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In Nitrosomonas europaea, ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) and hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) catalyse the oxidation of ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (NO2-). A transcript of 3500 bases hybridizes to probes for amoA and amoB (genes that code for AMO proteins). A transcript of 2100 bases hybridizes to probes for hao (the gene that codes for HAO). Induction of the mRNAs detected by amo and hao probes required the presence of ammonium (NH4+). To correlate new levels of mRNA with de novo activity, existent mRNA pools and AMO activity were depleted prior to induction by NH4+. The mRNAs of AMO and HAO were depleted by depriving the cells of energy for at least 8 h; AMO activity was inactivated with acetylene (C2H2) after mRNA depletion. In cells treated this way, levels of new AMO mRNA and de novo AMO enzyme activity were correlated with increased NH4+ concentrations up to 1 mM after 3 h of incubation. HAO mRNA also increased in the NH4(+)-treated cells. Other proteins and RNAs induced by NH4+ were detected in 14CO2-labelling experiments. The AMO and HAO mRNAs were preferentially synthesized during energy-limiting conditions.

Mutants in which conserved cysteines 294, 297 or 64 and 65 of the Azotobacter vinelandii hydrogenase small subunit were replaced by serines were studied. Cysteines 294 and 297 are homologous to cysteines 246 and 249 of the Desulfovibrio gigas hydrogenase, and these cysteines are ligands to the [3Fe-4S] clusters (A. Volbeda, M.-H. Charon, C. Piras, E. C. Hatchikian, M. Frey, and J. C. Fontecilla-Camps, Nature (London) 373:580-587, 1995). Cysteine 65 is homologous to cysteine 20 of the D. gigas hydrogenase, and this cysteine is a ligand to the proximal [4Fe-4S] cluster. All three mutants retained some hydrogenase activity. All three mutants studied had H2 oxidation-to-H2 evolution activity ratios with whole cells of approximately 1.5, compared with 46 for the wild type. The changes preferentially deplete H2 oxidation activity, while having less effect on evolution. The K64,65C-->S hydrogenase was partially purified and had a specific activity for the evolution reaction that was 22% that of the wild type, while the oxidation-specific activity was 2% that of the wild type. Because cysteine 65 provides a ligand to the proximal [4Fe-4S] cluster, this cluster can be altered without entirely eliminating enzyme activity. Likewise, the detection of H2 evolution and H2 oxidation activities with whole cells and membranes of the K294C-->S and K297C-->S mutants indicates that the [3Fe-4S] cluster can also be altered or possibly eliminated without entirely eliminating enzyme activity. Membranes with K294C-->S or K297C-->S hydrogenase were uninhibited by O2 in H2 oxidation and uninhibited by H2 in H2 evolution. Wild-type membranes and membranes with K64,65C-->S hydrogenase were both sensitive to these inhibitors. These data indicate that the [3Fe-4S] cluster controls the reversible inhibition of hydrogenase activity by O2 or H2.

Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were made to peptide sequences from hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) from Nitrosomonas europaea. The primers were used singly in PCR reactions to amplify portions of the gene for HAO from genomic DNA. Southern hybridizations using fragments amplified with each primer showed that they labeled the same genomic DNA fragments. The PCR-amplified fragments were successfully used to screen a gene library for clones containing the HAO gene. The method of isolating genes by PCR with single primers has general utility.

Cytochrome c-554 (Cyt c-554) was purified from Nitrosomonas europaea. The N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences were determined. A synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide primer based on the N-terminal sequence was used to construct a PCR clone. This clone was used to identify genomic DNA fragments containing the gene encoding Cyt c-554. We determined the nucleotide sequence of this gene and named it hcy for hydroxylamine oxidoreductase-linked cytochrome.

Hydroxylamine oxidoreductase (HAO) catalyzes the oxidation of hydroxylamine to nitrite in Nitrosomonas europaea. The electrons released in the reaction are partitioned to ammonium monooxygenase and to the respiratory chain. The immediate acceptor of electrons from HAO is believed to be cytochrome c-554 (Cyt c-554). We have isolated a genomic DNA fragment containing the structural gene encoding HAO (hao) and a part of the gene for Cyt c-554. The nucleotide sequence of hao was determined, and its transcription was analyzed. The open reading frame (ORF) encodes amino acid sequences matching the purified peptides of HAO. A 64.28-kDa protein is encoded in this ORF, in close agreement with the empirically determined molecular mass of 63 kDa. The N terminus was located 24 amino acids from the start codon, suggesting the presence of a leader sequence. The putative eight heme-binding peptides were localized in this ORF. The gene for Cyt c-554 was located 1,200 bp downstream from the 3' end of hao. An ORF was identified in the upstream region from hao and may encode a protein of unknown function. Data bank searches did not reveal proteins with substantial similarities to HAO, but they did reveal similarities between Cyt c-554 and other c-type cytochromes.

The essential role of the small (HoxK) subunit of hydrogenase of Azotobacter vinelandii in H2 oxidation was established. This was achieved by modification of the two Cys-X2-Cys amino acid motifs at the N and C termini of the HoxK subunit (Cys-62, -65, -294, and -297). The Cys codons were individually mutated to Ser codons. Modifications in these two motifs resulted in loss of hydrogenase activity. At the N terminus, the mutations of the codons for the motif Cys-62-Thr-Cys-64-Cys-65 decreased the activity of hydrogenase to levels no higher than 30% of those of the parental strain. H2 oxidation with the alternate electron acceptors methylene blue and benzyl viologen was decreased. H2 evolution and exchange activities were also affected. Cys-64 possibly substitutes for either Cys-62 or Cys-65, allowing for partial activity. Mutation of the codons for Cys-294 and Cys-297 to Ser codons resulted in no hydrogenase activity. The results are consistent with alterations of the ligands of FeS clusters in the HoxK subunit of hydrogenase [corrected].

The efficiency of labeling DNA with Taq DNA polymerase for probing nucleic acid blots was evaluated as an alternative to the more common procedure of using the Klenow fragment. The DNA was labeled with Taq DNA polymerase using random primers. The DNA was labeled specifically and efficiently. Synthesized DNA showed fragments of sizes smaller than those produced by the Klenow fragment and could be performed with as little as 0.5 pg of DNA. The use of Taq DNA polymerase appeared to be limited by the amount of radiolabeled nucleotide used and was more sensitive to non-optimized conditions in the reaction mixture than the Klenow fragment. The relative amounts of incorporated nucleotide in comparable conditions were, on occasions, 10% to 25% lower with Taq DNA polymerase than when using the Klenow fragment; nevertheless, the use of the Taq DNA polymerase to label DNA with random primers offers a very good alternative to the Klenow fragment as shown by this report.

The roles of the product of the hoxZ gene immediately downstream of the hydrogenase gene (hoxKG) in Azotobacter vinelandii were investigated by constructing and characterizing a mutant with the center of the hoxZ gene deleted. The strain lacking the functional hoxZ gene product exhibited a low rate of H2 oxidation with O2 as the electron acceptor relative to that of the wild-type strain. Nevertheless, when the enzyme was exogenously activated and methylene blue was used as the electron acceptor from hydrogenase, rates of H2 oxidation comparable to those in the wild-type strain were observed. These results suggest that the gene product of hoxZ plays a role in activating and maintaining hydrogenase in a reduced active state. The product of hoxZ could also be the linkage necessary for transfer of electrons from H2 to the electron transport chain.

An indispensable part of the hydrogen-recycling system in Bradyrhizobium japonicum is the uptake hydrogenase, which is composed of 34.5- and 65.9-kDa subunits. The gene encoding the large subunit is located on a 5.9-kilobase fragment of the H2-uptake-complementing cosmid pHU52 [Zuber, M., Harker, A.R., Sultana, M.A. & Evans, H.J. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83, 7668-7672]. We have now determined that the structural genes for both subunits are present on this fragment. Two open reading frames are present that correspond in size and deduced amino acid sequence to the hydrogenase subunits, except that the small-subunit coding region contains a leader peptide of 46 amino acids. The two genes are separated by a 32-nucleotide intergenic region and likely constitute an operon. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the B. japonicum genes with those from Desulfovibrio gigas, Desulfovibrio baculatus, and Rhodobacter capsulatus indicates significant sequence identity.