Characterization of Non-selected Intermolecular Gene Conversion in the Polyploid Haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wasser D
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8223754 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Haloferax volcanii, an extreme halophile originally isolated from the Dead Sea, is used worldwide as a model organism for furthering our understanding of archaeal cell physiology. In this study, a combination of approaches was used to identify a total of 1296 proteins, representing 32% of the theoretical proteome of this haloarchaeon. This included separation of (phospho)proteins/peptides by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-D), immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), metal oxide affinity chromatography (MOAC), and Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT) including strong cation exchange (SCX) chromatography coupled with reversed phase (RP) HPLC. Proteins were identified by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using nanoelectrospray ionization hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight (QSTAR XL Hybrid LC/MS/MS System) and quadrupole ion trap (Thermo LCQ Deca). Results indicate that a SCX RP HPLC fractionation coupled with MS/MS provides the best high-throughput workflow for overall protein identification.
| S-EPMC2676566 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The unusual physiological properties of archaea (e.g., growth in extreme salt concentration, temperature and pH) make them ideal platforms for metabolic engineering. Towards the ultimate goal of modifying an archaeon to produce bioethanol or other useful products, the pyruvate decarboxylase gene of Zymomonas mobilis (Zm pdc) was expressed in Haloferax volcanii. This gene has been used successfully to channel pyruvate to ethanol in various Gram-negative bacteria, including Escherichia coli. Although the ionic strength of the H. volcanii cytosol differs over 15-fold from that of E. coli, gel filtration and circular dichroism revealed no difference in secondary structure between the ZmPDC protein isolated from either of these hosts. Like the E. coli purified enzyme, ZmPDC from H. volcanii catalyzed the nonoxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate. A decrease in the amount of soluble ZmPDC protein was detected as H. volcanii transitioned from log phase to late stationary phase that was inversely proportional to the amount of pdc-specific mRNA. Based on these results, proteins from non-halophilic organisms can be actively synthesized in haloarchaea; however, post-transcriptional mechanisms present in stationary phase appear to limit the amount of recombinant protein expressed.
| S-EPMC2685553 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii was shown to contain 145 intergenic and 45 antisense sRNAs. In a comprehensive approach to unravel various biological roles of haloarchaeal sRNAs in vivo, 27 sRNA genes were selected and deletion mutants were generated. The phenotypes of these mutants were compared to that of the parent strain under ten different conditions, i.e. growth on four different carbon sources, growth at three different salt concentrations, and application of four different stress conditions. In addition, cell morphologies in exponential and stationary phase were observed. Furthermore, swarming of 17 mutants was analyzed. 24 of the 27 mutants exhibited a difference from the parent strain under at least one condition, revealing that haloarchaeal sRNAs are involved in metabolic regulation, growth under extreme conditions, regulation of morphology and behavior, and stress adaptation. Notably, 7 deletion mutants showed a gain of function phenotype, which has not yet been described for any other prokaryotic sRNA gene deletion mutant. Comparison of the transcriptomes of one sRNA gene deletion mutant and the parent strain led to the identification of differentially expressed genes. Genes for flagellins and chemotaxis were up-regulated in the mutant, in accordance with its gain of function swarming phenotype. While the deletion mutant analysis underscored that haloarchaeal sRNAs are involved in many biological functions, the degree of conservation is extremely low. Only 3 of the 27 genes are conserved in more than 10 haloarchaeal species. 22 of the 27 genes are confined to H. volcanii, indicating a fast evolution of haloarchaeal sRNA genes.
| S-EPMC3956466 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Little is known regarding the biological roles of archaeal proteases. The haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii is an ideal model for understanding these enzymes, as it is one of few archaea with an established genetic system. In this report, a series of H. volcanii mutant strains with markerless and/or conditional knockouts in each known proteasome gene was systematically generated and characterized. This included single and double knockouts of genes encoding the 20S core alpha1 (psmA), beta (psmB), and alpha2 (psmC) subunits as well as genes (panA and panB) encoding proteasome-activating nucleotidase (PAN) proteins closely related to the regulatory particle triple-A ATPases (Rpt) of eukaryotic 26S proteasomes. Our results demonstrate that 20S proteasomes are required for growth. Although synthesis of 20S proteasomes containing either alpha1 or alpha2 could be separately abolished via gene knockout with little to no impact on growth, conditional depletion of either beta alone or alpha1 and alpha2 together rendered the cells inviable. In contrast, the PAN proteins were not essential based on the robust growth of the panA panB double knockout strain. Deletion of genes encoding either alpha1 or PanA did, however, render cells more sensitive to growth on organic versus inorganic nitrogen sources and hypo-osmotic stress and limited growth in the presence of l-canavanine. Abolishment of alpha1 synthesis also had a severe impact on the ability of cells to withstand thermal stress. This contrasted with what was seen for panA knockouts, which displayed enhanced thermotolerance. Together, these results provide new and important insight into the biological role of proteasomes in archaea.
| S-EPMC2593203 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Haloferax volcanii is a facultative anaerobic haloarchaeon that can grow using nitrate or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a respiratory substrate under anaerobic conditions. Comparative transcriptome analysis of denitrifying and aerobic cells of H. volcanii indicated extensive changes in gene expression involving the activation of denitrification, suppression of DMSO respiration, and conversion of the heme biosynthetic pathway under denitrifying conditions. The anaerobic growth of H. volcanii by DMSO respiration was inhibited at nitrate concentrations of <1 mM, whereas nitrate-responsive growth inhibition was not observed in the ΔnarO mutant. A reporter assay demonstrated that the transcription of the dms operon was suppressed by nitrate. In contrast, the anaerobic growth of the ΔdmsR mutant by denitrification was little affected by the addition of DMSO. NarO has been identified as an activator of denitrification-related genes in response to anaerobic conditions, and here, we found that NarO is also involved in nitrate-responsive suppression of the dms operon. Nitrate-responsive suppression of DMSO respiration is known in several bacteria such as Escherichia coli and photosynthetic Rhodobacter species. This is the first report to show that a regulatory mechanism that suppresses DMSO respiration in response to nitrate exists not only in bacteria but also in haloarchaea. IMPORTANCE Haloferax volcanii can grow anaerobically by denitrification (nitrate respiration) or DMSO respiration. In facultative anaerobic bacteria that can grow by both nitrate respiration and DMSO respiration, nitrate respiration is preferentially induced when both nitrate and DMSO are available as the respiratory substrates. The results of transcriptome analysis, growth phenotyping, and reporter assays indicated that DMSO respiration is suppressed in response to nitrate in H. volcanii. The haloarchaeon-specific regulator NarO, which activates denitrification under anaerobic conditions, is suggested to be involved in the nitrate-responsive suppression of DMSO respiration.
| S-EPMC8316033 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Proteolysis is important not only to cell physiology but also to the successful development of biocatalysts. While a wide-variety of signals are known to trigger protein degradation in bacteria and eukaryotes, these mechanisms are poorly understood in archaea, known for their ability to withstand harsh conditions. Here we present a systematic study in which single C-terminal amino acid residues were added to a reporter protein and shown to influence its levels in an archaeal cell. All 20 amino acid residues were examined for their impact on protein levels, using the reporter protein soluble modified red-shifted GFP (smRS-GFP) expressed in the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii as a model system. Addition of hydrophobic residues, including Leu, Cys, Met, Phe, Ala, Tyr, Ile and Val, gave the most pronounced reduction in smRS-GFP levels compared with the addition of either neutral or charged hydrophilic residues. In contrast to the altered protein levels, the C-terminal alterations had no influence on smRS-GFP-specific transcript levels, thus revealing that the effect is post-transcriptional.
| S-EPMC2889427 | biostudies-other
Project description:The halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii encodes two related proteasome-activating nucleotidase proteins, PanA and PanB, with PanA levels predominant during all phases of growth. In this study, an isogenic panA mutant strain of H. volcanii was generated. The growth rate and cell yield of this mutant strain were lower than those of its parent and plasmid-complemented derivatives. In addition, a consistent and discernible 2.1-fold increase in the number of phosphorylated proteins was detected when the panA gene was disrupted, based on phosphospecific fluorescent staining of proteins separated by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Subsequent enrichment of phosphoproteins by immobilized metal ion and metal oxide affinity chromatography (in parallel and sequentially) followed by tandem mass spectrometry was employed to identify key differences in the proteomes of these strains as well as to add to the restricted numbers of known phosphoproteins within the Archaea. In total, 625 proteins (approximately 15% of the deduced proteome) and 9 phosphosites were identified by these approaches, and 31% (195) of the proteins were identified by multiple phosphoanalytical methods. In agreement with the phosphostaining results, the number of identified proteins that were reproducibly exclusive or notably more abundant in one strain was nearly twofold greater for the panA mutant than for the parental strain. Enriched proteins exclusive to or more abundant in the panA mutant (versus the wild type) included cell division (FtsZ, Cdc48), dihydroxyacetone kinase-linked phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system (EI, DhaK), and oxidoreductase homologs. Differences in transcriptional regulation and signal transduction proteins were also observed, including those differences (e.g., OsmC and BolA) which suggest that proteasome deficiency caused an up-regulation of stress responses (e.g., OsmC versus BolA). Consistent with this, components of the Fe-S cluster assembly, protein-folding, DNA binding and repair, oxidative and osmotic stress, phosphorus assimilation, and polyphosphate synthesis systems were enriched and identified as unique to the panA mutant. The cumulative proteomic data not only furthered our understanding of the archaeal proteasome system but also facilitated the assembly of the first subproteome map of H. volcanii.
| S-EPMC2223738 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this study, a DeoR/GlpR-type transcription factor was investigated for its potential role as a global regulator of sugar metabolism in haloarchaea, using Haloferax volcanii as a model organism. Common to a number of haloarchaea and Gram-positive bacterial species, the encoding glpR gene was chromosomally linked with genes of sugar metabolism. In H. volcanii, glpR was cotranscribed with the downstream phosphofructokinase (PFK; pfkB) gene, and the transcript levels of this glpR-pfkB operon were 10- to 20-fold higher when cells were grown on fructose or glucose than when they were grown on glycerol alone. GlpR was required for repression on glycerol based on significant increases in the levels of PFK (pfkB) transcript and enzyme activity detected upon deletion of glpR from the genome. Deletion of glpR also resulted in significant increases in both the activity and the transcript (kdgK1) levels of 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-gluconate kinase (KDGK), a key enzyme of haloarchaeal glucose metabolism, when cells were grown on glycerol, compared to the levels obtained for media with glucose. Promoter fusions to a β-galactosidase bgaH reporter revealed that transcription of glpR-pfkB and kdgK1 was modulated by carbon source and GlpR, consistent with quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR) and enzyme activity assays. The results presented here provide genetic and biochemical evidence that GlpR controls both fructose and glucose metabolic enzymes through transcriptional repression of the glpR-pfkB operon and kdgK1 during growth on glycerol.
| S-EPMC2981212 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The extremely halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii grows anaerobically by denitrification. A putative DNA-binding protein, NarO, is encoded upstream of the respiratory nitrate reductase gene of H. volcanii. Disruption of the narO gene resulted in a loss of denitrifying growth of H. volcanii, and the expression of the recombinant NarO recovered the denitrification capacity. A novel CXnCXCX7C motif showing no remarkable similarities with known sequences was conserved in the N terminus of the NarO homologous proteins found in the haloarchaea. Restoration of the denitrifying growth was not achieved by expression of any mutant NarO in which any one of the four conserved cysteines was individually replaced by serine. A promoter assay experiment indicated that the narO gene was usually transcribed, regardless of whether it was cultivated under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Transcription of the genes encoding the denitrifying enzymes nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase was activated under anaerobic conditions. A putative cis element was identified in the promoter sequence of haloarchaeal denitrifying genes. These results demonstrated a significant effect of NarO, probably due to its oxygen-sensing function, on the transcriptional activation of haloarchaeal denitrifying genes.H. volcanii is an extremely halophilic archaeon capable of anaerobic growth by denitrification. The regulatory mechanism of denitrification has been well understood in bacteria but remains unknown in archaea. In this work, we show that the helix-turn-helix (HTH)-type regulator NarO activates transcription of the denitrifying genes of H. volcanii under anaerobic conditions. A novel cysteine-rich motif, which is critical for transcriptional regulation, is present in NarO. A putative cis element was also identified in the promoter sequence of the haloarchaeal denitrifying genes.
| S-EPMC4800875 | biostudies-other
Project description:A 20S proteasome, composed of alpha(1) and beta subunits arranged in a barrel-shaped structure of four stacked rings, was purified from a halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii. The predominant peptide-hydrolyzing activity of the 600-kDa alpha(1)beta-proteasome on synthetic substrates was cleavage carboxyl to hydrophobic residues (chymotrypsin-like [CL] activity) and was optimal at 2 M NaCl, pH 7.7 to 9.5, and 75 degrees C. The alpha(1)beta-proteasome also hydrolyzed insulin B-chain protein. Removal of NaCl inactivated the CL activity of the alpha(1)beta-proteasome and dissociated the complex into monomers. Rapid equilibration of the monomers into buffer containing 2 M NaCl facilitated their reassociation into fully active alpha(1)beta-proteasomes of 600 kDa. However, long-term incubation of the halophilic proteasome in the absence of salt resulted in hydrolysis and irreversible inactivation of the enzyme. Thus, the isolated proteasome has unusual salt requirements which distinguish it from any proteasome which has been described. Comparison of the beta-subunit protein sequence with the sequence deduced from the gene revealed that a 49-residue propeptide is removed to expose a highly conserved N-terminal threonine which is proposed to serve as the catalytic nucleophile and primary proton acceptor during peptide bond hydrolysis. Consistent with this mechanism, the known proteasome inhibitors carbobenzoxyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-leucinal-H (MG132) and N-acetyl-leucinyl-leucinyl-norleucinal (calpain inhibitor I) were found to inhibit the CL activity of the H. volcanii proteasome (K(i) = 0.2 and 8 microM, respectively). In addition to the genes encoding the alpha(1) and beta subunits, a gene encoding a second alpha-type proteasome protein (alpha(2)) was identified. All three genes coding for the proteasome subunits were mapped in the chromosome and found to be unlinked. Modification of the methods used to purify the alpha(1)beta-proteasome resulted in the copurification of the alpha(2) protein with the alpha(1) and beta subunits in nonstoichometric ratios as cylindrical particles of four stacked rings of 600 kDa with CL activity rates similar to the alpha(1)beta-proteasome, suggesting that at least two separate 20S proteasomes are synthesized. This study is the first description of a prokaryote which produces two separate 20S proteasomes and suggests that there may be distinct physiological roles for the two different alpha subunits in this halophilic archaeon.
| S-EPMC94104 | biostudies-literature