Intra- and interspecies transfer and expression of Rhizobium japonicum hydrogen uptake genes and autotrophic growth capability

Genotypic Diversity among Strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum Belonging to Serogroup 110

Thirty-three strains of Bradyrhizobium japonicum within serogroup 110 were examined for genotypic diversity by using DNA-DNA hybridization analyses. The analysis of the DNA from 15 hydrogen-uptake-negative strains with the bradyrhizobial uptake hydrogenase probe pHU52 showed variation in degree of homology and restriction fragment length polymorphism of EcoRI-restricted DNA. Clustering analysis of the 33 strains on the basis of DNA-DNA hybridization analysis with four restriction enzymes and with the bradyrhizobial nodulation locus, pRJUT10, as probe indicated the existence of four groups of strains, which were less than 70% similar. Restriction digestion of genomic DNA with BamHI and DNA-DNA hybridization with pRJUT10 permitted classification of each of the strains according to a specific fingerprint pattern.

Transposon Tn5-Generated Bradyrhizobium japonicum Mutants Unable To Grow Chemoautotrophically with H(2)

Twelve Tn5-induced mutants of Bradyrhizobium japonicum unable to grow chemoautotrophically with CO(2) and H(2) (Aut) were isolated. Five Aut mutants lacked hydrogen uptake activity (Hup). The other seven Aut mutants possessed wild-type levels of hydrogen uptake activity (Hup), both in free-living culture and symbiotically. Three of the Hup mutants lacked hydrogenase activity both in free-living culture and as nodule bacteroids. The other two mutants were Hup only in free-living culture. The latter two mutants appeared to be hypersensitive to repression by oxygen, since Hup activity could be derepressed under 0.4% O(2). All five Hup mutants expressed both ex planta and symbiotic nitrogenase activities. Two of the seven Aut Hup mutants expressed no free-living nitrogenase activity, but they did express it symbiotically. These two strains, plus one other Aut Hup mutant, had CO(2) fixation activities 20 to 32% of the wild-type level. The cosmid pSH22, which was shown previously to contain hydrogenase-related genes of B. japonicum, was conjugated into each Aut mutant. The Aut Hup mutants that were Hup both in free-living culture and symbiotically were complemented by the cosmid. None of the other mutants was complemented by pSH22. Individual subcloned fragments of pSH22 were used to complement two of the Hup mutants.

Symbiotic Expression of Cosmid-Borne Bradyrhizobium japonicum Hydrogenase Genes

The expression of cosmid-borne Bradyrhizobium japonicum hydrogenase genes in alfalfa, clover, and soybean nodules harboring Rhizobium transconjugants was studied. Cosmid pHU52 conferred hydrogen uptake (Hup) activity in both free-living bacteria and in nodules on the different plant hosts, although in nodules the instability of the cosmid resulted in low levels of Hup activity. In contrast, cosmid pHU1, which does not confer Hup activity on free-living bacteria, gave a Hup phenotype in nodules on alfalfa and soybean. Nodules formed by B. japonicum USDA 123Spc(pHU1) recycled about 90% of nitrogenase-mediated hydrogen evolution. Both subunits of hydrogenase (30- and 60-kilodalton polypeptides) were detected in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays of bacteroid preparations from nodules harboring B. japonicum strains with pHU1 or pHU52. Neither pHU53 nor pLAFR1 conferred detectable Hup activity in either nodules or free-living bacteria. Based on the physical maps of pHU1 and pHU52, it is suggested that a 5.5-kilobase EcoRI fragment unique to pHU52 contains a gene or part of a gene required for Hup activity in free-living bacteria but not in nodules. This conclusion is supported by the observation that two Tn5 insertions in the chromosome of B. japonicum USDA 122DES obtained by marker exchange with Tn5-mutagenized pHU1 abolished Hup activity in free-living bacteria but not in nodules.

Formate-dependent autotrophic growth in Sinorhizobium meliloti

It was found that S. meliloti strain SmA818, which is cured of pSymA, could not grow on defined medium containing only formate and bicarbonate as carbon sources. Growth experiments showed that Rm1021 was capable of formate/bicarbonate-dependent growth, suggesting that it was capable of autotrophic-type growth. The annotated genome of S. meliloti Rm1021 contains three formate dehydrogenase genes. A systematic disruption of each of the three formate dehydrogenase genes, as well as the genes encoding determinants of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham, cycle was carried out to determine which of these determinants played a role in growth on this defined medium. The results showed that S. meliloti is capable of formate-dependent autotrophic growth. Formate-dependent autotrophic growth is dependent on the presence of the chromosomally located fdsABCDG operon, as well as the cbb operon carried by pSymB. Growth was also dependent on the presence of either of the two triose-phosphate isomerase genes (tpiA or tpiB) that are found in the genome. In addition, it was found that fdoGHI carried by pSymA encodes a formate dehydrogenase that allows Rm1021 to carry out formate-dependent respiration. Taken together, the data allow us to present a model of how S. meliloti can grow on defined medium containing only formate and bicarbonate as carbon sources.

Competition among Bradyrhizobium strains for nodulation of green gram (Vigna radiata): use of dark-nodule strain

The competitiveness of dual-strain inoculum of Bradyrhizobium strains S24 and GR4 was demonstrated for nodulation of green gram (Vigna radiata). Strain S24 formed pink nodules, GR4 produced visually distinguishable dark-brown nodules. When a mixture of these Bradyrhizobium strains was applied as inoculum, nodules of both pink and dark-brown types were formed on the same root. The strain GR4, which was less competitive than strain S24, was mutagenized with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine to obtain pigment-diverse mutants and six selected mutants were screened for symbiotic parameters. One mutant produced pink nodules and appreciably increased plant dry mass. The competitive ability of this mutant lacking brown pigment was compared with that of strain S24 by using antibiotic resistance markers; it showed increased nodulation competitiveness than its parent strain GR4. The dark-brown nodule-phenotype could be useful in evaluating nodulation competitiveness of "cowpea miscellany" bradyrhizobia in soil where dark-brown nodule-forming strains are not indigenous.

Diversity and evolution of hydrogenase systems in rhizobia

Uptake hydrogenases allow rhizobia to recycle the hydrogen generated in the nitrogen fixation process within the legume nodule. Hydrogenase (hup) systems in Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae show highly conserved sequence and gene organization, but important differences exist in regulation and in the presence of specific genes. We have undertaken the characterization of hup gene clusters from Bradyrhizobium sp. (Lupinus), Bradyrhizobium sp. (Vigna), and Rhizobium tropici and Azorhizobium caulinodans strains with the aim of defining the extent of diversity in hup gene composition and regulation in endosymbiotic bacteria. Genomic DNA hybridizations using hupS, hupE, hupUV, hypB, and hoxA probes showed a diversity of intraspecific hup profiles within Bradyrhizobium sp. (Lupinus) and Bradyrhizobium sp. (Vigna) strains and homogeneous intraspecific patterns within R. tropici and A. caulinodans strains. The analysis also revealed differences regarding the possession of hydrogenase regulatory genes. Phylogenetic analyses using partial sequences of hupS and hupL clustered R. leguminosarum and R. tropici hup sequences together with those from B. japonicum and Bradyrhizobium sp. (Lupinus) strains, suggesting a common origin. In contrast, Bradyrhizobium sp. (Vigna) hup sequences diverged from the rest of rhizobial sequences, which might indicate that those organisms have evolved independently and possibly have acquired the sequences by horizontal transfer from an unidentified source.

The FixK2 protein is involved in regulation of symbiotic hydrogenase expression in Bradyrhizobium japonicum

The roles of the nitrogen fixation regulatory proteins NifA, FixK1, and FixK2 in the symbiotic regulation of hydrogenase structural gene expression in Bradyrhizobium japonicum have been investigated. Bacteroids from FixJ and FixK2 mutants have little or no hydrogenase activity, and extracts from these mutant bacteroids contain no hydrogenase protein. Bacteroids from a FixK1 mutant exhibit wild-type levels of hydrogenase activity. In beta-galactosidase transcriptional assays with NifA and FixK2 expression plasmids, the FixK2 protein induces transcription from the hup promoter to levels similar to those induced by HoxA, the transcriptional activator of free-living hydrogenase expression. The NifA protein does not activate transcription at the hydrogenase promoter. Therefore, FixK2 is involved in the transcriptional activation of symbiotic hydrogenase expression. By using beta-galactosidase transcriptional fusion constructs containing successive truncations of the hup promoter, the region of the hup promoter required for regulation by FixK2 was determined to be between 29 and 44 bp upstream of the transcription start site.

A transposable partitioning locus used to stabilize plasmid-borne hydrogen oxidation and trifolitoxin production genes in a Sinorhizobium strain

Improved nitrogen-fixing inoculum strains for leguminous crops must be able to effectively compete with indigenous strains for nodulation, enhance legume productivity compared to the productivity obtained with indigenous strains, and maintain stable expression of any added genes in the absence of selection pressure. We constructed a transposable element containing the tfx region for expression of increased nodulation competitiveness and the par locus for plasmid stability. The transposon was inserted into tetA of pHU52, a broad-host-range plasmid conferring the H2 uptake phenotype. The resulting plasmid, pHUTFXPAR, conferred the plasmid stability, trifolitoxin production, and H2 uptake phenotypes in the broad-host-range organism Sinorhizobium sp. strain ANU280. The broad applications of a transposon conferring plasmid stability are discussed.

Roles of HoxX and HoxA in biosynthesis of hydrogenase in Bradyrhizobium japonicum

In-frame deletion mutagenesis was used to study the roles of two Bradyrhizobium japonicum proteins, HoxX and HoxA, in hydrogenase biosynthesis; based on their sequences, these proteins were previously proposed to be sensor and regulator proteins, respectively, of a two-component regulatory system necessary for hydrogenase transcription. Deletion of the hoxX gene resulted in a strain that expressed only 30 to 40% of wild-type hydrogenase activity. The inactive unprocessed form of the hydrogenase large subunit accumulated in this strain, indicating a role for HoxX in posttranslational processing of the hydrogenase enzyme but not in transcriptional regulation. Strains containing a deletion of the hoxA gene or a double mutation (hoxX and hoxA) did not exhibit any hydrogenase activity under free-living conditions, and extracts from these strains were inactive in gel retardation assays with a 158-bp fragment of the DNA region upstream of the hupSL operon. However, bacteroids from root nodules formed by all three mutant types (hoxX, hoxA, and hoxX hoxA) exhibited hydrogenase activity comparable to that of wild-type bacteroids. Bacteroid extracts from all of these strains, including the wild type, failed to cause a shift of the hydrogenase upstream region used in our assay. It was shown that HoxA is a DNA-binding transcriptional activator of hydrogenase structural gene expression under free-living conditions but not under symbiotic conditions. Although symbiotic hydrogenase expression is still sigma54 dependent, a transcriptional activator other than HoxA functions presumably upstream of the HoxA binding site.

Some processes related to nitrogen fixation in nodulated legumes

We have summarized information in four areas of the broad topic of legume- Rhizobium symbiosis. These include: carbon substrates provided to nodule bacteroids by the host, assimilation of fixed nitrogen by the host, O 2 metabolism in legume nodules and involvement of H 2 in nodule metabolism. Although nodules contain a variety of carbon substrates, both biochemical and genetic evidence indicate that C4 dicarboxylates are the major carbon substrates that support N 2 fixation in nodules. The biochemical pathways for utilization of products of N 2 fixation are fairly well understood but relatively little is known about the regulation of the assimilation of fixed nitrogenous compounds at the gene level. Ureides are primary nitrogenous compounds exported from nodules of the tropical legumes. Because the catabolism of these products may involve the hydrolysis of urea by nickel-dependent urease, the possible importance of nickel as a trace element in the nutrition of legumes is raised. The O 2 supply to nodule bacteroids is regulated by a barrier to free-O 2 diffusion and by leghaemoglobin. Progress has been made in understanding of the molecular genetics and biochemistry of leghaemoglobin but little is known about the mechanisms that control the physical barrier to O 2 diffusion. Legume nodules contain mechanisms for the disposition of peroxide and free radicals of oxygen. The importance of these systems as protective mechanisms for the O 2 -labile nitrogenase is discussed. Some strains of Rhizobium form nodules which recycle the H 2 produced as a byproduct of N 2 fixation. The genes necessary for H 2 oxidation have been cloned and transferred within and among species of Rhizobium . The advantages and disadvantages of H 2 recycling in legume nodules are discussed.

Integration ofhup cosmid pHU52 into the chromosomal DNA ofCicer-Rhizobium using Tn5 as an homologous sequence

Cosmid pHU52, which carrieshup genes ofBradyrhizobium japonicum, has been integrated into theCicer-Rhizobium G36-84 genome via Tn5-mediated homologous recombination. Tn5 was inserted into both the cosmid pHU52 and the chromosome ofCicer-Rhizobium to provide a region of DNA homology, without affecting the expression of necessary genes. An incompatible plasmid, pPH1JI, was used to select those few cells that had undergone recombination. The integration of the cosmid was demonstrated by Southern blot analysis. Chromosomal integration of thehup genes maximized stability and minimized the potential for their horizontal transfer to other bacterial species. The integratedhup genes were found to expressex planta as well in nodules. The method described illustrates how a given gene can be stably integrated into the chromosome.

Genetic relatedness of Bradyrhizobium japonicum field isolates as revealed by repeated sequences and various other characteristics

Forty-nine isolates of Bradyrhizobium japonicum indigenous to a field where soybeans were grown for 45 years without inoculation were characterized by using four DNA hybridization probes from B. japonicum. nifDK-specific hybridization clearly divided the isolates into two divergent groups. Diversity in repeated-sequence (RS)-specific hybridization was observed; 44 isolates derived from 41 nodules were divided into 33 different RS fingerprint groups. Cluster analysis showed that the RS fingerprints were correlated with the nif and hup genotypes. We found multiple bands of RS-specific hybridization for two isolates that differed from the patterns of the other isolates. These results suggest that RS fingerprinting is a valuable tool for evaluating the genetic structure of indigenous B. japonicum populations.

Nucleotide sequences and genetic analysis of hydrogen oxidation (hox) genes in Azotobacter vinelandii

Azotobacter vinelandii contains a heterodimeric, membrane-bound [NiFe]hydrogenase capable of catalyzing the reversible oxidation of H2. The beta and alpha subunits of the enzyme are encoded by the structural genes hoxK and hoxG, respectively, which appear to form part of an operon that contains at least one further potential gene (open reading frame 3 [ORF3]). In this study, determination of the nucleotide sequence of a region of 2,344 bp downstream of ORF3 revealed four additional closely spaced or overlapping ORFs. These ORFs, ORF4 through ORF7, potentially encode polypeptides with predicted masses of 22.8, 11.4, 16.3, and 31 kDa, respectively. Mutagenesis of the chromosome of A. vinelandii in the area sequenced was carried out by introduction of antibiotic resistance gene cassettes. Disruption of hoxK and hoxG by a kanamycin resistance gene abolished whole-cell hydrogenase activity coupled to O2 and led to loss of the hydrogenase alpha subunit. Insertional mutagenesis of ORF3 through ORF7 with a promoterless lacZ-Kmr cassette established that the region is transcriptionally active and involved in H2 oxidation. We propose to call ORF3 through ORF7 hoxZ, hoxM, hoxL, hoxO, and hoxQ, respectively. The predicted hox gene products resemble those encoded by genes from hydrogenase-related operons in other bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Alcaligenes eutrophus.

Differential expression of hydrogen uptake (hup) genes in vegetative and symbiotic cells of Rhizobium leguminosarum

The genetic determinants responsible for H2-uptake (hup genes) in Rhizobium leguminosarum are organized in six transcriptional units, designated regions hupI to hupVI, with region hupI coding for the hydrogenase structural genes (Leyva et al. 1990). Regulation of the expression of hup genes from R. leguminosarum was examined by using hup-lacZ fusions and mRNA dot-blot analysis. None of the six hup regions is transcribed in vegetative cells grown under normal aerobic conditions, whereas all six regions are transcribed in pea bacteroids. Additionally, exposure of cell cultures to low oxygen tensions specifically induces the expression of regions hupV and hupVI. By studying the expression of hupV- and hupVI-lacZ fusions in R. meliloti mutants it was determined that the microaerobic induction of these two regions is dependent on the regulatory fixLJ system, and that this control is exerted through fixK. Such expression was also shown to be nifA and ntrA independent. The functions of the hupV and hupVI gene products are unknown. The possibility that they play a regulatory role in hup gene expression is unlikely, since pea bacteroids from R. leguminosarum Hup- mutants carrying Tn5 insertions in regions hupV and hupVI contained normal levels of mRNA transcripts corresponding to the remaining hup regions.

Genetic organization of the hydrogen uptake (hup) cluster from Rhizobium leguminosarum

In symbiosis with peas, Rhizobium leguminosarum UPM791 induces the synthesis of a hydrogen uptake (Hup) system that recycles hydrogen generated in nodules by nitrogenase. A cosmid (pAL618) containing hup genes from this strain on a 20-kilobase-pair (kb) DNA insert has previously been isolated in our laboratory (A. Leyva, J. M. Palacios, T. Mozo, and T.Ruiz-Argüeso, J. Bacteriol. 169:4929-4934, 1987). Here we show that cosmid pAL618 contains all of the genetic information required to confer high levels of hydrogenase activity on the naturally Hup- strains R. leguminosarum UML2 and Rhizobium phaseoli CFN42, and we also describe in detail the organization of hup genes on pAL618. To study hup gene organization, site-directed transposon mutagenesis and complementation analysis were carried out. According to the Hup phenotype associated with the transposon insertions, hup genes were found to span a 15-kilobase-pair region within pAL618 insert DNA. Complementation analysis revealed that Hup- mutants fell into six distinct complementation groups that define six transcriptional units, designated regions hupI to hupVI. Region hupI was subcloned and expressed in Escherichia coli cells under the control of a bacteriophage T7 promoter. A polypeptide of ca. 65 kilodaltons that was cross-reactive with antiserum against the large subunit of Bradyrhizobium japonicum hydrogenase was detected both in E. coli cells carrying the cloned hupI region and in pea bacteroids from strain UPM791, indicating that region hupI codes for structural genes of R. leguminosarum hydrogenase.

Identification of a Locus Upstream from the Hydrogenase Structural Genes That Is Involved in Hydrogenase Expression in Bradyrhizobium japonicum

A locus involved in the expression of the uptake hydrogenase system of Bradyrhizobium japonicum was identified adjacent to genes encoding the hydrogenase subunits. A cloned fragment of DNA was used to complement to autotrophy a Hup − putative regulatory mutant of B. japonicum . The mutant strain lacked hydrogenase activity and synthesized low levels of the large subunit of hydrogenase as determined by Western gels. Tn 5 -induced mutagenesis located the region within the fragment which was necessary for complementation of the mutant phenotype. The locus identified is adjacent to that encoding the small subunit of hydrogenase; its right border is <0.5 kilobase upstream from the hydrogenase transcriptional start site, and its left border is between 1 and 2.5 kilobases from that start site. However, the locus is outside the region previously shown to contain hup -related genes of B. japonicum . Thus, the localization of this gene describes a previously unidentified hup -related gene on a region of DNA not previously shown to contain hup -specific DNA.

Nucleotide sequence of the genetic loci encoding subunits of Bradyrhizobium japonicum uptake hydrogenase

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.

Cloning and sequencing of the genes encoding the large and the small subunits of the H2 uptake hydrogenase (hup) of Rhodobacter capsulatus

The structural genes (hup) of the H2 uptake hydrogenase of Rhodobacter capsulatus were isolated from a cosmid gene library of R. capsulatus DNA by hybridization of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. The R. capsulatus genes were localized on a 3.5 kb HindIII fragment. The fragment, cloned onto plasmid pAC76, restored hydrogenase activity and autotrophic growth of the R. capsulatus mutant JP91, deficient in hydrogenase activity (Hup-). The nucleotide sequence, determined by the dideoxy chain termination method, revealed the presence of two open reading frames. The gene encoding the large subunit of hydrogenase (hupL) was identified from the size of its protein product (68,108 dalton) and by alignment with the NH2 amino acid protein sequence determined by Edman degradation. Upstream and separated from the large subunit by only three nucleotides was a gene encoding a 34,256 dalton polypeptide. Its amino acid sequence showed 80% identity with the small subunit of the hydrogenase of B. japonicum. The gene was identified as the structural gene of the small subunit of R. capsulatus hydrogenase (hupS). The R. capsulatus hydrogenase also showed homology of Desulfovibrio baculatus and D. gigas. In the R. capsulatus hydrogenase the Cys residues (13 in the small subunit and 12 in the large subunit) were not arranged in the typical configuration found in [4Fe-4S] feredoxins.

Cloning and characterization of hydrogen uptake genes from Rhizobium leguminosarum

A gene library of genomic DNA from the hydrogen uptake (Hup)-positive strain 128C53 of Rhizobium leguminosarum was constructed by using the broad-host-range mobilizable cosmid vector pLAFR1. The resulting recombinant cosmids contained insert DNA averaging 21 kilobase pairs (kb) in length. Two clones from the above gene library were identified by colony hybridization with DNA sequences from plasmid pHU1 containing hup genes of Bradyhizobium japonicum. The corresponding recombinant cosmids, pAL618 and pAL704, were isolated, and a region of about 28 kb containing the sequences homologous to B. japonicum hup-specific DNA was physically mapped. Further hybridization analysis with three fragments from pHU1 (5.9-kb HindIII, 2.9-kb EcoRI, and 5.0-kb EcoRI) showed that the overall arrangement of the R. leguminosarum hup-specific region closely parallels that of B. japonicum. The presence of functional hup genes within the isolated cosmid DNA was demonstrated by site-directed Tn5 mutagenesis of the 128C53 genome and analysis of the Hup phenotype of the Tn5 insertion strains in symbiosis with peas. Transposon Tn5 insertions at six different sites spanning 11 kb of pAL618 completely suppressed the hydrogenase activity of the pea bacteroids.

Molecular cloning of structural and regulatory hydrogenase (hox) genes of Alcaligenes eutrophus H16

A gene bank of the 450-kilobase (kb) megaplasmid pHG1 from the hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus H16 was constructed in the broad-host-range mobilizable vector pSUP202 and maintained in Escherichia coli. hox DNA was identified by screening the E. coli gene bank for restoration of hydrogenase activity in A. eutrophus Hox mutants. Hybrid plasmids that contained an 11.6-kb EcoRI fragment restored soluble NAD-dependent hydrogenase activity when transferred by conjugation into one class of Hos- mutants. An insertion mutant impaired in particulate hydrogenase was partially restored in Hop activity by an 11-kb EcoRI fragment. A contiguous sequence of two EcoRI fragments of 8.6 and 2.0 kb generated Hox+ recombinants from mutants that were devoid of both hydrogenase proteins. hox DNA was subcloned into the vector pVK101. The resulting recombinant plasmids were used in complementation studies. The results indicate that we have cloned parts of the structural genes coding for Hos and Hop activity and a complete regulatory hox DNA sequence which encodes the thermosensitive, energy-dependent derepression signal of hydrogenase synthesis in A. eutrophus H16.

Cloning and expression of Bradyrhizobium japonicum uptake hydrogenase structural genes in Escherichia coli

To identify the structural genes for the components of Bradyrhizobium japonicum uptake hydrogenase (Mr 60,000 and 30,000), we have expressed these genes in Escherichia coli and shown that the products cross-react with antibodies to the respective hydrogenase subunits. We constructed subclones of overlapping DNA fragments from an uptake hydrogenase-complementing cosmid, pHU52 [Lambert, G. R., Cantrell, M. A., Hanus, F. J., Russell, S. A., Haddad, K. R. & Evans, H. J. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82, 3232-3236], in pMZ 545, a plasmid expression vector. DNA fragments inserted into one or more of the four cloning sites downstream from the E. coli lac operon promoter (Plac) on pMZ 545 generate transcriptional, but not translational, fusions. Two subclones that directed the synthesis of Mr 60,000 and 30,000 proteins in E. coli "maxicells" were identified. The DNA inserts from these subclones were then inserted down-stream of the bacteriophage lambda PL promoter on a transcriptional fusion vector. When the PL promoter was activated in vivo by heat inactivation of the temperature sensitive cI repressor of lambda in an appropriate E. coli strain, the respective fragments expressed higher levels of Mr 60,000 and 30,000 proteins that could be detected in immunoblots. These data provide direct evidence for the presence of uptake hydrogenase structural genes on the uptake hydrogenase-complementing cosmid pHU52.

Immunological homology between the membrane-bound uptake hydrogenases of Rhizobium japonicum and Escherichia coli

Two polypeptides present in aerobic and anaerobic cultures of Escherichia coli HB101 were shown to cross-react with antibodies to the 30- and 60-kilodalton (kDa) subunits of the uptake hydrogenase of Rhizobium japonicum. The cross-reactive polypeptides in a series of different E. coli strains are of Mrs ca. 60,000 and 30,000, and both polypeptides are present in proportion to measurable hydrogen uptake (Hup) activity (r = 0.95). The 60-kDa polypeptide from E. coli HB101 comigrated on native gels with detectable Hup activity. The exact role of the 30-kDa polypeptide in E. coli is unclear. E. coli MBM7061, a natural Hup- variant, grown anaerobically or aerobically lacked detectable Hup activity and failed to cross-react with the antisera against the hydrogenase from R. japonicum. Anaerobically cultured E. coli MBM7061, however, did express formate hydrogenlyase activity, indicating that the hydrogenases involved in the oxygen-dependent activation of hydrogen and the formate-dependent evolution of hydrogen are biochemically distinct.

Further evidence that two unique subunits are essential for expression of hydrogenase activity in Rhizobium japonicum

Eight strains of Rhizobium lacking hydrogenase uptake (Hup) activity and 17 transconjugant strains carrying the hup cosmids pHU1, pHU52, or pHU53 (G. R. Lambert, M. A. Cantrell, F. J. Hanus, S. A. Russell, K. R. Haddad, and H. J. Evans, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82:3232-3236, 1985) were screened for Hup activity and the presence of immunologically detectable hydrogenase polypeptides. Crude extracts of these strains were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis with affinity-purified antibodies against the two subunits of purified hydrogenase (Mr 60,000 and 30,000). Derepressed transconjugants carrying the cosmid pHU52 were Hup+ and contained detectable levels of both hydrogenase subunit polypeptides. Non-derepressed strains, Hup- parent strains, and strains carrying cosmids other than pHU52 did not express Hup activity and contained no immunologically detectable protein. These data provide further evidence for the essential involvement of the smaller (Mr 30,000) subunit in the expression of hydrogenase activity in Rhizobium japonicum and suggest that the determinants for hydrogenase subunit synthesis are present on pHU52.