Project description:5' RNASeq of mRNA from Shewanella sp ANA-3 grown aerobically in Luria-Bertani broth (LB) and defined lactate minimal medium 5'-end mRNA profiles of mid-log phase bacterial cells growing in LB or lactate medium were generated by next-generation sequencing.
Project description:ABSTRACT: Inorganic arsenic is a carcinogen and its ingestion in foods such as rice presents a significant risk to human health. Plants chemically reduce arsenate to arsenite. Using genome-wide association (GWA) mapping of loci controlling natural variation in arsenic accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana allowed us to identify the arsenate reductase required for this reduction, which we named High Arsenic Content1 (HAC1). Complementation verified the identity of HAC1, and expression in Escherichia coli lacking a functional arsenate reductase confirmed the arsenate reductase activity of HAC1. The HAC1 protein accumulates in the epidermis, the outer cell layer of the root, and also in the pericycle cells surrounding the central vascular tissue. Plants lacking HAC1 lose their ability to efflux arsenite from roots, leading to both increased transport of arsenic into the central vascular tissue and on into the shoot. HAC1 therefore functions to reduce arsenate to arsenite in the outer cell layer of the root, facilitating efflux of arsenic as arsenite back into the soil to limit its accumulation in the root and transport to the shoot. Arsenate reduction by HAC1 in the pericycle may play a role in limiting arsenic loading into the xylem. Loss of HAC1 encoded arsenic reduction leads to a significant increase in arsenic accumulation in shoots causing an increased sensitivity to arsenate toxicity. We also confirmed the previous observation that the ACR2 arsenate reductase in A. thaliana plays no detectable role in arsenic metabolism. Further, ACR2 does not interact epistatically with HAC1, since arsenic metabolism in the acr2 hac1 double mutant is disrupted in an identical manner to that described for the hac1 single mutant. Our identification of HAC1 and its associated natural variation provides an important new resource for the development of low arsenic containing food stuffs such as rice.
Project description:Microbial arsenate respiration contributes to the mobilization of arsenic from the solid to the soluble phase in various locales worldwide. To begin to predict the extent to which As(V) respiration impacts arsenic geochemical cycling, we characterized the expression and activity of the Shewanella sp. strain ANA-3 arsenate respiratory reductase (ARR), the key enzyme involved in this metabolism. ARR is expressed at the beginning of the exponential phase and persists throughout the stationary phase, at which point it is released from the cell. In intact cells, the enzyme localizes to the periplasm. To purify ARR, a heterologous expression system was developed in Escherichia coli. ARR requires anaerobic conditions and molybdenum for activity. ARR is a heterodimer of approximately 131 kDa, composed of one ArrA subunit (approximately 95 kDa) and one ArrB subunit (approximately 27 kDa). For ARR to be functional, the two subunits must be expressed together. Elemental analysis of pure protein indicates that one Mo atom, four S atoms associated with a bis-molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide cofactor, and four to five [4Fe-4S] are present per ARR. ARR has an apparent melting temperature of 41 degrees C, a Km of 5 microM, and a Vmax of 11,111 micromol of As(V) reduced min(-1) mg of protein(-1) and shows no activity in the presence of alternative electron acceptors such as antimonite, nitrate, selenate, and sulfate. The development of a heterologous overexpression system for ARR will facilitate future structural and/or functional studies of this protein family.
Project description:Arsenic is an ubiquitous contaminant and a toxic metalloid which presents two main redox states in nature: arsenite [AsIII] and arsenate [AsV]. Arsenic resistance in Synechocystis sp. strain PCC 6803 is mediated by the arsBHC operon and two additional arsenate reductases encoded by the arsI1 and arsI2 genes. Here we describe the genome-wide responses in response to the presence of arsenate and arsenite in wild type and in mutants in the arsenic resistance system. Both forms of arsenic produced similar responses in the wild type strain including induction of several stress related genes and repression of energy generation processes. The responses observed in the arsB mutant strain were similar to the wild type in short term but were maintained in time while they were only transient in the wild type strain. In contrast, the responses observed in a strain lacking all arsenate reductases (the SARS12 strain) were somewhat different and included lower induction of genes involved in metal homeostasis and Fe-S cluster biogenesis. These results suggest that these two processes are targeted by arsenite in the wild type strain. Finally, analysis of the arsR mutant strain revealed that ArsR seems to only control 5 genes in the genome. Furthermore, over-expression of ArsB conferred hypersentivity to nickel, copper and cadmium in an arsR mutant strain. Analysis of genome-wide gene expression patterns in response to arsenic in WT and mutants involved in arsenic detoxification in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp PCC 6803. Cells treated with arsenate or arsenite for 1h. Details: WT cells were treated with 1 mM arsenite for 1 h and its expression profile compared to untreated cells (grown in BG11C media). The effects of arsenate were analyzed in the same way but using a modified BG11C media that constains 15% of the normal phosphate concentration (BG11C low phosphate). A reduction in the phosphate concentration in the media is essential to detect grow inhibition after arsenate addition. In the same way that for arsenite cells were treated with 50 mM arsenate for 1 h and their expression profile was compared to untreated cells. Expression profiles of mutant strains lacking arsB gene (SARSB strain; this strain is hypersensitive to arsenite because it lacks the arsenite exporter) or arsR gene (SARSR strain; this strain expresses the arsBHC constitutively) in control conditions and in response to arsenite addition were also analyzed. In addition the expression profiles of a mutant lacking arsenate reductases (SARS12 strain that has interrupted arsC, arsI1 and arsI2 genes; this strain is hypersensitive to arsenate) were analyzed in both control conditions and after addition of 50 mM arsenate.
Project description:Because arsenate [As(V)] reduction by bacteria can significantly enhance arsenic mobility in the environment, it is important to be able to predict when this activity will occur. Currently, two bacterial systems are known that specifically reduce As(V), namely, a respiratory system (encoded by the arr genes) and a detoxification system (encoded by the ars genes). Here we analyze the conditions under which these two systems are expressed in Shewanella sp. strain ANA-3. The ars system is expressed under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions, whereas the arr system is only expressed anaerobically and is repressed by oxygen and nitrate. When cells are grown on As(V), the arr system is maximally induced during exponential growth, with peak expression of the ars system occurring at the beginning of stationary phase. Both the arr and ars systems are specifically induced by arsenite [As(III)], but the arr system is activated by a concentration of As(III) that is 1,000 times lower than that required for the arsC system (< or =100 nM versus < or =100 microM, respectively). A double mutant was constructed that does not reduce As(V) under any growth conditions. In this strain background, As(V) is capable of inducing the arr system at low micromolar concentrations, but it does not induce the ars system. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the two As(V) reductase systems in ANA-3 respond to different amounts and types of inorganic arsenic.