Project description:The Roseobacter clade of aerobic marine proteobacteria, which compose 10-25% of the total marine bacterial community, has been reported to fix CO(2), although it has not been determined what pathway is involved. In this study, we report the first metabolic studies on carbohydrate utilization, CO(2) assimilation, and amino acid biosynthesis in the phototrophic Roseobacter clade bacterium Roseobacter denitrificans OCh114. We develop a new minimal medium containing defined carbon source(s), in which the requirements of yeast extract reported previously for the growth of R. denitrificans can be replaced by vitamin B(12) (cyanocobalamin). Tracer experiments were carried out in R. denitrificans grown in a newly developed minimal medium containing isotopically labeled pyruvate, glucose or bicarbonate as a single carbon source or in combination. Through measurements of (13)C-isotopomer labeling patterns in protein-derived amino acids, gene expression profiles, and enzymatic activity assays, we report that: (1) R. denitrificans uses the anaplerotic pathways mainly via the malic enzyme to fix 10-15% of protein carbon from CO(2); (2) R. denitrificans employs the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathway for carbohydrate metabolism and the non-oxidative pentose phosphate pathway for the biosynthesis of histidine, ATP, and coenzymes; (3) the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP, glycolysis) pathway is not active and the enzymatic activity of 6-phosphofructokinase (PFK) cannot be detected in R. denitrificans; and (4) isoleucine can be synthesized from both threonine-dependent (20% total flux) and citramalate-dependent (80% total flux) pathways using pyruvate as the sole carbon source.
Project description:Given the facilities for whole genome sequencing with next-generation sequencers, structural and functional gene annotation is now only based on automated prediction. However, errors in terms of gene structure are still frequently reported especially for the correct determination of initiation start codons. Here, we propose a strategy to enrich and detect protein N-termini by mass spectrometry in order to refine genome annotation. After selective protein N-termini derivatization using (N-Succinimidyloxycarbonylmethyl)tris(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)phosphonium bromide (TMPPAc-OSu) as labeling reagent, protein digestion was performed with three proteases in parallel. TMPP-labeled N-terminal-most peptides were further resolved from internal peptides by the COmbined FRActional DIagonal Chromatography (COFRADIC) sorting methodology before analysis with tandem mass spectrometry. We refined the annotation of the genome of a model marine bacterium, Roseobacter denitrificans.
Project description:A marine roseophage RDJL Phi1 lytically infecting Roseobacter denitrificans OCh114 was isolated and characterized. RDJL Phi1 can package several host cellular proteins into its virions, and its DNA is refractory to several commonly used restriction enzymes. This paper presents the first report of a bacteriophage isolated from the aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria.
Project description:Bacteriochlorophyll a biosynthesis requires the stereo- and regiospecific two electron reduction of the C7-C8 double bond of chlorophyllide a by the nitrogenase-like multisubunit metalloenzyme, chlorophyllide a oxidoreductase (COR). ATP-dependent COR catalysis requires interaction of the protein subcomplex (BchX)2 with the catalytic (BchY/BchZ)2 protein to facilitate substrate reduction via two redox active iron-sulfur centers. The ternary COR enzyme holocomplex comprising subunits BchX, BchY, and BchZ from the purple bacterium Roseobacter denitrificans was trapped in the presence of the ATP transition state analog ADP·AlF4(-). Electron paramagnetic resonance experiments revealed a [4Fe-4S] cluster of subcomplex (BchX)2. A second [4Fe-4S] cluster was identified on (BchY/BchZ)2. Mutagenesis experiments indicated that the latter is ligated by four cysteines, which is in contrast to the three cysteine/one aspartate ligation pattern of the closely related dark-operative protochlorophyllide a oxidoreductase (DPOR). In subsequent mutagenesis experiments a DPOR-like aspartate ligation pattern was implemented for the catalytic [4Fe-4S] cluster of COR. Artificial cluster formation for this inactive COR variant was demonstrated spectroscopically. A series of chemically modified substrate molecules with altered substituents on the individual pyrrole rings and the isocyclic ring were tested as COR substrates. The COR enzyme was still able to reduce the B ring of substrates carrying modified substituents on ring systems A, C, and E. However, substrates with a modification of the distantly located propionate side chain were not accepted. A tentative substrate binding mode was concluded in analogy to the related DPOR system.
Project description:Transcriptome profiles of an aerobic photosynthetic bacterium Roseobacter denitrificans OCh114 grown under different oxygen tension and light irradiation conditions were determined by NimbleGen Prokaryotic Expression array (12x135K).
Project description:Roseobacter denitrificans is a member of the widespread marine Roseobacter genus. We report the first characterization of a truncated hemoglobin from R. denitrificans (Rd. trHb) that was purified in the heme-bound form from heterologous expression of the protein in Escherichia coli. Rd. trHb exhibits predominantly alpha-helical secondary structure and absorbs light at 412, 538 and 572 nm. The phylogenetic classification suggests that Rd. trHb falls into group II trHbs, whereas sequence alignments indicate that it shares certain important heme pocket residues with group I trHbs in addition to those of group II trHbs. The resonance Raman spectra indicate that the isolated Rd. trHb contains a ferric heme that is mostly 6-coordinate low-spin and that the heme of the ferrous form displays a mixture of 5- and 6-coordinate states. Two Fe-His stretching modes were detected, notably one at 248 cm-1, which has been reported in peroxidases and some flavohemoglobins that contain an Fe-His-Asp (or Glu) catalytic triad, but was never reported before in a trHb. We show that Rd. trHb exhibits a significant peroxidase activity with a (kcat/Km) value three orders of magnitude higher than that of bovine Hb and only one order lower than that of horseradish peroxidase. This enzymatic activity is pH-dependent with a pKa value ~6.8. Homology modeling suggests that residues known to be important for interactions with heme-bound ligands in group II trHbs from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Bacillus subtilis are pointing toward to heme in Rd. trHb. Genomic organization and gene expression profiles imply possible functions for detoxification of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in vivo. Altogether, Rd. trHb exhibits some distinctive features and appears equipped to help the bacterium to cope with reactive oxygen/nitrogen species and/or to operate redox biochemistry.