated the serum killing activity and bacterial phagocytosis by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The O139 strains were more resistant to the serum killing activity than were the V. cholerae O1 strain and the O139 mutant strains, thus suggesting that the existence of the capsule gave a serum-resistant character to the O139 strains. The surface character of the O139 strains had the same hydrophobic character as did that of the O139 mutant strains and the O1 strain. In addition, all the V. cholerae O1 and O139 strains examined, including the mutant strains, were effectively ingested by the human polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The number of ingested bacteria was not significantly different among the strains, and the ingestion of the acapsular O139 mutants thus showed that the capsule does not play an antiphagocytic role. These data suggest that the capsule of V. cholerae O139 has a physiological function different from that of the ordinal hydrophilic capsule that is found in invasive bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Keywords: Key wordsV. cholerae O139; Lipopolysaccharide; Electron microscopy; Freeze-substitution technique; Capsule
Isolation and characterization of a novel facultatively alkaliphilic Nitrobacter species, N. alkalicus sp. nov. by Dimitry Y. Sorokin; Gerard Muyzer; Thorsten Brinkhoff; J. Gijs Kuenen; M. S. M. Jetten (pp. 345-352).
Five strains of lithotrophic, nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (AN1-AN5) were isolated from sediments of three soda lakes (Kunkur Steppe, Siberia; Crater Lake and Lake Nakuru, Kenya) and from a soda soil (Kunkur Steppe, Siberia) after enrichment at pH 10 with nitrite as sole electron source. Morphologically, the isolates resembled representatives of the genus Nitrobacter. However, they differed from recognized species of this genus by the presence of an additional S-layer in their cell wall and by their unique capacity to grow and oxidize nitrite under highly alkaline conditions. The influence of pH on growth of one of the strains (AN1) was investigated in detail by using nitrite-limited continuous cultivation. Under such conditions, strain AN1 was able to grow at a broad pH range from 6.5 to 10.2, with an optimum at 9.5. Cells grown at pH higher than 9 exhibited a clear shift in the optimal operation of the nitrite-oxidizing system towards the alkaline pH region with respect to both reaction rates and the affinity. Cells grown at neutral pH values behaved more like neutrophilic Nitrobacter species. These data demonstrated the remarkable potential of the new nitrite-oxidizing bacteria for adaptation to varying alkaline conditions. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of isolates AN1, AN2, and AN4 showed high similarity (≥ 99.8%) to each other, and to sequences of Nitrobacter strain R6 and of Nitrobacter winogradskyi. However, the DNA-DNA homology in hybridization studies was too low to consider these isolates as new strains. Therefore, the new isolates from the alkaline habitats are described as a new species of the genus Nitrobacter, N. alkalicus, on the basis of their substantial morphological, physiological, and genetic differences from the recognized neutrophilic representatives of this genus.
Keywords: Key wordsNitrobacter; Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria; pH; Alkaline environments; Continuous culture
Sulfide-quinone reductase activity in membranes of the chemotrophic bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans GB17 by M. Schütz; Christof Klughammer; Christoph Griesbeck; Armin Quentmeier; Cornelius G. Friedrich; Günter Hauska (pp. 353-360).
Reduction of exogenous ubiquinone and of cytochromes by sulfide in membranes of the chemotrophic bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans GB17 was studied. For sulfide-ubiquinone reductase activity, K m values of 26 ± 4 and 3.1 ± 0.6 μM were determined from titrations with sulfide and decyl-ubiquinone, respectively. A maximal rate of up to 0.3 μmol decyl-ubiquinone reduced (mg protein)–1 min–1 was estimated. The reaction was sensitive to quinone-analogous inhibitors, but insensitive to cyanide. Reduction of cytochromes by sulfide was monitored with an LED-array spectrophotometer. Under oxic conditions, reduction rates and extents of reduction were lower than those under anoxic conditions. Reoxidation of cytochromes was oxygen-dependent and cyanide-sensitive. The multiphasic behavior of transient reduction of cytochrome b with limiting amounts of sulfide reflects that sulfide, in addition to acting as an electron donor, is a slowly binding inhibitor of cytochrome c oxidase. The initial peak of cytochrome b reduction is dependent on electron flow to an oxidant, either oxygen or ferricyanide, and is stimulated by antimycin A. This oxidant-induced reduction of cytochrome b suggests that electron transport from sulfide in P. denitrificans GB17 employs the cytochrome bc 1 complex via the quinone pool.
Keywords: Key wordsParacoccus denitrificans; Sulfide; oxidation; Sulfide-quinone reductase; Cytochrome; bc complex; Flavocytochrome c
Growth, natural relationships, cellular fatty acids and metabolic adaptation of sulfate-reducing bacteria that utilize long-chain alkanes under anoxic conditions by F. Aeckersberg; F. A. Rainey; F. Widdel (pp. 361-369).
Natural relationships, improvement of anaerobic growth on hydrocarbons, and properties that may provide clues to an understanding of oxygen-independent alkane metabolism were studied with two mesophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria, strains Hxd3 and Pnd3. Strain Hxd3 had been formerly isolated from an oil tank; strain Pnd3 was isolated from marine sediment. Strains Hxd3 and Pnd3 grew under strictly anoxic conditions on n-alkanes in the range of C12–C20 and C14–C17, respectively, reducing sulfate to sulfide. Both strains shared 90% 16 S rRNA sequence similarity and clustered with classified species of completely oxidizing, sulfate-reducing bacteria within the δ-subclass of Proteobacteria. Anaerobic growth on alkanes was stimulated by α-cyclodextrin, which served as a non-degradable carrier for the hydrophobic substrate. Cells of strain Hxd3 grown on hydrocarbons and α-cyclodextrin were used to study the composition of cellular fatty acids and in vivo activities. When strain Hxd3 was grown on hexadecane (C16H34), cellular fatty acids with C-odd chains were dominant. Vice versa, cultures grown on heptadecane (C17H36) contained mainly fatty acids with C-even chains. In contrast, during growth on 1-alkenes or fatty acids, a C-even substrate yielded C-even fatty acids, and a C-odd substrate yielded C-odd fatty acids. These results suggest that anaerobic degradation of alkanes by strain Hxd3 does not occur via a desaturation to the corresponding 1-alkenes, a hypothetical reaction formerly discussed in the literature. Rather an alteration of the carbon chain by a C-odd carbon unit is likely to occur during activation; one hypothetical reaction is a terminal addition of a C1 unit. In contrast, fatty acid analyses of strain Pnd3 after growth on alkanes did not indicate an alteration of the carbon chain by a C-odd carbon unit, suggesting that the initial reaction differed from that in strain Hxd3. When hexadecane-grown cells of strain Hxd3 were resuspended in medium with 1-hexadecene, an adaptation period of 2 days was observed. Also this result is not in favor of an anaerobic alkane degradation via the corresponding 1-alkene.
Keywords: Key words Anaerobic alkane oxidation; Sulfate-reducing bacteria; Cyclodextrin; Alkenes; Fatty acids; Alkane activation
Characterization of Aspergillus nidulans peroxisomes by immunoelectron microscopy by Susana Valenciano; J. R. De Lucas; I. Van der Klei; Marten Veenhuis; F. Laborda (pp. 370-376).
In previous work, we have demonstrated that oleate induces a massive proliferation of microbodies (peroxisomes) in Aspergillus nidulans. Although at a lower level, proliferation of peroxisomes also occurrs in cells growing under conditions that induce penicillin biosynthesis. Here, microbodies in oleate-grown A. nidulans cells were characterized by using several antibodies that recognize peroxisomal enzymes and peroxins in a broad spectrum of eukaryotic organisms such as yeast, and plant, and mammalian cells. Peroxisomes were immunolabeled by anti-SKL and anti-thiolase antibodies, which suggests that A. nidulans conserves both PTS1 and PTS2 import mechanisms. Isocitrate lyase and malate synthase, the two key enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle, were also localized in these organelles. In contrast to reports of Neurospora crassa, our results demonstrate that A. nidulans contains only one type of microbody (peroxisomes) that carry out the glyoxylate cycle and contain 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase and proteins with the C-terminal SKL tripeptide.
Keywords: Key wordsAspergillus nidulans; Peroxisomes; Peroxisome biogenesis; PTS1; PTS2; Glyoxylate; cycle; Microbodies; Isocitrate lyase; Malate synthase
Initial reactions of anaerobic metabolism of alkylbenzenes in denitrifying and sulfate-reducing bacteria by R. Rabus; J. Heider (pp. 377-384).
The initial activation reactions of anaerobic oxidation of the aromatic hydrocarbons toluene and ethylbenzene were investigated in cell extracts of a toluene-degrading, sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulfobacula toluolica, and in cell extracts of strain EbN1, a denitrifying bacterium capable of degrading toluene and ethylbenzene. Extracts of toluene-grown cells of both species catalysed the addition of fumarate to the methyl group of [phenyl-14C]-toluene and formed [14C]-labeled benzylsuccinate. Extracts of ethylbenzene-grown cells of strain EbN1 did not catalyse this reaction, but catalysed the formation of 1-phenylethanol and acetophenone from [methylene-14C]-ethylbenzene. Toluene-grown cells of D. toluolica and strain EbN1 synthesised highly induced polypeptides corresponding to the large subunits of benzylsuccinate synthase from Thauera aromatica. These polypeptides were absent in strain EbN1 after growth on ethylbenzene, although a number of different polypeptides were highly induced. Thus, formation of benzylsuccinate from toluene and fumarate appears to be the general initiating step in anaerobic toluene degradation by bacteria affiliated with the phylogenetically distinct β-subclass (strain EbN1 and T. aromatica) and δ-subclass (D. toluolica) of the Proteobacteria. Anaerobic ethylbenzene oxidation proceeds via a different pathway involving a two-step oxidation of the methylene group to an alcohol and an oxo group; these steps are most probably followed by a biotin-independent carboxylation reaction and thiolytic cleavage.
Keywords: Key words Anaerobic alkylbenzene metabolism; Sulfate-reducing bacteria; Denitrifying bacteria; Desulfobacula toluolica; Toluene; Benzylsuccinate; Ethylbenzene; 1-Phenylethanol; Acetophenone; Benzoyl-CoA
The atpIBEXF operon coding for the F0 sector of the ATP synthase from the purple nonsulfur photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus by Roberto Borghese; Paola Turina; Luca Lambertini; B. A. Melandri (pp. 385-388).
The atpIBEXF operon coding for the F0 sector of the ATP synthase from Rhodobacter capsulatus was cloned and sequenced. The genes for the five subunits were present in the order: atpI (subunit I), atpB (subunit a), atpE (subunit c), atpX (subunit b′), and atpF (subunit b). The transcription initiation site was defined by primer-extension analysis. A duplicated and divergent copy of the b subunit gene (subunit b′) was present. This duplication is found only in photosynthetic prokaryotes and in plant chloroplasts. F0 deletion mutants formed tiny colonies during anaerobic growth in the dark but could not sustain continuous growth. Based on the results of the present work, we conclude that a functioning ATP synthase is essential for normal growth under all conditions tested.
Keywords: Key words F0F1 ATP synthase; F0F1 ATPase; Rhodobacter capsulatus; F0 operon; Gene cloning; Promoter; GTA; Photosynthesis; Dimethylsulfoxide respiration
The formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase isoenzymes in Methanobacterium wolfei and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum: induction of the molybdenum isoenzyme by molybdate and constitutive synthesis of the tungsten isoenzyme by Andreas Hochheimer; Reiner Hedderich; R. K. Thauer (pp. 389-393).
Formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase catalyzes the first step in methane formation from CO2 in methanogenic archaea. Methanobacterium wolfei and Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum have been shown to contain two isoenzymes, a tungsten-containing isoenzyme (Fwd) and a molybdenum-containing isoenzyme (Fmd). We report here that in both thermophilic organisms the encoding genes are organized in a highly conserved fwdHFGDACB tungsten operon and in an fmdECB molybdenum operon. In both organisms, the tungsten isoenzyme was found to be constitutively transcribed, whereas the transcription of the molybdenum operon was induced by molybdate. Induction by molybdate was not significantly affected by tungstate.
Keywords: Key words Tungsten enzymes; Molybdenum enzymes; Transcriptional regulation; Methanobacterium; Methanogenic archaea; Thermophiles