Search

Flavin-free cytochrome b5 reductase was reconstituted with 1-deazaflavin and 5-deazaflavin mononucleotides and dinucleotides. The 5-deazaenzyme functioned in transhydrogenation reactions but lacked electron transferase activity. The 1-deazaenzyme was fully competent for both input and output reactions. The flavin reduction rate was lowered about sevenfold upon N-1 substitution of FAD, but hydrogen abstraction from NADH remained the limiting step. Autoxidation of the reduced enzyme was more rapid than with the normal cofactor. Oxidation was accompanied by appearance of a transient blue-type semiquinone and superoxide ion production. Flavin-free apoflavodoxin was reconstituted with 1-deaza-1-carbaflavin mononucleotide (1-deaza-FMN). Its behaviour toward dithionite and oxygen was qualitatively highly similar to that of native flavodoxin. These observations contrast with the fact that apoflavocytochrome b2 could not be reconstituted with 1-deaza-FMN [Pompon, D. and Lederer, F. (1979) Eur. J. Biochem. 96, 571–579]. These results, as well as other data from the literature, are discussed in the light of existing hypotheses, which try to correlate flavin protein interactions and flavoprotein function.

In order to study the functional role of the spectral species of cytochrome b-565 observed in mitochondria, genetically manipulated strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been used. Strains have been found which are devoid of cytochrome b-565 under certain conditions and which nevertheless are able to grow on a respirable substrate. Two different methods have been used to determine the cytochrome b-565 content: anaerobic titrations and antimycin-A-induced reduction of cytochrome b-565. Both yield the same results.

A small anaerobically induced tomato transcription factor was isolated from a subtractive library. This factor, designated ABZ1 (anaerobic basic leucine zipper), is anaerobically induced in fruits, leaves and roots and encodes a nuclear localized protein. ABZ1 shares close structural and sequence homology with the S-family of small basic leucine zipper (bZIP) transcription factors that are implicated in stress response. Nuclear localization of ABZ1 is mediated by the basic region and occurs under normoxic conditions. ABZ1 binds to G-box-like target sites as a dimer. Binding can be abolished by heterodimerization with a truncated protein retaining the leucine zipper but lacking the DNA binding domain. The protein binds in a sequence specific manner to the CaMV 35S promoter which is down regulated when ABZ1 is coexpressed. This correlates with the anaerobic down regulation of the 35S promoter in tomato and tobacco. These results may suggest that small bZIP proteins are involved in the negative regulation of gene expression under anaerobic conditions.

In Klebsiella pneumoniae, the flavoprotein, NifL regulates NifA mediated transcriptional activation of the N2-fixation (nif) genes in response to molecular O2 and ammonium. We investigated the influence of membrane-bound oxidoreductases on nif-regulation by biochemical analysis of purified NifL and by monitoring NifA-mediated expression of nifH'-'lacZ reporter fusions in different mutant backgrounds. NifL-bound FAD-cofactor was reduced by NADH only in the presence of a redox-mediator or inside-out vesicles derived from anaerobically grown K. pneumoniae cells, indicating that in vivo NifL is reduced by electrons derived from membrane-bound oxidoreductases of the anaerobic respiratory chain. This mechanism is further supported by three lines of evidence: First, K. pneumoniae strains carrying null mutations of fdnG or nuoCD showed significantly reduced nif-induction under derepressing conditions, indicating that NifL inhibition of NifA was not relieved in the absence of formate dehydrogenase-N or NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase. The same effect was observed in a heterologous Escherichia coli system carrying a ndh null allele (coding for NADH dehydrogenaseII). Second, studying nif-induction in K. pneumoniae revealed that during anaerobic growth in glycerol, under nitrogen-limitation, the presence of the terminal electron acceptor nitrate resulted in a significant decrease of nif-induction. The final line of evidence is that reduced quinone derivatives, dimethylnaphthoquinol and menadiol, are able to transfer electrons to the FAD-moiety of purified NifL. On the basis of these data, we postulate that under anaerobic and nitrogen-limited conditions, NifL inhibition of NifA activity is relieved by reduction of the FAD-cofactor by electrons derived from the reduced quinone pool, generated by anaerobic respiration, that favours membrane association of NifL. We further hypothesize that the quinol/quinone ratio is important for providing the signal to NifL.

Many aromatic compounds can be metabolized by bacteria under anoxic conditions via benzoyl-CoA as the common intermediate. The central pathway of benzoyl-CoA metabolism is initiated by an ATP-driven reduction of the aromatic ring producing cyclohexa-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA. The 1,5-dienoyl-CoA intermediate is thought to be transformed to 6-hydroxycyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA by a specific dienoyl-CoA hydratase catalyzing the formal addition of water to one of the double bonds. This dienoyl-CoA hydratase was detected in the denitrifying bacterium Thauera aromatica after anaerobic growth with benzoate. Substrate and product were confirmed and a convenient spectrophotometric assay was developed. The equilibrium concentrations of substrate and product were almost equal. Enzyme activity was induced after anoxic growth with benzoate, in contrast to acetate. The enzyme of 28 kDa was purified from T. aromatica and was found to be highly specific for the cyclic 1,5-dienoyl-CoA. A second 29-kDa enoyl-CoA hydratase acted on crotonyl-CoA; this highly active enoyl-CoA hydratase also acted slowly on cyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA. The regulation of expression of dienoyl-CoA hydratase activity, the kinetic constants, the substrate specificity, and the specific activity of the enzyme in cell extract provide evidence that dienoyl-CoA hydratase is the second enzyme of the central benzoyl-CoA pathway of anaerobic aromatic metabolism in T. aromatica. Extracts of Rhodopseudomonas palustris contained high activity of cyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA hydratase, but no 1,5-dienoyl-CoA hydratase activity. It appears that a variant of the benzoyl-CoA pathway is operating in R. palustris in which hydration of the 1,5-dienoyl-CoA does not take place. Rather, cyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA is hydrated to 2-hydroxycyclohexane-1-carboxyl-CoA.

Under anoxic conditions most aromatic compounds are metabolized via benzoyl-CoA which becomes reduced by benzoyl-CoA reductase (dearomatizing); this enzyme was recently described in the bacterium Thauera aromatica [Boll, M. & Fuchs, G. (1995) Eur. J. Biochem. 234, 921-933]. It catalyzes the reaction benzoyl-CoA + 2 e- + 2 H+ + 2 MgATP + 2 H2O --> cyclohexa-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA + 2 MgADP + 2 Pi. The iron-sulfur protein has a native molecular mass of 160-170 kDa and consists of four different subunits. In addition a flavin may be present. The nature of the potential prosthetic group and the natural electron donor were determined. Purified benzoyl-CoA reductase preparations contained 0.25-0.3 mol FAD/mol enzyme. Cells grown anaerobically with aromatic substrates contained a ferredoxin which represented the main, if not the only ferredoxin present. It was purified from 200 g cells with a yield of 60 mg and its N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined. The native molecular mass was 9659 +/- 2 Da as determined by electrospray mass spectrometry. The protein contained 7.6 +/- 0.6 mol iron and 7.6 +/- 1 mol acid-labile sulfur/mol. The ultraviolet-visible spectrum of the protein was typical for ferredoxins with maxima at 280 nm and 390 nm (in the oxidized state). The estimated molar absorption coefficients were 63500 M(-1) cm(-1) at 280 nm and 40500 M(-1) cm(-1) at 390 nm. The difference spectrum between the oxidized and the reduced form had a maximum at 415 nm with delta epsilon415 = 8200 M(-1) cm(-1). 1 mol ferredoxin became reduced/mol dithionite added, suggesting the presence of two [4Fe-4S] clusters. The average midpoint potential of the iron-sulfur clusters was -450 mV. The ferredoxin gene was cloned and sequenced. It was located in a gene cluster coding for enzymes involved in anaerobic aromatic metabolism. The amino acid sequence of the T. aromatica ferredoxin showed high similarities to several other ferredoxins containing 2[4Fe-4S] clusters, e.g. from Clostridia and phototrophic bacteria. The reduced ferredoxin served as electron donor for benzoyl-CoA reduction at a three times higher rate compared with the rate obtained with the artificial electron donor reduced methyl viologen. The turnover number with the natural electron donor of 5 s(-1) can explain the bacterial growth rate with benzoate as substrate. Half-maximal enzyme activity was obtained with 6 microM reduced ferredoxin, at an estimated cellular concentration of 70 microM ferredoxin. Both the low apparent Km value and the turnover number are consistent with the proposed role of ferredoxin in aromatic-ring reduction.

Wolinella succinogenes contains a single formate dehydrogenase, but two gene loci (fdhI and fdhII) code for the subunits of the enzyme. The nucleotide sequence of fdhII is almost identical with that of fdhI in the region comprising fdhEABCD. The sequences of fdhI and fdhII differ in the promotor regions upstream of fdhE. Deletion mutants lacking either fdhI or fdhII synthesize functional formate dehydrogenases, as shown by growth with formate as electron donor and either fumarate or polysulfide as acceptor substrates, and by the presence of the FdhA subunit and of enzyme activity. In the wild-type strain, the fdhI genes appear to be expressed preferentially during growth with formate and fumarate. The six-times greater amount of the enzyme present upon growth with formate and polysulfide is due to the expression of both fdhI and fdhII. The transcription start sites were located 196-bp and 129-bp upstream of the fdhE start codons of fdhI and fdhII, respectively. An apparently single transcript (5.6 kbp) was detected in polysulfide-grown W. succinogenes by Northern-blot analysis, suggesting that the five open reading frames form operons.

An enzyme was recently described, benzoyl-CoA reductase (dearomatizing), which catalyses the ATP-driven reduction of the aromatic ring of benzoyl-CoA yielding a non-aromatic CoA thioester, ADP and phosphate [Boll, M. & Fuchs, G. (1995) Eur. J. Biochem. 234, 921-933]. The 170-kDa enzyme consists of four different subunits and contains approximately 12 Fe and acid-labile sulfur/mol. Benzoyl-CoA reductase exhibits ATPase activity in the absence of substrate. It is shown that only the reduced form of this iron-sulfur protein has ATPase activity. ATPase activity is reversibly lost when the enzyme is oxidized by thionine; reduction of the enzyme fully restores ATPase and ring-reduction activity. 2 mol ATP are hydrolyzed/2 mol electrons transferred in the course of the reaction. The product ADP acts as competitive inhibitor (Ki = 1.1 mM) for ATP in benzoyl-CoA reduction; ADP inhibits ATPase activity to the same extent as ring-reduction activity. EPR investigation of the dithionite-reduced enzyme suggested the presence of two separate [2Fe-2S] clusters and two interacting [4Fe-4S] clusters. Addition of MgATP to the reduced enzyme resulted in a new isotropic signal at g = 5.15 and a weak signal at g = 12; in controls with MgADP only a minor signal at g = 5.15 was observed. The positions, shapes and temperature dependencies of these MgATP-induced signals are indicative for excited states of a S = 7/2 spin multiplet. The [2Fe-2S] signals were not affected by ATP, but one of the [4Fe-4S] clusters became slowly oxidized. Addition of both benzoyl-CoA and MgATP resulted in a major oxidation of the iron-sulfur clusters accompanied by the appearance of some minor signals of unknown origin in the g = 2.037-1.96 region. Neither the benzoyl-CoA plus MgATP-oxidized nor the thionine-oxidized enzyme showed the ATP-dependent formation of the high-spin signals of the reduced enzyme. At present we hypothesize that the S = 7/2 signal is due to an ATP-induced change of one of the [4Fe-4S] clusters. The data suggest that hydrolysis of MgATP is required to activate the enzyme; in the absence of substrate the energy involved in this activation dissipates. MgATP-driven formation of this excited state of the reduced enzyme rather than transfer of electrons from the reduced enzyme to the aromatic substrate appears to be the rate-limiting step in the catalytic cycle. We suggest that the excited state is required to overcome the high activation energy associated with the loss of the aromatic character and/or to render ring reduction irreversible.

Anaerobic green sulfur bacteria contain photosynthetic reaction centers analogous to photosystem I (PS I) of plants and cyanobacteria. These reaction centers, termed type I, are characterized by the presence of bound iron-sulfur clusters as the terminal electron acceptors. In this work, the iron-sulfur clusters in Chlorobium vibrioforme were studied using selective light-induced reduction protocols, spin quantifications, and chemical redox titrations coupled with EPR detection. Illumination of a dark-frozen sample at 12 K results in the appearance of a spectrum termed signal I. Chemical reduction in darkness at solution potentials between -414 mV and -492 mV results in the appearance of a different spectrum termed signal II. Illumination of these chemically poised samples at 12 K results in the appearance of signal I such that the sum of the intensity of signal I + signal II is nearly constant for every ratio of signal I/signal II. As the solution potential is lowered to -545 mV, the spectrum shifts to yet a third set of resonances, termed signal III. Concomitant with this shift is a loss of low temperature light-induced reduction of signal I. Photoaccumulation of a sample poised at a solution potential of -50 mV results also in the appearance of signal III at nearly the same spin concentration as the chemically reduced sample. Spin quantifications imply that signals I and II are both derived from the reduction of one iron-sulfur cluster, termed center I; signal III is derived from simultaneous reduction of two iron-sulfur clusters, centers I and II. By measuring the EPR signal intensities over a range of solution potentials, centers I and II were shown to have Em (pH 10.0) values of -446 mV and -501 mV, respectively. The observations are consistent with a structural and functional analogy of centers I and II with F(A) and F(B) of PS I.

In Escherichia coli the expression of the nuo genes encoding the proton pumping NADH dehydrogenase I is stimulated by the presence of fumarate during anaerobic respiration. The regulatory sites required for the induction by fumarate, nitrate and O2 are located at positions around –309, –277, and downstream of –231 bp, respectively, relative to the transcriptional-start site. The fumarate regulator has to be different from the O2 and nitrate regulators ArcA and NarL. For growth by fumarate respiration, the presence of NADH dehydrogenase I was essential, in contrast to aerobic or nitrate respiration which used preferentially NADH dehydrogenase II. The electron transport from NADH to fumarate strongly decreased in a mutant lacking NADH dehydrogenase I. The mutant used acetyl-CoA instead of fumarate to an increased extent as an electron acceptor for NADH, and excreted ethanol. Therefore, NADH dehydrogenase I is essential for NADH → fumarate respiration, and is able to use menaquinone as an electron acceptor. NADH → dimethylsulfoxide respiration is also dependent on NADH dehydrogenase I. The consequences for energy conservation by anaerobic respiration with NADH as a donor are discussed.

Glutamate synthase is a complex iron-sulfur flavoprotein containing one molecule each of FAD and FMN and three distinct iron-sulfur centers/alpha beta protomer. Production of the beta subunit was observed in total extracts of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE) cells harbouring a pT7-7 derivative carrying gltD, the gene encoding the Azospirillum brasilense glutamate synthase beta subunit. The protein was soluble, and the identity of the purified protein with the Azospirillum glutamate synthase beta subunit was confirmed by N-terminal sequence analysis. The kinetic and spectroscopic characterization of the glutamate synthase beta subunit confirmed that it contains the NADPH binding site, but, in contrast with earlier proposals that assigned both FAD and FMN binding sites to the alpha subunit of glutamate synthase, the beta subunit was shown to contain stoichiometric amounts of FAD. No iron-sulfur centers were detected by EPR spectroscopy measurements of the recombinant beta subunit. Under steady-state conditions, the glutamate synthase beta subunit can catalyze the NADPH-dependent reduction of several synthetic electron acceptors but no glutamate synthase or glutamate dehydrogenase reactions in either direction. The results are in agreement with previous data from our laboratory and, together with the absence of amino acid sequence similarity between glutamate synthase beta subunit and glutamate dehydrogenases, are against the hypothesis that glutamate synthase is evolutionarily derived from the association of an ancestral glutamate dehydrogenase (the beta subunit) and an amidotransferase (the alpha subunit). The protein-bound FAD is reduced by NADPH at a rate much faster than turnover with synthetic electron acceptors, leading to formation of a stable reduced flavin-NADP+ charge-transfer complex. The rate of reduction of the bound FAD by NADPH is also similar to the rate at which one of the flavins is reduced in the native glutamate synthase, as measured in a stopped-flow spectrophotometer under pre-steady-state conditions. The ability of FAD bound to the beta subunit of glutamate synthase to react with NADPH and the lack of reactivity with sulfite lead us to conclude that FAD is Flavin 1 of glutamate synthase [Vanoni, M.A., Edmondson, D.E., Zanetti, G. & Curti, B. (1992) Biochemistry 31, 4613-4623].

Anoxic metabolism of many aromatic compounds proceeds via the common intermediate benzoyl-CoA. Benzoyl-CoA is dearomatized by benzoyl-CoA reductase (dearomatizing) in a two-electron reduction step, possibly yielding cyclohex-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA. This process has to overcome a high activation energy and is considered a biological Birch reduction. The central, aromatic-ring-reducing enzyme was investigated for the first time in the denitrifying bacterium Thauera aromatica strain K172. A spectrophotometric assay was developed which was strictly dependent on MgATP, both with cell extract and with purified enzyme. The oxygen-sensitive new enzyme was purified 35-fold with 20% yield under anaerobic conditions in the presence of 0.25 mM dithionite. It had a native molecular mass of approximately 170 kDa and consisted of four subunits a,b,c,d of 48, 45, 38 and 32 kDa. The oligomer composition of the protein most likely is abcd. The ultraviolet/visible spectrum of the protein as isolated, but without dithionite, was characteristic for an iron-sulfur protein with an absorption maximum at 279 nm and a broad shoulder at 390 nm. The estimated molar absorption coefficient at 390 nm was 35,000 M-1 cm-1. Reduction of the enzyme by dithionite resulted in a decrease of absorbance at 390 nm, and the colour turned from greenish-brown to red-brown. The enzyme contained 10.8 +/- 1.5 mol Fe and 10.5 +/- 1.5 mol acid-labile sulfur/mol. Besides zinc (0.5 mol/mol protein) no other metals nor selenium could be detected in significant amounts. The enzyme preparation contained a flavin or flavin-like compound; the estimated content was 0.3 mol/mol enzyme. The enzyme reaction required MgATP and a strong reductant such as Ti(III). The reaction catalyzed is: benzoyl-CoA + 2 Ti(III) + n ATP-->non-aromatic acyl-CoA + 2 Ti(IV) + n ADP + n Pi. The estimated number n of ATP molecules hydrolyzed/two electrons transferred in benzoyl-CoA reduction is 2-4. In the absence of benzoyl-CoA the enzyme exhibited oxygen-sensitive ATPase activity. The enzyme was specific for Mg(2+)-ATP, other nucleoside triphosphates being inactive (< 1%). Mg2+ could be substituted to some extent by Mn2+, Fe2+ and less efficiently by Co2+. Benzoate was not reduced, whereas some fluoro, hydroxy, amino and methyl analogues of the activated benzoic acid were reduced, albeit at much lower rate; the products remain to be identified. The specific activity with reduced methyl viologen as the electron donor was 0.55 mumol min-1 mg-1 corresponding to a catalytic number of 1.6 s-1. The apparent Km values under the assay conditions (0.5 mM for both reduced and oxidized methyl viologen) of benzoyl-CoA and ATP were 15 microM and 0.6 mM, respectively. The enzyme was inactivated by ethylene, bipyridyl and, in higher concentrations, by acetylene. Benzoyl-CoA reductase also catalyzed the ATP-dependent two-electron reduction of hydroxylamine (Km 0.15 mM) and azide. Some of the properties of the enzyme are reminiscent of those of nitrogenase which similarly overcomes the high activation energy for dinitrogen reduction by coupling electron transfer to the hydrolysis of ATP.

The hydrogenase enzyme occurring in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is induced by anaerobic adaptation of the cells. In aerobically growing cells, antibodies against the hydrogenase failed to detect either active or inactive enzyme. However, already 10 min after the onset of anaerobic adaptation, the protein could be detected. The maximal amount of enzyme was reached after 2-3 hours anaerobiosis. Addition of nickel or iron to the growth medium did not influence activity. In atomic absorption experiments, a Ni/Fe ratio of about 1:250 was measured. We, therefore, propose the hydrogenase from C. reinhardtii to be of the Fe-only type. Adaptation in the presence of uncouplers of phosphorylation showed this process to be energy-dependent. From protein synthesis inhibition experiments, it is concluded that the protein is synthesized on cytoplasmic ribosomes and, therefore, must be nuclear encoded. After isolation of intact chloroplasts from adapted cells, the active enzyme was shown, by Western-blotting analysis, to be located in the chloroplasts.

Lipid peroxidation was induced in rat liver membrane fractions in vitro upon NADPH-dependent metabolic activation of the anesthetic agent halothane at low O2 concentrations. Halothane-induced lipid peroxidation was dependent on time, concentration of halothane, and the calculated O2 concentrations present in the system. Lipid peroxidation was inducible at increasing O2 concentrations up to 12 microM, decreased at higher O2 concentrations up to 48 microM, and was not detectable at normoxic conditions. Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) was identified as a product arising upon lipid peroxidation by reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography combined with a radioimmunoassay. LTB4 formation was maximal under conditions of maximal lipid peroxidation at a calculated O2 concentration of 12 microM. Even at high concentrations, the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors MK886 (10 microM), ZD2138 (20 microM), and ZM230487 (20 microM) were not inhibitory in halothane-induced lipid peroxidation nor in the associated formation of LTB4. Synthetic LTB4 was transformed into its 20-hydroxy derivative by omega-oxidation in an O2-concentration-dependent manner, being considerably reduced at the low O2 concentrations that maximally promoted lipid peroxidation. The collective evidence of these data raises the possibility that exposure to halothane might lead to peroxidation-associated net synthesis of LTB4 through 5-lipoxygenase-independent escape routes in liver tissue under physiologically or pathophysiologically low O2 concentrations.

Hydrogenase from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was purified to homogeneity by five column-chromatography steps under strict anaerobic conditions. The cells were disrupted by mild treatment with detergent. The enzyme was purified 6100-fold, resulting in a specific activity for H2 evolution of 935 mumol.min-1.mg protein-1 at 25 degrees C, using reduced methyl viologen as electron donor. The optimal temperature for hydrogen evolution is 60 degrees C, the optimal pH value is 6.9. The Km value for methyl viologen is 0.83 mM, for ferredoxin, 35 microM. From SDS/PAGE gels, the protein was judged to be pure. On non-denaturing gels, run under nitrogen, a single band was detected after activity staining. This band corresponded to the single band observed on denaturing SDS gels, which had an apparent molecular mass of 48 kDa. If the band was cut out of the native gel and incubated with reduced methyl viologen, hydrogen evolution could be measured. The purified enzyme contains 4 Fe atoms/mol. The amino acid composition and the N-terminal amino acid sequence (24 residues) of the protein were determined. No significant amino acid sequence homologies could be found to any sequences from prokaryotic hydrogenases.

The purpose of this work was to analyze the interactions between oxidative phosphorylations and glucose metabolism on yeast cells aerobically grown on lactate as carbon source and incubated in a resting cell medium. On such respiratory-competent yeast cells, four different metabolic steady states have particularly been studied: (a) glucose feeding under anaerobiosis, (b) ethanol supply under aerobiosis, (c) glucose supply under aerobiosis and (d) glucose plus ethanol under aerobiosis. For each condition, we measured: (a) the cellular ATP/ADP ratio and NADH content sustained under these conditions, (b) the glucose consumption rate (glucose conditions) and the respiratory rate (aerobic conditions). Under aerobic conditions, when ethanol is used as substrate, the ATP/ADP ratio and NADH level are very high as compared with glucose feeding. However, the rate of oxygen consumption is similar under both conditions. The main observation is a large increase in the respiratory rate when both glucose and ethanol are added. This increase corresponds to an ATP/ADP ratio and a NADH level lower than those observed with ethanol but higher than those with glucose. Therefore the response of the respiratory rate to the ATP/ADP ratio depends on the redox potential. We studied the way in which the ATP-consuming activity was increased under glucose+ethanol conditions. By NMR experiments, it appears that neither the futile cycle at the level of the phosphofructo-1-kinase/fructo-1,6-bisphosphatase couple nor the synthesis of carbohydrate stores could account for the increase in oxidative phosphorylation. However, it is shown that, in the presence of glucose+ethanol, ATP consumption is strongly stimulated. It is hypothesized that this consumption is essentially due to the combination of the well-known plasma membrane proton-ATPase activation by glucose and the high phosphate potential due to oxidative ethanol metabolism. While it is well documented that oxidative phosphorylations inhibit the glycolytic flux, i.e. the Pasteur effect, we clearly show in this work that the glycolytic pathway limits the ability of mitochondria to maintain a cellular phosphate potential.

The O-specific polysaccharide component of the lipopolysaccharide produced by Fusobacterium necrophorum is of the teichoic acid type, with repeating units connected by phosphoric diester linkages. Dephosphorylation of the polysaccharide by treatment with aqueous hydrogen fluoride yielded a carbohydrate composed of a trisaccharide linked to an acidic component. This product, and the polysaccharide, were investigated by chemical methods and 1H-, 13C-, 31P- and 15N-NMR spectroscopy and the former also by fast-atom-bombardment mass spectrometry. It is proposed that the polysaccharide is composed of repeating units having the following structure, in which Fuc represents fucose (6-deoxy-galactose), Am represents an acetamidino group and Sug 2,4-diamino-2,4,6-trideoxy-D-glucose ('bacillosamine') acetylated at the 2-position and acylated with a (S)-3-hydroxybutanoic acid at the 4-position. The acid was identified as a 2-amino-2-deoxy-2-C-methyl-pentonic acid (2-amino-2-methyl-3,4,5-trihydroxypentanoic acid). The configuration of this acid remains to be determined. [formula: see text]

Benzoyl-coenzyme A is the most common central intermediate of anaerobic aromatic metabolism. Studies with whole cells of different bacteria and in vitro had shown that benzoyl-CoA is reduced to alicyclic compounds, possibly via cyclohexadiene intermediates. This reaction is considered a 'biological Birch reduction'. We have elucidated by NMR techniques the structures of six products of [ring-13C6]benzoate reduction. The reaction is catalyzed by extracts from cells of a denitrifying Pseudomonas strain K172 anaerobically grown with benzoate and nitrate as sole carbon and energy sources. The assay mixture contained [ring-13C6]benzoate plus traces of [U-14C]benzoate, Mg2+, ATP, coenzyme A (CoA), and Ti(III) as reductant. The use of the multiply 13C-labelled precursor increases the sensitivity of NMR detection and allows the analysis of crude product mixtures by two-dimensional coherence transfer procedures such as total correlation 13C-NMR spectroscopy and 13C-filtered 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The time course of product formation is consistent with the following order of events. Benzoyl-CoA is formed from benzoate via benzoate-CoA ligase. The first ring reduction product observed is cyclohex-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA. The next intermediate is 6-hydroxycyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA which is derived from the diene by addition of water. Part of the diene seems to be reduced to cyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA which becomes hydrated to trans-2-hydroxycyclohexane-1-carboxyl-CoA; these two intermediates may be side products in vitro. The first non-cyclic intermediate formed by beta-oxidation is 3-hydroxypimelyl-CoA. This aliphatic C7 dicarboxylic acid is proposed to be oxidized via glutaryl-CoA and crotonyl-CoA to three molecules of acetyl-CoA and one molecule of CO2. A similar product pattern was observed in the benzoate-degrading phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris. This indicates that the enzymatic reduction of benzoyl-CoA may be mechanistically similar in different anaerobes.

Different anaerobic bacteria can oxidize a variety of aromatic compounds completely to CO2 via one common aromatic intermediate, benzoyl-CoA. It has been postulated that anaerobically the aromatic nucleus of benzoyl-CoA becomes reduced. An oxygen-sensitive enzyme system is described catalyzing the reduction of benzoyl-CoA to trans-2-hydroxycyclohexanecarboxyl-CoA in a denitrifying Pseudomonas species grown anaerobically on benzoate plus nitrate. The assay mixture consists of cell extract, [U-14C]benzoyl-CoA, a [U-14C]benzoyl-CoA-generating system (consisting of [U-14C]benzoate, purified benzoate-CoA ligase, Mg(2+)-ATP, coenzyme A), an ATP-regenerating system (consisting of phosphoenolpyruvate, pyruvate kinase, myokinase), and a low-potential reductant [titanium(III) citrate]. The optimal pH is about 7, the specific activity 10 nmol benzoyl-CoA reduced min-1 x mg-1 protein. The apparent Km for benzoyl-CoA is below 50 microM. Five major products were found. One product is cyclohex-1-enecarboxyl-CoA which must have been formed by a benzoyl-CoA reductase. The other product is probably trans-2-hydroxycyclohexanecarboxyl-CoA rather than the cis-stereoisomer; this product must have been formed by a cyclohex-1-enecarboxyl-CoA hydratase. Two other products are likely to be intermediates of benzoyl-CoA reduction to cyclohex-1-enecarboxyl-CoA, suggesting that the reduction reaction is more complex. An early formed fifth product is more polar than cyclohexanecarboxyl- or cyclohex-1-enecarboxyl-CoA. The enzyme system is under oxygen control since it was not found in cells grown aerobically on benzoate. It is induced by aromatic compounds since its activity is low in cells grown anaerobically on acetate. The actual inducer is probably benzoyl-CoA rather than benzoate. This conclusion is drawn from the fact that the system is also present in cells grown anaerobically on phenol, phenylacetate, 4-hydroxybenzoate, or 2-aminobenzoate; the anaerobic metabolism of these compounds has been shown in this organism to proceed directly via benzoyl-CoA rather than via free benzoate.

1. During aerobic cation uptake in liver mitochondria, the hydrophobic pH indicator bromothymol blue undergoes a multiphase response: phase 1 (rapid acidification), phase 2 (slow alkalinization), phase 3 (rapid alkalinization) and phase 4 (reacidification). 2. Titrations with ruthenium red and malonate indicate that the various phases depend on the relative rates of cation uptake and proton translocation: at high rates of cation uptake, phase 1 disappears and phases 2 and 3 are transformed in a monotonic process of alkalinization. 3. The comparison of the bromothymol blue response with the arsenazo III, 2′,7′-bis(carboxyethyl)-5(6)carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) and safranine responses indicates that: (a) phase 2 (slow alkalinization) corresponds to a slow rise of matrix pH and a parallel decline of membrane potential; (b)phase 3 (rapid alkalinization) corresponds to termination of proton translocation and initiation of the processes of cation efflux and proton reuptake. All the above processes reach completion during phase 4. 4. Although bromothymol blue always behaves as a membrane-bound indicator, the extent to which it reflects the matrix or the cytosolic pH is a function of the membrane-potential-determined asymmetric distribution: in parallel with the lowering of the membrane potential, the dye chromophore is shifted from the cytosolic to the matrix side membrane layer. 5. A model is discussed which describes the behaviour of bromothymol blue as pH indicator recording the changes in membrane layers facing either the matrix or the cytosolic side. The complex response of the dye during cation uptake is due to two independent processes, one of pH change and another of dye intramembrane shift. Computer simulations of the dye response, based on the conversion of a kinetic model into an electrical network and closely reproducing the experimental observations, are reported.

The 74-min region of the Escherichia coli chromosome includes five open reading frames of known sequence. The first and last of these genes, nirB and cysG, are transcribed in the same direction and both are essential for NADH-dependent nitrite reductase activity. The functions of the other genes, nirD, nirE and nirC, which are located between nirB and cysG, are unknown. The nirB gene is transcribed from a promoter which is anaerobically induced, expression being dependent on the transcription activator protein, Fnr. Here we show that the nirD, nirE, nirC and cysG genes are also expressed from the nirB promoter. After subcloning cysG, a second promoter was located less than 100 bases upstream of cysG. Two groups of transcription start points separated by 40 bases were detected in this region by S1 mapping. Rates of transcription from the isolated cysG promoter were the same during aerobic growth and anaerobic growth in the presence or absence of nitrite. However, when the nirB gene and its promoter were cloned back upstream from the cysG promoter, the rate of transcription was higher during anaerobic growth than during aerobic growth and was further induced by nitrite. These increases were totally dependent on a functional fnr gene and were shown by S1 mapping experiments to be due to transcriptional read-through from the Fnr-dependent nirB promoter. No promoter activity was associated with DNA fragments between the BamHI site located within the N-terminal coding region of the nirB gene and the cysG promoter located at the C-terminus of nirC.

The soluble, cytoplasmic NAD+-reducing [NiFe]-hydrogenase from Ralstonia eutropha is a heterotetrameric enzyme (HoxFUYH) and contains two FMN groups. The purified oxidized enzyme is inactive in the H2-NAD+ reaction, but can be activated by catalytic amounts of NADH. It was discovered that one of the FMN groups (FMN-a) is selectively released upon prolonged reduction of the enzyme with NADH. During this process, the enzyme maintained its tetrameric form, with one FMN group (FMN-b) firmly bound, but it lost its physiological activity--the reduction of NAD+ by H2. This activity could be reconstituted by the addition of excess FMN to the reduced enzyme. The rate of reduction of benzyl viologen by H2 was not dependent on the presence of FMN-a. Enzyme devoid of FMN-a could not be activated by NADH. As NADH-dehydrogenase activity was not dependent on the presence of FMN-a, and because FMN-b did not dissociate from the reduced enzyme, we conclude that FMN-b is functional in the NADH-dehydrogenase activity catalyzed by the HoxFU dimer. The possible function of FMN-a as a hydride acceptor in the hydrogenase reaction catalyzed by the HoxHY dimer is discussed.

We have isolated and characterized a second [Fe]-hydrogenase gene from the green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The HydA2 gene encodes a protein of 505 amino acids that is 74% similar and 68% identical to the known HydA1 hydrogenase from C. reinhardtii. HydA2 contains all the conserved residues and motifs found in the catalytic core of the family of [Fe]-hydrogenases. We demonstrate that both the HydA1 and the HydA2 transcripts are expressed upon anaerobic induction, achieved either by neutral gas purging or by sulfur deprivation of the cultures. Furthermore, the expression levels of both transcripts are regulated (in some cases differently) by incubation conditions, such as the length of anaerobiosis, the readdition of O2, the presence of acetate, and/or the absence of nutrients such as sulfate during growth. Antibodies specific for HydA2 recognized a protein of about 49 kDa in extracts from anaerobically induced C. reinhardtii cells, strongly suggesting that HydA2 encodes for an expressed protein. Homology-based 3D modeling of the HydA2 hydrogenase shows that its catalytic site models well to the known structure of Clostridium pasteurianum CpI, including the H2-gas channel. The major differences between HydA1, HydA2 and CpI are the absence of the N-terminal Fe-S centers and the existence of extra sequences in the algal enzymes. To our knowledge, this work represents the first systematic study of expression of two algal [Fe]-hydrogenases in the same organism.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a unicellular green alga, contains a hydrogenase enzyme, which is induced by anaerobic adaptation of the cells. Using the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) approach, the differential expression of genes under anaerobiosis was analyzed. A PCR fragment with similarity to the genes of bacterial Fe-hydrogenases was isolated and used to screen an anaerobic cDNA expression library of C. reinhardtii. The cDNA sequence of hydA contains a 1494-bp ORF encoding a protein with an apparent molecular mass of 53.1 kDa. The transcription of the hydrogenase gene is very rapidly induced during anaerobic adaptation of the cells. The deduced amino-acid sequence corresponds to two polypeptide sequences determined by sequence analysis of the isolated native protein. The Fe-hydrogenase contains a short transit peptide of 56 amino acids, which routes the hydrogenase to the chloroplast stroma. The isolated protein belongs to a new class of Fe-hydrogenases. All four cysteine residues and 12 other amino acids, which are strictly conserved in the active site (H-cluster) of Fe-hydrogenases, have been identified. The N-terminus of the C. reinhardtii protein is markedly truncated compared to other non-algal Fe-hydrogenases. Further conserved cysteines that coordinate additional Fe-S-cluster in other Fe-hydrogenases are missing. Ferredoxin PetF, the natural electron donor, links the hydrogenase from C. reinhardtii to the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The hydrogenase enables the survival of the green algae under anaerobic conditions by transferring the electrons from reducing equivalents to the enzyme.

Budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a facultative anaerobe whose growth upon oxygen starvation depends on its capacity to import exogenously supplied sterols, whereas the cells are not permeable to these molecules when grown aerobically. Few genes have been identified as being involved in sterol uptake. A higher SUT1 gene dosage leads to a modest, but significant, increase in sterol uptake under aerobic conditions. Based on sequence and physiological data, SUT1 is a hypoxic gene negatively regulated when the cells are grown in the presence of oxygen. We replaced the SUT1 promoter with the constitutive PMA1 gene promoter in order to enhance its transcription. We observed that sterol uptake was then comparable with that obtained with a sterol importing hem1 mutant, although the heme status of the strain was not modified in a process which still occurs when the cells are not growing. Unexpectedly, SUT1 constitutive expression led to a parallel significant increase in endogenous sterol biosynthesis. Moreover, here we present new data showing that the structurally related YPR009 gene (SUT2) is a functional homologue of SUT1, and that both gene products may represent two novel yeast regulatory proteins involved in sterol uptake.

The metabolism of glucose by nongrowing cells of Lactococcus lactis strain FI7851, constructed from the wild-type L. lactis strain MG1363 by disruption of the lactate dehydrogenase (ldh) gene [Gasson, M.J., Benson, K., Swindel, S.Griffin, H. (1996) Lait 76, 33-40] was studied in a noninvasive manner by 13C-NMR. The kinetics of the build-up and consumption of the pools of intracellular intermediates mannitol 1-phosphate, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate, 3-phosphoglycerate, and phosphoenolpyruvate as well as the utilization of [1-13C]glucose and formation of products (lactate, acetate, mannitol, ethanol, acetoin, 2,3-butanediol) were monitored in vivo with a time resolution of 30 s. The metabolism of glucose by the parental wild-type strain was also examined for comparison. A clear shift from typical homolactic fermentation (parental strain) to a mixed acid fermentation (lactate dehdydrogenase deficient; LDHd strain) was observed. Furthermore, high levels of mannitol were transiently produced and metabolized once glucose was depleted. Mannitol 1-phosphate accumulated intracellularly up to 76 mM concentration. Mannitol was formed from fructose 6-phosphate by the combined action of mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphatase. The results show that the formation of mannitol 1-phosphate by the LDHd strain during glucose catabolism is a consequence of impairment in NADH oxidation caused by a highly reduced LDH activity, the transient production of mannitol 1-phosphate serving as a regeneration pathway for NAD+ regeneration. Oxygen availability caused a drastic change in the pattern of intermediates and end-products, reinforcing the key-role of the fulfilment of the redox balance. The flux control coefficients for the step catalysed by mannitol-1-phosphate dehydrogenase were calculated and the implications in the design of metabolic engineering strategies are discussed.

Glucose metabolism of Pasteurella multocida was examined in resting cells in vivo using 13C NMR spectroscopy, in cell-free extracts in vitro using 31P NMR spectroscopy and using enzyme assays. The NMR data indicate that glucose is converted by the Embden-Meyerhof and pentose phosphate pathways. The P. multocida fructose 6-phosphate phosphotransferase activity (the key enzyme of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway) was similar to that of Escherichia coli. Nevertheless, and in contrast to that of E. coli, its activity was inhibited by alpha glycerophosphate. This inhibition is consistent with the very low fructose 6-phosphate phosphotransferase activity found in cell-free extracts of P. multocida using a spectrophotometric method. The dominant end products of glucose metabolism were mannitol, acetate and succinate. Under anaerobic conditions, P. multocida was able to constitutively produce mannitol from glucose, mannose, fructose, sucrose, glucose 6-phosphate and fructose 6-phosphate. We propose a new metabolic pathway in P. multocida where fructose 6-phosphate is reduced to mannitol 1-phosphate by fructose 6-phosphate reductase. Mannitol 1-phosphate produced is then converted to mannitol by mannitol 1-phosphatase.

In order to investigate the effects of trace elements on different metabolic pathways, the thermoacidophilic Crenarchaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (DSM 639) has been cultivated on various carbon substrates in the presence and absence of molybdate. When grown on glucose (but neither on glutamate nor casein hydrolysate) as sole carbon source, the lack of molybdate results in serious growth inhibition. By analysing cytosolic fractions of glucose adapted cells for molybdenum containing compounds, an aldehyde oxidoreductase was detected that is present in the cytosol to at least 0.4% of the soluble protein. With Cl2Ind (2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol) as artificial electron acceptor, the enzyme exhibits oxidizing activity towards glyceraldehyde, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, isobutyraldehyde, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and propionaldehyde. At its pH-optimum (6.7), close to the intracellular pH of Sulfolobus, the glyceraldehyde-oxidizing activity is predominant. The protein has an apparent molecular mass of 177 kDa and consists of three subunits of 80.5 kDa (alpha), 32 kDa (beta) and 19.5 kDa (gamma). It contains close to one Mo, four Fe, four acid-labile sulphides and four phosphates per protein molecule. Methanol extraction revealed the existence of 1 FAD per molecule and 1 molybdopterin per molecule, which was identified as molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide on the basis of perchloric acid cleavage and thin layer chromatography. EPR-spectra of the aerobically prepared enzyme exhibit the so-called 'desulpho-inhibited'-signal, known from chemically modified forms of molybdenum containing proteins. Anaerobically prepared samples show both, the signals arising from the active molybdenum-cofactor as well as from the two [2Fe-2S]-clusters. According to metal-, cofactor-, and subunit-composition, the enzyme resembles the members of the xanthine oxidase family. Nevertheless, the melting point and long-term thermostability of the protein are outstanding and perfectly in tune with the growth temperature of S. acidocaldarius (80 degrees C). The findings suggest the enzyme to function as a glyceraldehyde oxidoreductase in the course of the nonphosphorylated Entner-Doudoroff pathway and thereby may attribute a new physiological role to this class of enzyme.

Many aromatic compounds are anaerobically oxidized to CO2 via benzoyl-CoA as the common aromatic intermediate. In Thauera aromatica, the central benzoyl-CoA pathway comprises the ATP-driven two-electron reduction of the benzene ring; this reaction uses a ferredoxin as electron donor and is catalyzed by benzoyl-CoA reductase. The first intermediate, cyclohex-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA, is subsequently hydrated by dienoyl-CoA hydratase to 6-hydroxycyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA. Formation of the main product produced by cell extracts, 3-hydroxypimelyl-CoA, requires at least two further steps; the oxidation of a hydroxyl group and the hydrolytic carbon ring cleavage of a CoA-activated beta-oxoacid. In addition, enoyl-CoA hydratase may come into play. A cluster of eight adjacent genes, which are transcribed in the same direction and may form an operon, was found in this bacterium. The cluster codes for proven and postulated enzymes of the benzoyl-CoA pathway. The genes for the enzymes code for ferredoxin, four subunits of benzoyl-CoA reductase, dienoyl-CoA hydratase, 6-hydroxycyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA dehydrogenase (NAD+), and the ring hydrolyzing enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequences of these proteins were 35-86% similar to the corresponding sequences found in Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Benzoyl-CoA reductase subunits exhibit distinct similarities with 2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase and its ATP-hydrolysing activase protein of Acidaminococcus fermentans as well as with open reading frames of unknown function in other bacteria. Conversion of benzoyl-CoA to 3-hydroxypimelyl-CoA can be explained by a minimal model of the benzoyl-CoA pathway assuming the four enzymes whose genes were characterized and an additional enoyl-CoA hydratase. In R. palustris the dienoyl-CoA hydratase gene is lacking suggesting the operation of a modified benzoyl-CoA pathway with cyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA as intermediate.

The energetic parameters of Escherichia coli were analyzed for the aerobic/anaerobic transition. The electrochemical proton potential (delta p) across the cytoplasmic membrane was determined in the steady state of respiration with O2, nitrate, fumarate, dimethylsulfoxide (Me2SO), and for fermentation. With O2, a proton potential of -160 mV was obtained. For anaerobic respiration with nitrate, fumarate or Me2SO, delta p decreased only slightly by about 20 mV in contrast to earlier assumptions, whereas delta p dropped by approximately 40 mV during fermentation. Under all conditions, the membrane potential (delta psi) contributed the major portion to delta p. The cellular ATP levels were highest for aerobic growth (about 13 micromol/g dry cells) and decreased to 3-6 micromol/g in anaerobic metabolism. Delta G'Phos, however, was constant due to equivalent changes of the ADP contents. Transition to the stationary growth phase caused a massive drop in the ATP content. It is concluded that, during anaerobic respiration, the energetic situation for the bacteria is very similar to that for aerobic growth with respect to delta G'Phos and delta p whereas, for fermentation, a significant decrease in delta p was observed. The consequences for the cellular energetics and for the regulation of the aerobic/anaerobic transition are discussed.

Phenylglyoxylate (benzoylformate) is an intermediate in the anoxic metabolism of phenylalanine and phenylacetate. It is formed by alpha-oxidation of phenylacetyl-CoA. Phenylglyoxylate is oxidatively decarboxylated by phenylglyoxylate-oxidoreductase to benzoyl-CoA, a central intermediate of anaerobic aromatic metabolism. The phenylglyoxylate oxidizing enzyme activity in the denitrifying bacterium Azoarcus evansii was induced during anaerobic growth with phenylalanine, phenylacetate and phenylglyoxylate, but not with benzoate. The new enzyme phenylglyoxylate:acceptor oxidoreductase was purified and studied. The oxygen-sensitive enzyme reduced both NAD+ and viologen dyes. It was composed of five subunits of approximately 50, 48, 43, 24, and 11.5 kDa; the native mass as determined by gel filtration was 370 kDa, suggesting an alpha2 beta2 gamma2 delta2 epsilon2 composition. Phenylglyoxylate:acceptor oxidoreductase exhibited an ultraviolet/visible spectrum characteristic for an iron-sulfur protein and contained 35 +/- 4 mol Fe, 36 +/- 4 mol acid-labile sulfur, and 1.1 +/- 0.2 mol FAD/mol. The enzyme was specific for phenylglyoxylate (Km 45 microM) and coenzyme A (Km 55 microM); 2-oxoisovalerate was oxidized with 15% of the rate. The turnover number with benzyl viologen at 37 degrees C was 46 s(-1) at the optimal pH of 8. The enzyme catalyzed a NAD(P)H:viologen dye transhydrogenation reaction, NAD(H) being the preferred coenzyme. It also catalyzed an isotope exchange between CO2 and the carboxyl group of the substrate. The data are consistent with the following hypothesis. The enzyme complex consists of a core enzyme of four subunits with the composition alpha2 beta2 gamma2 delta2, as reported for archaeal 2-oxoacid:ferredoxin oxidoreductases; this complex is able to reduce viologen dyes. The holoenzyme contains in addition an epsilon2 unit that catalyzes the transfer of electrons from a small ferredoxin-like subunit of the core complex to NAD+; this unit also catalyzes the transhydrogenase reaction, carries FAD and resembles ferredoxin:NAD(P)+-oxidoreductase.

Aromatic compounds comprise a wide variety of low-molecular-mass natural compounds (amino acids, quinones, flavonoids, etc.) and biopolymers (lignin, melanin). They are almost exclusively degraded by microorganisms. Aerobic aromatic metabolism is characterised by the extensive use of molecular oxygen. Monoxygenases and dioxygenases are essential for the hydroxylation and cleavage of aromatic ring structures. Accordingly, the characteristic central intermediates of the aerobic pathways (e.g. catechol) are readily attacked oxidatively. Anaerobic aromatic catabolism requires, of necessity, a quite different strategy. The basic features of this metabolism have emerged from studies on bacteria that degrade soluble aromatic substrates to CO2 in the complete absence of molecular oxygen. Essential to anaerobic aromatic metabolism is the replacement of all the oxygen-dependent steps by an alternative set of novel reactions and the formation of different central intermediates (e.g. benzoyl-CoA) for breaking the aromaticity and cleaving the ring; notably, in anaerobic pathways, the aromatic ring is reduced rather than oxidised. The two-electron reduction of benzoyl-CoA to a cyclic diene requires the cleavage of two molecules of ATP to ADP and P1 and is catalysed by benzoyl-CoA reductase. After nitrogenase, this is the second enzyme known which overcomes the high activation energy required for reduction of a chemically stable bond by coupling electron transfer to the hydrolysis of ATP. The alicyclic product cyclohex-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA is oxidised to acetyl-CoA via a modified beta-oxidation pathway; the ring structure is opened hydrolytically. Some phenolic compounds are anaerobically transformed to resorcinol (1,3-dihydroxybenzene) or phloroglucinol (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene). These intermediates are also first reduced and then as alicyclic products oxidised to acetyl-CoA. This review gives an outline of the anaerobic pathways which allow bacteria to utilize aromatics even in the absence of oxygen. We focus on previously unknown reactions and on the enzymes characteristic for such novel metabolism.

Many intertidal animals can endure prolonged periods of environmental stress and have developed strategies to preserve a functioning energy state in the cell. Recent 1H/31P-NMR techniques have allowed investigators to monitor directly mammalian tissue metabolism in vivo. In particular, the signals of myoglobin (Mb) offer a unique opportunity to explore the intracellular oxygen-partial-pressure [p(O2)] interaction in Arenicolu marina, a standard model to study hypoxia tolerance in invertebrates. The present study reveals that the 1H-NMR MbO, signal at -2.9 ppm is detectable in tissue and reflects directly the oxygenated state. As the p (02) declines, MbO2, saturation and oxygen consumption decrease. However, phosphotaurocyamine concentration remains unaltered until the MbO2, saturation falls below 33%. The extracellular to intracellular p (O2) gradient appears substantial. The study establishes the 1H-NMR technique as an approach to measure the intracellular p (O2) with an oxygenated state marker and presents the interrelationship between oxygen and the metabolic adaptation during hypoxic stress.

The mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is encoded by three independent genes. AAC1, AAC2, and AAC3. In this work, we analysed the 5' upstream region of AAC1 by sequencing and by mapping the transcription initiation site of the gene. By monitoring the level of AAC1 mRNA and the beta-galactosidase activity of AAC1-lacZ fusion constructs, we showed that expression of AAC1 is subjected to regulation by oxygen. In contrast to the other two AAC genes, the effect of oxygen on AAC1 is not mediated by heme and heme-dependent transcription factors. The AAC1 expression was reduced eightfold in anaerobically grown cells compared to expression in cells grown aerobically, but it was not affected by the nature of carbon source used for growth. The data presented show that AAC1 expression, while constitutive under all aerobic conditions tested, is repressed during anaerobiosis in a heme-independent manner.

The genes hdrA, hdrB and hdrC, encoding the three subunits of the iron-sulfur flavoprotein heterodisulfide reductase, have been cloned and sequenced. HdrA (72.19 kDa) was found to contain a region of amino acid sequence highly similar to the FAD-binding domain of pyridine-nucleotide-dependent disulfide oxidoreductases. Additionally, 110 amino acids C-terminal to the FAD-binding consensus, a short polypeptide stretch (VX2CATID) was detected which shows similarity to the region of thioredoxine reductase that contains the active-site cysteine residues (VX2CATCD). These findings suggest that HdrA harbors the site of heterodisulfide reduction and that the catalytic mechanism of the enzyme is similar to that of pyridine-nucleotide-dependent thioredoxin reductase. HdrA was additionally found to contain four copies of the sequence motif CX2CX2CX3C(P), indicating the presence of four [4Fe-4S] clusters. Two such sequence motifs were also present in HdrC (21.76 kDa), the N-terminal amino acid sequence of which showed sequence similarity to the gamma-subunit of the anaerobic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase of Escherichia coli. HdrC is therefore considered to be an electron carrier protein that contains two [4Fe-4S] clusters. HdrB (33.46 kDa) did not show sequence similarity to other known proteins, but appears to possess a C-terminal hydrophobic alpha-helix that might function as a membrane anchor. Although hdrB and hdrC are juxtaposed, these genes are not near hdrA.

Transport activities for uptake, efflux and exchange of C4-dicarboxylates were observed in anaerobically grown Escherichia coli. All three transport modes were only present in strains containing the transcriptional activator FNR of anaerobic respiration, and were repressed by nitrate and O2. The kinetic and energetic parameters of C4-dicarboxylate transport and the mechanism of the uptake, efflux and exchange reactions were analyzed in whole cells and in membrane vesicles. Fumarate/succinate exchange could be characterized as homologous or heterologous 1:1 counter-exchange. The external substrate was determined as divalent fumarate2- (or succinate2-) at pH 6-9, whereas monovalent H-fumarate dominated as the substrate at pH 3-4. The exchange was not inhibited by dissipation of delta p or constituents of it (delta psi or delta pH). We conclude that this transport mode functions as an electroneutral exchange of C4-dicarboxylates. The uptake of C4-dicarboxylates did not depend on internal counter-substrate and resulted in an accumulation of the substrate. Similar to antiport, fumarate was accepted in the divalent form at pH values greater than or equal to 6 and in the monovalent form at pH 3.5-6. The uptake was inhibited by dissipation of delta p or delta psi. Artificially imposed delta pH, delta psi or fumarate gradients were able to drive fumarate uptake. An involvement of Na+ could not be detected. Thus the uptake is likely to operate as an electrophoretic H+/fumarate symport. Independent of the presence of an external counter-substrate, the substrates were secreted from cells or membrane vesicles loaded with succinate or fumarate. The efflux was electrogenic. Energizing the cells or membrane vesicles inhibited efflux, maximal efflux rates were obtained only after dissipation of delta p or delta psi. An imposed K(+)-diffusion potential (outside positive) inhibited succinate excretion. The efflux of succinate from de-energized membrane vesicles generated a delta psi of -70 mV. It is thus suggested that succinate efflux functions as a H+/succinate symport.

4-Hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase, the key enzyme in the metabolism of gamma-aminobutyrate in Clostridium aminobutyricum, represents approximately 15-25% of the soluble protein. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity under anaerobic conditions to a specific activity of 209 nkat mg-1. The dehydratase catalyses the reversible conversion of 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA (Km = 50 microM) to crotonyl-CoA and possesses a probably intrinsic vinylacetyl-CoA delta 3-delta 2-isomerase with a specific activity of 223 nkat mg-1. The equilibrium of the reversible dehydration was determined from both sides as K = [crotonyl-CoA]/[4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA] = 4.2 +/- 0.3. Cyclopropylcarboxyl-CoA was not converted to crotonyl-CoA. The native enzyme has an apparent molecular mass of 232 kDa and is composed of four apparently identical subunits (molecular mass = 56 kDa), indicating a homotetrameric structure. Under anaerobic conditions the active enzyme revealed a brown colour and contained 2 +/- 0.2 mol FAD (64 +/- 5% oxidized), 16 +/- 0.8 mol Fe and 14.4 +/- 1.2 mol inorganic sulfur, which probably form iron-sulfur clusters. Exposure to air resulted initially in a slight activation followed by irreversible inactivation. Concomitantly the vinylacetyl-CoA delta-isomerase activity was lost and the colour of the enzyme changed to yellow. Reduction by sodium dithionite yielded inactive enzyme which could be completely reactivated by oxidation with potassium hexacyanoferrate(III). The data indicate that the active enzyme contains oxidized FAD despite its sensitivity towards oxygen. During the dehydration a non activated C-H bond at C-3 of 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA has to be cleaved. A putative mechanism for 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase is proposed in which this cleavage is achieved by a FAD-dependent oxidation of 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA to 4-hydroxycrotonyl-CoA. In a second step the hydroxyl group is substituted by a hydride derived from the now reduced FAD in an SN2' reaction leading to vinylacetyl-CoA. Finally isomerisation yields crotonyl-CoA. 4-Hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase is quite distinct from 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratase (crotonase) and 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydratases. Contrary to the latter enzyme [e.g. (R)-lactyl-CoA dehydratase and (R)-2-hydroxyglutaryl-CoA dehydratase] which are composed of three different subunits and similarly catalyse the cleavage of a non activated C-H bond at C-3, 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase does not require ATP, MgCl2 and Ti(III)citrate for activity. Furthermore 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase is not inactivated by oxidants such as 5 mM 4-nitrophenol, 5 mM chloramphenicol and 5 mM hydroxylamine.

The degradation of fructosamines, formed from the non-enzymic glycation of proteins under physiological conditions, to advanced glycation end products was investigated by studying the model peptide fructosamine N epsilon-(1-deoxy-D-fructos-1-yl)hippuryl-lysine (DHL). At pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C in aerobic phosphate buffer, DHL degraded to form N epsilon-carboxymethyl-hippuryl-lysine, and hippuryl-lysine over a 29-day incubation period. The expected N epsilon-(3-lactato)hippuryl-lysine and 'hippuryl-lysylpyrraline' derivatives were not found. Superoxide radicals and hydrogen peroxide were formed during the degradation of DHL but were also both consumed during the degradation reaction. Reversal of the Amadori rearrangement was not a major fate of the fructosamine. The formation of N epsilon-carboxymethyl-hippuryl-lysine was decreased by desferrioxamine, catalase, superoxide dismutase, catalase with superoxide dismutase, anaerobic conditions and aminoguanidine. The formation of hippuryl-lysine was decreased by desferrioxamine, catalase and catalase with superoxide dismutase, but was increased by the addition of aminoguanidine. N epsilon-Carboxymethyl-serine and unmodified lysine residues are major peptide-based end products in the degradation of lysyl-fructosamine under physiological conditions. Oxygen, redox-active metal ions, catalase, superoxide dismutase and the pharmacological agent aminoguanidine are expected to be influential on the rate and fate of fructosamine degradation.

The xylene monooxygenase system encoded by the TOL plasmid pWW0 of Pseudomonas putida catalyses the hydroxylation of a methyl side-chain of toluene and xylenes. Genetic studies have suggested that this monooxygenase consists of two different proteins, products of the xylA and xylM genes, which function as an electron-transfer protein and a terminal hydroxylase, respectively. In this study, the electron-transfer component of xylene monooxygenase, the product of xylA, was purified to homogeneity. Fractions containing the xylA gene product were identified by its NADH:cytochrome c reductase activity. The molecular mass of the enzyme was determined to be 40 kDa by SDS/PAGE, and 42 kDa by gel filtration. The enzyme was found to contain 1 mol/mol of tightly but not covalently bound FAD, as well as 2 mol/mol of non-haem iron and 2 mol/mol of acid-labile sulfide, suggesting the presence of two redox centers, one FAD and one [2Fe-2S] cluster/protein molecule. The oxidised form of the protein had absorbance maxima at 457 nm and 390 nm, with shoulders at 350 nm and 550 nm. These absorbance maxima disappeared upon reduction of the protein by NADH or dithionite. The NADH:acceptor reductase was capable of reducing either one- or two-electron acceptors, such as horse heart cytochrome c or 2,6-dichloroindophenol, at an optimal pH of 8.5. The reductase was found to have a Km value for NADH of 22 microM. The oxidation of NADH was determined to be stereospecific; the enzyme is pro-R (class A enzyme). The titration of the reductase with NADH or dithionite yielded three distinct reduced forms of the enzyme: the reduction of the [2Fe-2S] center occurred with a midpoint redox potential of -171 mV; and the reduction of FAD to FAD. (semiquinone form), with a calculated midpoint redox potential of -244 mV. The reduction of FAD. to FAD.. (dihydroquinone form), the last stage of the titration, occurred with a midpoint redox potential of -297 mV. The [2Fe-2S] center could be removed from the protein by treatment with an excess of mersalyl acid. The [2Fe-2S]-depleted protein was still reduced by NADH, giving rise to the formation of the anionic flavin semiquinone observed in the native enzyme, thus suggesting that the electron flow was NADH --FAD --[2Fe-2S] in this reductase. The resulting protein could no longer reduce cytochrome c, but could reduce 2,6-dichloroindophenol at a reduced rate.

The thioredoxin system, comprising NADPH, thioredoxin reductase and thioredoxin reduces protein disulfides via redox-active dithiols. We have discovered that sodium selenite is a substrate for the thioredoxin system; 10 microM selenite plus 0.05 microM calf thymus thioredoxin reductase at pH 7.5 caused a non-stoichiometric oxidation of NADPH (100 microM after 30 min). In contrast, thioredoxin reductase from Escherichia coli showed no direct reaction with selenite, but addition of 3 microM E. coli thioredoxin also resulted in non-stoichiometric oxidation of NADPH, consistent with oxidation of the two active-site thiol groups in thioredoxin to a disulfide. Kinetically, the reaction was complex with a lag phase at low selenite concentrations. Under anaerobic conditions the reaction stopped after 1 mol selenite had oxidized 3 mol NADPH; the admission of air then resulted in continued consumption of NADPH consistent with autooxidation of selenium intermediate(s). Ferricytochrome c was effectively reduced by calf thymus thioredoxin reductase and selenite in the presence of oxygen. Selenite caused a strong dose-dependent inhibition of the formation of thiol groups from insulin disulfides with either the E. coli or calf-thymus thioredoxin system. Thus, under aerobic conditions selenite catalyzed, NADPH-dependent redox cycling with oxygen, a large oxygen-dependent consumption of NADPH and oxidation of reduced thioredoxin inhibiting its disulfide-reductase activity.

1. The kinetics of acidification and realkalinization of the matrix after addition of nigericin to respiring and non-respiring mitochondria, recorded by intramitochondrial pH indicators such as neutral red and 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF), is complementary to that recorded by extramitochondrial pH indicators. The extent of acidification decreases with the logarithm of the KCl concentration and is inhibited by Pi and ammonium ions. 2. Proton translocation during respiration has been compared with proton extraction from matrix bulk water. During oxygen pulses to EGTA-untreated mitochondria, BCECF records an extraction of protons from matrix bulk water of about 2-3 nmol H+/mg, reduced to 1-2 nmol H+/mg in EGTA-treated mitochondria. Since the amount of proton translocation required to achieve steady state is of the order of 6-7 nmol H+/mg, it appears that 75-90% of the protons are not extracted from matrix bulk water. Only a slight response is recorded by neutral red. 3. The effect of permeant cations and of uncouplers on the distribution of proton extraction between membrane and matrix bulk water has been studied in presteady state. During Sr2+ uptake, proton extrusion into cytosolic bulk water, as well as proton extraction from matrix bulk water, corresponds almost to 100% of the protons translocated by the redox proton pumps. In the absence of Sr2+, parallel to the disappearance of the proton extrusion in cytosolic bulk water, the proton extraction from matrix bulk water diminishes to about 20% of the proton translocation. 4. The mechanism by which divalent cation uptake and protonophoric uncouplers affect the distribution of proton extraction between matrix bulk water and membrane domains and the nature of the membrane domains are discussed.