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Samanta D, Rauniyar S, Saxena P, Sani RK. From genome to evolution: investigating type II methylotrophs using a pangenomic analysis. mSystems 2024; 9:e0024824. [PMID: 38695578 PMCID: PMC11237726 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00248-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/19/2024] Open
Abstract
A comprehensive pangenomic approach was employed to analyze the genomes of 75 type II methylotrophs spanning various genera. Our investigation revealed 256 exact core gene families shared by all 75 organisms, emphasizing their crucial role in the survival and adaptability of these organisms. Additionally, we predicted the functionality of 12 hypothetical proteins. The analysis unveiled a diverse array of genes associated with key metabolic pathways, including methane, serine, glyoxylate, and ethylmalonyl-CoA (EMC) metabolic pathways. While all selected organisms possessed essential genes for the serine pathway, Methylooceanibacter marginalis lacked serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT), and Methylobacterium variabile exhibited both isozymes of SHMT, suggesting its potential to utilize a broader range of carbon sources. Notably, Methylobrevis sp. displayed a unique serine-glyoxylate transaminase isozyme not found in other organisms. Only nine organisms featured anaplerotic enzymes (isocitrate lyase and malate synthase) for the glyoxylate pathway, with the rest following the EMC pathway. Methylovirgula sp. 4MZ18 stood out by acquiring genes from both glyoxylate and EMC pathways, and Methylocapsa sp. S129 featured an A-form malate synthase, unlike the G-form found in the remaining organisms. Our findings also revealed distinct phylogenetic relationships and clustering patterns among type II methylotrophs, leading to the proposal of a separate genus for Methylovirgula sp. 4M-Z18 and Methylocapsa sp. S129. This pangenomic study unveils remarkable metabolic diversity, unique gene characteristics, and distinct clustering patterns of type II methylotrophs, providing valuable insights for future carbon sequestration and biotechnological applications. IMPORTANCE Methylotrophs have played a significant role in methane-based product production for many years. However, a comprehensive investigation into the diverse genetic architectures across different genera of methylotrophs has been lacking. This study fills this knowledge gap by enhancing our understanding of core hypothetical proteins and unique enzymes involved in methane oxidation, serine, glyoxylate, and ethylmalonyl-CoA pathways. These findings provide a valuable reference for researchers working with other methylotrophic species. Furthermore, this study not only unveils distinctive gene characteristics and phylogenetic relationships but also suggests a reclassification for Methylovirgula sp. 4M-Z18 and Methylocapsa sp. S129 into separate genera due to their unique attributes within their respective genus. Leveraging the synergies among various methylotrophic organisms, the scientific community can potentially optimize metabolite production, increasing the yield of desired end products and overall productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dipayan Samanta
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
- BuG ReMeDEE Consortium, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
| | - Shailabh Rauniyar
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
- 2-Dimensional Materials for Biofilm Engineering, Science and Technology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
| | - Priya Saxena
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
- Data Driven Material Discovery Center for Bioengineering Innovation, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
| | - Rajesh K Sani
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
- BuG ReMeDEE Consortium, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
- 2-Dimensional Materials for Biofilm Engineering, Science and Technology, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
- Data Driven Material Discovery Center for Bioengineering Innovation, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
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He H, Zheng W, Xiao S, Gong L, Li H, Zhou K, Zhang L, Tu Q, Zhu YZ, Zhang Y. Deciphering the Nitrogen Fixation Gene Cluster in Vibrio natriegens: A Study on Optimized Expression and Application of Nitrogenase. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2024; 72:12618-12629. [PMID: 38778776 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c01232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Microbial nitrogen fixation presents a viable alternative to chemical fertilizers, yet the limited colonization and specificity of naturally occurring nitrogen-fixing microorganisms present significant challenges to their widespread application. In this study, we identified a nitrogen fixation gene cluster (VNnif) in Vibrio natriegens (VN) and tested its nitrogenase activity through the acetylene reduction assay. We investigated the potential utilization of nitrogenase by incorporating the nitrogenase gene cluster from VN into plant growth-promoting rhizosphere bacteria Pseudomonas protegens CHA0 and enhancing its activity to 48.16 nmol C2H2/mg/h through promoter replacement and cluster rearrangement. The engineered strain CHA0-PVNnif was found to positively impact the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana col-0 and Triticum aestivum L. (wheat). This study expanded the role of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and provided a research foundation for enhancing nitrogenase activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haocheng He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Weijin Zheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- College of Life and Geographic Sciences, Kashi University, Kashi 844099, China
| | - Shuai Xiao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Liang Gong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - He Li
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Kexuan Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Letian Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
- State Key Lab of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China
| | - Qiang Tu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Yi Zhun Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR 999078, China
- State Key Lab of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau 999078, China
| | - Youming Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Quantitative Engineering Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
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Jin T, Ren J, Bai B, Wu W, Cao Y, Meng J, Zhang L. Effects of Klebsiella michiganensis LDS17 on Codonopsis pilosula growth, rhizosphere soil enzyme activities, and microflora, and genome-wide analysis of plant growth-promoting genes. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0405623. [PMID: 38563743 PMCID: PMC11064500 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.04056-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Codonopsis pilosula is a perennial herbaceous liana with medicinal value. It is critical to promote Codonopsis pilosula growth through effective and sustainable methods, and the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is a promising candidate. In this study, we isolated a PGPB, Klebsiella michiganensis LDS17, that produced a highly active 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase from the Codonopsis pilosula rhizosphere. The strain exhibited multiple plant growth-promoting properties. The antagonistic activity of strain LDS17 against eight phytopathogenic fungi was investigated, and the results showed that strain LDS17 had obvious antagonistic effects on Rhizoctonia solani, Colletotrichum camelliae, Cytospora chrysosperma, and Phomopsis macrospore with growth inhibition rates of 54.22%, 49.41%, 48.89%, and 41.11%, respectively. Inoculation of strain LDS17 not only significantly increased the growth of Codonopsis pilosula seedlings but also increased the invertase and urease activities, the number of culturable bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi, as well as the functional diversity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere soil of the seedlings. Heavy metal (HM) resistance tests showed that LDS17 is resistant to copper, zinc, and nickel. Whole-genome analysis of strain LDS17 revealed the genes involved in IAA production, siderophore synthesis, nitrogen fixation, P solubilization, and HM resistance. We further identified a gene (koyR) encoding a plant-responsive LuxR solo in the LDS17 genome. Klebsiella michiganensis LDS17 may therefore be useful in microbial fertilizers for Codonopsis pilosula. The identification of genes related to plant growth and HM resistance provides an important foundation for future analyses of the molecular mechanisms underlying the plant growth promotion and HM resistance of LDS17. IMPORTANCE We comprehensively evaluated the plant growth-promoting characteristics and heavy metal (HM) resistance ability of the LDS17 strain, as well as the effects of strain LDS17 inoculation on the Codonopsis pilosula seedling growth and the soil qualities in the Codonopsis pilosula rhizosphere. We conducted whole-genome analysis and identified lots of genes and gene clusters contributing to plant-beneficial functions and HM resistance, which is critical for further elucidating the plant growth-promoting mechanism of strain LDS17 and expanding its application in the development of plant growth-promoting agents used in the environment under HM stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Jin
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
| | - Jiahong Ren
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
| | - Bianxia Bai
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
| | - Wei Wu
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
| | - Yongqing Cao
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
| | - Jing Meng
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
| | - Lihui Zhang
- Department of Life Sciences, Changzhi University, Changzhi, China
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Cuevas-Zuviría B, Garcia AK, Rivier AJ, Rucker HR, Carruthers BM, Kaçar B. Emergence of an Orphan Nitrogenase Protein Following Atmospheric Oxygenation. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae067. [PMID: 38526235 PMCID: PMC11018506 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Molecular innovations within key metabolisms can have profound impacts on element cycling and ecological distribution. Yet, much of the molecular foundations of early evolved enzymes and metabolisms are unknown. Here, we bring one such mystery to relief by probing the birth and evolution of the G-subunit protein, an integral component of certain members of the nitrogenase family, the only enzymes capable of biological nitrogen fixation. The G-subunit is a Paleoproterozoic-age orphan protein that appears more than 1 billion years after the origin of nitrogenases. We show that the G-subunit arose with novel nitrogenase metal dependence and the ecological expansion of nitrogen-fixing microbes following the transition in environmental metal availabilities and atmospheric oxygenation that began ∼2.5 billion years ago. We identify molecular features that suggest early G-subunit proteins mediated cofactor or protein interactions required for novel metal dependency, priming ancient nitrogenases and their hosts to exploit these newly diversified geochemical environments. We further examined the degree of functional specialization in G-subunit evolution with extant and ancestral homologs using laboratory reconstruction experiments. Our results indicate that permanent recruitment of the orphan protein depended on the prior establishment of conserved molecular features and showcase how contingent evolutionary novelties might shape ecologically important microbial innovations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amanda K Garcia
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Alex J Rivier
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Holly R Rucker
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Brooke M Carruthers
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Betül Kaçar
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
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5
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Pi HW, Chiang YR, Li WH. Mapping Geological Events and Nitrogen Fixation Evolution Onto the Timetree of the Evolution of Nitrogen-Fixation Genes. Mol Biol Evol 2024; 41:msae023. [PMID: 38319744 PMCID: PMC10881105 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen is essential for all organisms, but biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) occurs only in a small fraction of prokaryotes. Previous studies divided nitrogenase-gene-carrying prokaryotes into Groups I to IV and provided evidence that BNF first evolved in bacteria. This study constructed a timetree of the evolution of nitrogen-fixation genes and estimated that archaea evolved BNF much later than bacteria and that nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria evolved later than 1,900 MYA, considerably younger than the previous estimate of 2,200 MYA. Moreover, Groups III and II/I diverged ∼2,280 MYA, after the Kenorland supercontinent breakup (∼2,500-2,100 MYA) and the Great Oxidation Event (∼2,400-2,100 MYA); Groups III and Vnf/Anf diverged ∼2,086 MYA, after the Yarrabubba impact (∼2,229 MYA); and Groups II and I diverged ∼1,920 MYA, after the Vredefort impact (∼2,023 MYA). In summary, this study provided a timescale of BNF events and discussed the possible effects of geological events on BNF evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong-Wei Pi
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115201, Taiwan
- Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan
| | - Yin-Ru Chiang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115201, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Hsiung Li
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115201, Taiwan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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6
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Liang P, Jiang J, Sun Z, Li Y, Yang C, Zhou Y. Klebsiella michiganensis: a nitrogen-fixing endohyphal bacterium from Ustilago maydis. AMB Express 2023; 13:146. [PMID: 38112810 PMCID: PMC10730499 DOI: 10.1186/s13568-023-01618-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Ustilago maydis is a pathogenic fungus in Basidiomycota causing corn smut disease. A strain of U. maydis YZZF202006 was isolated from the tumor of corn smut collected from Jingzhou city in China. The intracellular bacteria were confirmed inner hyphal of the strain YZZF202006 by PCR amplification and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and SYTO-9. An endohyphal bacterium YZUMF202001 was isolated from the protoplasts of the strain YZZF202006. It was gram-negative, short rod-shaped with smooth light yellow colony. The endohyphal bacterium was genomic evidenced as Klebsiella michiganensis on the basis of average nucleotide identity (ANI) analysis and the phylogram. Then K. michiganensis was GFP-Labeled and reintroduced into U. maydis, which confirmed the bacterium can live in hyphae of U.maydis. The bacterium can grow on N-free culture media. Its nitrogenase activity was reached av. 646.25 ± 38.61 nmol·mL- 1·h- 1 C2H4 by acetylene reduction assay. A cluster of nitrogen fixation genes (nifJHDKTXENXUSVWZMFLABQ) was found from its genome. The endohyphal K. michiganensis may play an important role to help nitrogen fixation for fungi in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengyu Liang
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China
| | - Jianwei Jiang
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China
| | - Zhengxiang Sun
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China
| | - Yanyan Li
- Tobacco Research Institute of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430000, China
| | - Chunlei Yang
- Tobacco Research Institute of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430000, China.
| | - Yi Zhou
- Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, 434025, China.
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7
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Einsle O. On the Shoulders of Giants-Reaching for Nitrogenase. Molecules 2023; 28:7959. [PMID: 38138449 PMCID: PMC10745432 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28247959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 11/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Only a single enzyme system-nitrogenase-carries out the conversion of atmospheric N2 into bioavailable ammonium, an essential prerequisite for all organismic life. The reduction of this inert substrate at ambient conditions poses unique catalytic challenges that strain our mechanistic understanding even after decades of intense research. Structural biology has added its part to this greater tapestry, and in this review, I provide a personal (and highly biased) summary of the parts of the story to which I had the privilege to contribute. It focuses on the crystallographic analysis of the three isoforms of nitrogenases at high resolution and the binding of ligands and inhibitors to the active-site cofactors of the enzyme. In conjunction with the wealth of available biochemical, biophysical, and spectroscopic data on the protein, this has led us to a mechanistic hypothesis based on an elementary mechanism of repetitive hydride formation and insertion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Einsle
- Institute of Biochemistry, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Albertstrasse 21, 79104 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
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Rosa-Núñez E, Echavarri-Erasun C, Armas AM, Escudero V, Poza-Carrión C, Rubio LM, González-Guerrero M. Iron Homeostasis in Azotobacter vinelandii. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:1423. [PMID: 37998022 PMCID: PMC10669500 DOI: 10.3390/biology12111423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
Iron is an essential nutrient for all life forms. Specialized mechanisms exist in bacteria to ensure iron uptake and its delivery to key enzymes within the cell, while preventing toxicity. Iron uptake and exchange networks must adapt to the different environmental conditions, particularly those that require the biosynthesis of multiple iron proteins, such as nitrogen fixation. In this review, we outline the mechanisms that the model diazotrophic bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii uses to ensure iron nutrition and how it adapts Fe metabolism to diazotrophic growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Rosa-Núñez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
- Escuela Técnica de Ingeniería Agraria, Alimentaria, y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Echavarri-Erasun
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
- Escuela Técnica de Ingeniería Agraria, Alimentaria, y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Alejandro M. Armas
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
| | - Viviana Escudero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
| | - César Poza-Carrión
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
| | - Luis M. Rubio
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA/CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Madrid, Spain; (E.R.-N.); (C.E.-E.); (A.M.A.); (C.P.-C.); (L.M.R.)
- Escuela Técnica de Ingeniería Agraria, Alimentaria, y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Avda. Puerta de Hierro, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Sanow S, Kuang W, Schaaf G, Huesgen P, Schurr U, Roessner U, Watt M, Arsova B. Molecular Mechanisms of Pseudomonas-Assisted Plant Nitrogen Uptake: Opportunities for Modern Agriculture. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2023; 36:536-548. [PMID: 36989040 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-10-22-0223-cr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Pseudomonas spp. make up 1.6% of the bacteria in the soil and are found throughout the world. More than 140 species of this genus have been identified, some beneficial to the plant. Several species in the family Pseudomonadaceae, including Azotobacter vinelandii AvOP, Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501, Pseudomonas stutzeri DSM4166, Pseudomonas szotifigens 6HT33bT, and Pseudomonas sp. strain K1 can fix nitrogen from the air. The genes required for these reactions are organized in a nitrogen fixation island, obtained via horizontal gene transfer from Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas stutzeri, and Azotobacter vinelandii. Today, this island is conserved in Pseudomonas spp. from different geographical locations, which, in turn, have evolved to deal with different geo-climatic conditions. Here, we summarize the molecular mechanisms behind Pseudomonas-driven plant growth promotion, with particular focus on improving plant performance at limiting nitrogen (N) and improving plant N content. We describe Pseudomonas-plant interaction strategies in the soil, noting that the mechanisms of denitrification, ammonification, and secondary metabolite signaling are only marginally explored. Plant growth promotion is dependent on the abiotic conditions and differs at sufficient and deficient N. The molecular controls behind different plant responses are not fully elucidated. We suggest that superposition of transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome data and their integration with plant phenotype development through time will help fill these gaps. The aim of this review is to summarize the knowledge behind Pseudomonas-driven nitrogen fixation and to point to possible agricultural solutions. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Sanow
- Institute for Bio- and Geosciences, Plant Sciences (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Germany
- School of BioSciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010 Victoria, Australia
| | - Weiqi Kuang
- College of life and Environmental Sciences, Hunan University of Arts and Science, China
| | - Gabriel Schaaf
- Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Pitter Huesgen
- Central institute for Engineering, Electronics and Analytics (ZEA-3), Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Germany
| | - Ulrich Schurr
- Institute for Bio- and Geosciences, Plant Sciences (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Germany
| | - Ute Roessner
- Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Acton, 2601 Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Michelle Watt
- School of BioSciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010 Victoria, Australia
| | - Borjana Arsova
- Institute for Bio- and Geosciences, Plant Sciences (IBG-2), Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Germany
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Mandhata CP, Bishoyi AK, Sahoo CR, Maharana S, Padhy RN. Insight to biotechnological utility of phycochemicals from cyanobacterium Anabaena sp.: An overview. Fitoterapia 2023; 169:105594. [PMID: 37343687 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2023.105594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are well-known for the ability to excrete extra-cellular products, as a variety of cyanochemicals (phycocompounds) of curio with several extensive therapeutic applications. Among these phycocompound, the cyanotoxins from certain water-bloom forming taxa are toxic to biota, including crocodiles. Failure of current non-renewable source compounds in producing sustainable and non-toxic therapeutics led the urgency of discovering products from natural sources. Particularly, compounds of the filamentous N2-fixing Anabaena sp. have effective antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. Today, such newer compounds are the potential targets for the possible novel chemical scaffolds, suitable for mainstream-drug development cascades. Bioactive compounds of Anabaena sp. such as, anatoxins, hassallidins and phycobiliproteins have proven their inherent antibacterial, antifungal, and antineoplastic activities, respectively. Herein, the available details of the biomass production and the inherent phyco-constituents namely, alkaloids, lipids, phenols, peptides, proteins, polysaccharides, terpenoids and cyanotoxins are considered, along with geographical distributions and morphological characteristics of the cyanobacterium. The acquisitions of cyanochemicals in recent years have newly addressed several pharmaceutical aliments, and the understanding of the associated molecular interactions of phycochemicals have been considered, for plausible use in drug developments in future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinmayee Priyadarsani Mandhata
- Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Medical Science & SUM Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, 751003, Odisha, India
| | - Ajit Kumar Bishoyi
- Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Medical Science & SUM Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, 751003, Odisha, India
| | - Chita Ranjan Sahoo
- Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Medical Science & SUM Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, 751003, Odisha, India.
| | | | - Rabindra Nath Padhy
- Central Research Laboratory, Institute of Medical Science & SUM Hospital, Siksha O Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, 751003, Odisha, India.
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11
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Yang J, Xiang N, Liu Y, Guo C, Li C, Li H, Cai S, Dixon R, Wang YP. Organelle-dependent polyprotein designs enable stoichiometric expression of nitrogen fixation components targeted to mitochondria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2305142120. [PMID: 37585462 PMCID: PMC10450427 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305142120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introducing nitrogen fixation (nif ) genes into eukaryotic genomes and targeting Nif components to mitochondria or chloroplasts is a promising strategy for engineering nitrogen-fixing plants. A prerequisite for achieving nitrogen fixation in crops is stable and stoichiometric expression of each component in organelles. Previously, we designed a polyprotein-based nitrogenase system depending on Tobacco Etch Virus protease (TEVp) to release functional Nif components from five polyproteins. Although this system satisfies the demand for specific expression ratios of Nif components in Escherichia coli, we encountered issues with TEVp cleavage of polyproteins targeted to yeast mitochondria. To overcome this obstacle, a version of the Nif polyprotein system was constructed by replacing TEVp cleavage sites with minimal peptide sequences, identified by knowledge-based engineering, that are susceptible to cleavage by the endogenous mitochondrial-processing peptidase. This replacement not only further reduces the number of genes required, but also prevents potential precleavage of polyproteins outside the target organelle. This version of the polyprotein-based nitrogenase system achieved levels of nitrogenase activity in E. coli, comparable to those observed with the TEVp-based polyprotein nitrogenase system. When applied to yeast mitochondria, stable and balanced expression of Nif components was realized. This strategy has potential advantages, not only for transferring nitrogen fixation to eukaryotic cells, but also for the engineering of other metabolic pathways that require mitochondrial compartmentalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Nan Xiang
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Yiheng Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Chenyue Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Chenyu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Shuyi Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
| | - Ray Dixon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, John Innes Centre, NR4 7UHNorwich, United Kingdom
| | - Yi-Ping Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, School of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing100871, China
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12
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Maitra S, Praharaj S, Brestic M, Sahoo RK, Sagar L, Shankar T, Palai JB, Sahoo U, Sairam M, Pramanick B, Nath S, Venugopalan VK, Skalický M, Hossain A. Rhizobium as Biotechnological Tools for Green Solutions: An Environment-Friendly Approach for Sustainable Crop Production in the Modern Era of Climate Change. Curr Microbiol 2023; 80:219. [PMID: 37204538 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-023-03317-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Modern and industrialized agriculture enhanced farm output during the last few decades, but it became possible at the cost of agricultural sustainability. Industrialized agriculture focussed only on the increase in crop productivity and the technologies involved were supply-driven, where enough synthetic chemicals were applied and natural resources were overexploited with the erosion of genetic diversity and biodiversity. Nitrogen is an essential nutrient required for plant growth and development. Even though nitrogen is available in large quantities in the atmosphere, it cannot be utilized by plants directly with the only exception of legumes which have the unique ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and the process is known as biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). Rhizobium, a group of gram-negative soil bacteria, helps in the formation of root nodules in legumes and takes part in the BNF. The BNF has great significance in agriculture as it acts as a fertility restorer in soil. Continuous cereal-cereal cropping system, which is predominant in a major part of the world, often results in a decline in soil fertility, while legumes add nitrogen and improve the availability of other nutrients too. In the present context of the declining trend of the yield of some important crops and cropping systems, it is the need of the hour for enriching soil health to achieve agricultural sustainability, where Rhizobium can play a magnificent role. Though the role of Rhizobium in biological nitrogen fixation is well documented, their behaviour and performance in different agricultural environments need to be studied further for a better understanding. In the article, an attempt has been made to give an insight into the behaviour, performance and mode of action of different Rhizobium species and strains under versatile conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagar Maitra
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India.
| | - Subhashisa Praharaj
- Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, 848125, Samastipur, Bihar, India), Madhopur, West Champaran, Bihar, 845454, India
| | - Marian Brestic
- Department of Plant Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 01, Nitra, Slovakia
- Division of Crop Sciences, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500 059, India
| | - Ranjan Kumar Sahoo
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India
| | - Lalichetti Sagar
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India
| | - Tanmoy Shankar
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India
| | - Jnana Bharati Palai
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India
| | - Upasana Sahoo
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India
| | - Masina Sairam
- Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi, Odisha, 761 211, India
| | - Biswajit Pramanick
- Department of Agronomy, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar, 848125, India
| | - Suprava Nath
- Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560065, India
| | - Visha Kumari Venugopalan
- Division of Crop Sciences, Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Santoshnagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500 059, India
| | - Milan Skalický
- Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food, and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 165 00, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Akbar Hossain
- Division of Soil Science, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Dinajpur, 5200, Bangladesh.
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13
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Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiotic Paraburkholderia Species: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives. NITROGEN 2023. [DOI: 10.3390/nitrogen4010010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/11/2023] Open
Abstract
A century after the discovery of rhizobia, the first Beta-proteobacteria species (beta-rhizobia) were isolated from legume nodules in South Africa and South America. Since then, numerous species belonging to the Burkholderiaceae family have been isolated. The presence of a highly branching lineage of nodulation genes in beta-rhizobia suggests a long symbiotic history. In this review, we focus on the beta-rhizobial genus Paraburkholderia, which includes two main groups: the South American mimosoid-nodulating Paraburkholderia and the South African predominantly papilionoid-nodulating Paraburkholderia. Here, we discuss the latest knowledge on Paraburkholderia nitrogen-fixing symbionts in each step of the symbiosis, from their survival in the soil, through the first contact with the legumes until the formation of an efficient nitrogen-fixing symbiosis in root nodules. Special attention is given to the strain P. phymatum STM815T that exhibits extraordinary features, such as the ability to: (i) enter into symbiosis with more than 50 legume species, including the agriculturally important common bean, (ii) outcompete other rhizobial species for nodulation of several legumes, and (iii) endure stressful soil conditions (e.g., high salt concentration and low pH) and high temperatures.
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14
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Pi HW, Lin JJ, Chen CA, Wang PH, Chiang YR, Huang CC, Young CC, Li WH. Origin and evolution of nitrogen fixation in prokaryotes. Mol Biol Evol 2022; 39:6673025. [PMID: 35993177 PMCID: PMC9447857 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msac181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin of nitrogen fixation is an important issue in evolutionary biology. While nitrogen is required by all living organisms, only a small fraction of bacteria and archaea can fix nitrogen. The prevailing view is that nitrogen fixation first evolved in archaea and was later transferred to bacteria. However, nitrogen-fixing (Nif) bacteria are far larger in number and far more diverse in ecological niches than Nif archaea. We, therefore, propose the bacteria-first hypothesis, which postulates that nitrogen fixation first evolved in bacteria and was later transferred to archaea. As >30,000 prokaryotic genomes have been sequenced, we conduct an in-depth comparison of the two hypotheses. We first identify the six genes involved in nitrogen fixation in all sequenced prokaryotic genomes and then reconstruct phylogenetic trees using the six Nif proteins individually or in combination. In each of these trees, the earliest lineages are bacterial Nif protein sequences and in the oldest clade (group) the archaeal sequences are all nested inside bacterial sequences, suggesting that the Nif proteins first evolved in bacteria. The bacteria-first hypothesis is further supported by the observation that the majority of Nif archaea carry the major bacterial Mo (molybdenum) transporter (ModABC) rather than the archaeal Mo transporter (WtpABC). Moreover, in our phylogeny of all available ModA and WtpA protein sequences, the earliest lineages are bacterial sequences while archaeal sequences are nested inside bacterial sequences. Furthermore, the bacteria-first hypothesis is supported by available isotopic data. In conclusion, our study strongly supports the bacteria-first hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Wei Pi
- Ph.D. Program in Microbial Genomics, National Chung Hsing University and Academia Sinica, Taiwan.,Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 11529
| | - Jinn Jy Lin
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 11529
| | - Chi An Chen
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 11529.,Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Po Hsiang Wang
- Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan 32001.,Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan 145-0061
| | - Yin Ru Chiang
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 11529
| | - Chieh Chen Huang
- Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 402
| | - Chiu Chung Young
- Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan 402
| | - Wen Hsiung Li
- Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 11529.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago 60637, USA
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15
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Wekesa C, Jalloh AA, Muoma JO, Korir H, Omenge KM, Maingi JM, Furch ACU, Oelmüller R. Distribution, Characterization and the Commercialization of Elite Rhizobia Strains in Africa. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23126599. [PMID: 35743041 PMCID: PMC9223902 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Grain legumes play a significant role in smallholder farming systems in Africa because of their contribution to nutrition and income security and their role in fixing nitrogen. Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) serves a critical role in improving soil fertility for legumes. Although much research has been conducted on rhizobia in nitrogen fixation and their contribution to soil fertility, much less is known about the distribution and diversity of the bacteria strains in different areas of the world and which of the strains achieve optimal benefits for the host plants under specific soil and environmental conditions. This paper reviews the distribution, characterization, and commercialization of elite rhizobia strains in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clabe Wekesa
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany; (C.W.); (K.M.O.); (A.C.U.F.)
| | - Abdul A. Jalloh
- International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi 00100, Kenya;
| | - John O. Muoma
- Department of Biological Sciences, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 190, Kakamega 50100, Kenya;
| | - Hezekiah Korir
- Crops, Horticulture and Soils Department, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536, Egerton 20115, Kenya;
| | - Keziah M. Omenge
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany; (C.W.); (K.M.O.); (A.C.U.F.)
| | - John M. Maingi
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi 00100, Kenya;
| | - Alexandra C. U. Furch
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany; (C.W.); (K.M.O.); (A.C.U.F.)
| | - Ralf Oelmüller
- Matthias Schleiden Institute of Genetics, Bioinformatics and Molecular Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Dornburger Str. 159, 07743 Jena, Germany; (C.W.); (K.M.O.); (A.C.U.F.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-3641949232
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16
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Shomar H, Bokinsky G. Towards a Synthetic Biology Toolset for Metallocluster Enzymes in Biosynthetic Pathways: What We Know and What We Need. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26226930. [PMID: 34834021 PMCID: PMC8617995 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26226930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 11/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbes are routinely engineered to synthesize high-value chemicals from renewable materials through synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Microbial biosynthesis often relies on expression of heterologous biosynthetic pathways, i.e., enzymes transplanted from foreign organisms. Metallocluster enzymes are one of the most ubiquitous family of enzymes involved in natural product biosynthesis and are of great biotechnological importance. However, the functional expression of recombinant metallocluster enzymes in live cells is often challenging and represents a major bottleneck. The activity of metallocluster enzymes requires essential supporting pathways, involved in protein maturation, electron supply, and/or enzyme stability. Proper function of these supporting pathways involves specific protein-protein interactions that remain poorly characterized and are often overlooked by traditional synthetic biology approaches. Consequently, engineering approaches that focus on enzymatic expression and carbon flux alone often overlook the particular needs of metallocluster enzymes. This review highlights the biotechnological relevance of metallocluster enzymes and discusses novel synthetic biology strategies to advance their industrial application, with a particular focus on iron-sulfur cluster enzymes. Strategies to enable functional heterologous expression and enhance recombinant metallocluster enzyme activity in industrial hosts include: (1) optimizing specific maturation pathways; (2) improving catalytic stability; and (3) enhancing electron transfer. In addition, we suggest future directions for developing microbial cell factories that rely on metallocluster enzyme catalysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helena Shomar
- INSERM U722, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Paris, Site Xavier Bichat, 75018 Paris, France
- Correspondence: (H.S.); (G.B.)
| | - Gregory Bokinsky
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
- Correspondence: (H.S.); (G.B.)
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17
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du Toit JP, Lea-Smith DJ, Git A, Hervey JRD, Howe CJ, Pott RWM. Expression of Alternative Nitrogenases in Rhodopseudomonas palustris Is Enhanced Using an Optimized Genetic Toolset for Rapid, Markerless Modifications. ACS Synth Biol 2021; 10:2167-2178. [PMID: 34431288 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
The phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris is emerging as a promising biotechnological chassis organism, due to its resilience to a range of harsh conditions, a wide metabolic repertoire, and the ability to quickly regenerate ATP using light. However, realization of this promise is impeded by a lack of efficient, rapid methods for genetic modification. Here, we present optimized tools for generating chromosomal insertions and deletions employing electroporation as a means of transformation. Generation of markerless strains can be completed in 12 days, approximately half the time for previous conjugation-based methods. This system was used for overexpression of alternative nitrogenase isozymes with the aim of improving biohydrogen productivity. Insertion of the pucBa promoter upstream of vnf and anf nitrogenase operons drove robust overexpression up to 4000-fold higher than wild-type. Transcript quantification was facilitated by an optimized high-quality RNA extraction protocol employing lysis using detergent and heat. Overexpression resulted in increased nitrogenase protein levels, extending to superior hydrogen productivity in bioreactor studies under nongrowing conditions, where promoter-modified strains better utilized the favorable energy state created by reduced competition from cell division. Robust heterologous expression driven by the pucBa promoter is thus attractive for energy-intensive biosyntheses suited to the capabilities of R. palustris. Development of this genetic modification toolset will accelerate the advancement of R. palustris as a biotechnological chassis organism, and insights into the effects of nitrogenase overexpression will guide future efforts in engineering strains for improved hydrogen production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan-Pierre du Toit
- Department of Process Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Banghoek Road, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa
| | - David J. Lea-Smith
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, United Kingdom
| | - Anna Git
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, United Kingdom
| | - John R. D. Hervey
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher J. Howe
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Hopkins Building, Downing Site, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW, United Kingdom
| | - Robert W. M. Pott
- Department of Process Engineering, Stellenbosch University, Banghoek Road, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa
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18
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Weiten A, Kalvelage K, Becker P, Reinhardt R, Hurek T, Reinhold-Hurek B, Rabus R. Complete Genomes of the Anaerobic Degradation Specialists Aromatoleum petrolei ToN1T and Aromatoleum bremense PbN1T. Microb Physiol 2021; 31:16-35. [PMID: 33477134 DOI: 10.1159/000513167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The betaproteobacterial genus Aromatoleum comprises facultative denitrifiers specialized in the anaerobic degradation of recalcitrant organic compounds (aromatic and terpenoid). This study reports on the complete and manually annotated genomes of Ar. petrolei ToN1T (5.41 Mbp) and Ar. bremense PbN1T (4.38 Mbp), which cover the phylogenetic breadth of the genus Aromatoleum together with previously genome sequenced Ar. aromaticum EbN1T [Rabus et al., Arch Microbiol. 2005 Jan;183(1):27-36]. The gene clusters for the anaerobic degradation of aromatic and terpenoid (strain ToN1T only) compounds are scattered across the genomes of strains ToN1T and PbN1T. The richness in mobile genetic elements is shared with other Aromatoleum spp., substantiating that horizontal gene transfer should have been a major driver in shaping the genomes of this genus. The composite catabolic network of strains ToN1T and PbN1T comprises 88 proteins, the coding genes of which occupy 86.1 and 76.4 kbp (1.59 and 1.75%) of the respective genome. The strain-specific gene clusters for anaerobic degradation of ethyl-/propylbenzene (strain PbN1T) and toluene/monoterpenes (strain ToN1T) share high similarity with their counterparts in Ar. aromaticum strains EbN1T and pCyN1, respectively. Glucose is degraded via the ED-pathway in strain ToN1T, while gluconeogenesis proceeds via the reverse EMP-pathway in strains ToN1T, PbN1T, and EbN1T. The diazotrophic, endophytic lifestyle of closest related genus Azoarcus is known to be associated with nitrogenase and type-6 secretion system (T6SS). By contrast, strains ToN1T, PbN1T, and EbN1T lack nif genes for nitrogenase (including cofactor synthesis and enzyme maturation). Moreover, strains PbN1T and EbN1T do not possess tss genes for T6SS, while strain ToN1T does and facultative endophytic "Aromatoleum" sp. CIB is known to even have both. These findings underpin the functional heterogeneity among Aromatoleum members, correlating with the high plasticity of their genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arne Weiten
- General and Molecular Microbiology, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Kristin Kalvelage
- General and Molecular Microbiology, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Patrick Becker
- General and Molecular Microbiology, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Richard Reinhardt
- Max-Planck-Genome-Centre Cologne, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Thomas Hurek
- Department of Microbe-Plant Interactions, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Barbara Reinhold-Hurek
- Department of Microbe-Plant Interactions, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ralf Rabus
- General and Molecular Microbiology, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany,
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19
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Castro-Rodríguez R, Abreu I, Reguera M, Novoa-Aponte L, Mijovilovich A, Escudero V, Jiménez-Pastor FJ, Abadía J, Wen J, Mysore KS, Álvarez-Fernández A, Küpper H, Imperial J, González-Guerrero M. The Medicago truncatula Yellow Stripe1-Like3 gene is involved in vascular delivery of transition metals to root nodules. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 2020; 71:7257-7269. [PMID: 32841350 DOI: 10.1093/jxb/eraa390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation carried out in legume root nodules requires transition metals. These nutrients are delivered by the host plant to the endosymbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria living within the nodule cells, a process in which vascular transport is essential. As members of the Yellow Stripe-Like (YSL) family of metal transporters are involved in root to shoot transport, they should also be required for root to nodule metal delivery. The genome of the model legume Medicago truncatula encodes eight YSL proteins, four of them with a high degree of similarity to Arabidopsis thaliana YSLs involved in long-distance metal trafficking. Among them, MtYSL3 is a plasma membrane protein expressed by vascular cells in roots and nodules and by cortical nodule cells. Reducing the expression level of this gene had no major effect on plant physiology when assimilable nitrogen was provided in the nutrient solution. However, nodule functioning was severely impaired, with a significant reduction of nitrogen fixation capabilities. Further, iron and zinc accumulation and distribution changed. Iron was retained in the apical region of the nodule, while zinc became strongly accumulated in the nodule veins in the ysl3 mutant. These data suggest a role for MtYSL3 in vascular delivery of iron and zinc to symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosario Castro-Rodríguez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain
| | - Isidro Abreu
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain
| | - María Reguera
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain
| | - Lorena Novoa-Aponte
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ana Mijovilovich
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Biophysics and Biochemistry, Česke Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Viviana Escudero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain
| | - Francisco J Jiménez-Pastor
- Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EEAD-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Javier Abadía
- Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EEAD-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, Zaragoza, Spain
| | | | | | - Ana Álvarez-Fernández
- Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EEAD-CSIC), Avda. Montañana 1005, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Hendrik Küpper
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Plant Molecular Biology, Department of Plant Biophysics and Biochemistry, Česke Budějovice, Czech Republic
- University of South Bohemia, Department of Experimental Plant Biology, Branišovská 31/1160, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Juan Imperial
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ICA-CSIC), Serrano, 115 bis, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta. M-40 km 38, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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20
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Higdon SM, Huang BC, Bennett AB, Weimer BC. Identification of Nitrogen Fixation Genes in Lactococcus Isolated from Maize Using Population Genomics and Machine Learning. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8122043. [PMID: 33419343 PMCID: PMC7768417 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8122043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Sierra Mixe maize is a landrace variety from Oaxaca, Mexico, that utilizes nitrogen derived from the atmosphere via an undefined nitrogen fixation mechanism. The diazotrophic microbiota associated with the plant’s mucilaginous aerial root exudate composed of complex carbohydrates was previously identified and characterized by our group where we found 23 lactococci capable of biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) without containing any of the proposed essential genes for this trait (nifHDKENB). To determine the genes in Lactococcus associated with this phenotype, we selected 70 lactococci from the dairy industry that are not known to be diazotrophic to conduct a comparative population genomic analysis. This showed that the diazotrophic lactococcal genomes were distinctly different from the dairy isolates. Examining the pangenome followed by genome-wide association study and machine learning identified genes with the functions needed for BNF in the maize isolates that were absent from the dairy isolates. Many of the putative genes received an ‘unknown’ annotation, which led to the domain analysis of the 135 homologs. This revealed genes with molecular functions needed for BNF, including mucilage carbohydrate catabolism, glycan-mediated host adhesion, iron/siderophore utilization, and oxidation/reduction control. This is the first report of this pathway in this organism to underpin BNF. Consequently, we proposed a model needed for BNF in lactococci that plausibly accounts for BNF in the absence of the nif operon in this organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn M. Higdon
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; (S.M.H.); (A.B.B.)
| | - Bihua C. Huang
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;
- 100 K Pathogen Genome Project, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Alan B. Bennett
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA; (S.M.H.); (A.B.B.)
| | - Bart C. Weimer
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;
- 100 K Pathogen Genome Project, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
- Correspondence:
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21
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Escudero V, Abreu I, Tejada-Jiménez M, Rosa-Núñez E, Quintana J, Prieto RI, Larue C, Wen J, Villanova J, Mysore KS, Argüello JM, Castillo-Michel H, Imperial J, González-Guerrero M. Medicago truncatula Ferroportin2 mediates iron import into nodule symbiosomes. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2020; 228:194-209. [PMID: 32367515 DOI: 10.1111/nph.16642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Iron is an essential cofactor for symbiotic nitrogen fixation, required by many of the enzymes involved, including signal transduction proteins, O2 homeostasis systems, and nitrogenase itself. Consequently, host plants have developed a transport network to deliver essential iron to nitrogen-fixing nodule cells. Ferroportin family members in model legume Medicago truncatula were identified and their expression was determined. Yeast complementation assays, immunolocalization, characterization of a tnt1 insertional mutant line, and synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence assays were carried out in the nodule-specific M. truncatula ferroportin Medicago truncatula nodule-specific gene Ferroportin2 (MtFPN2) is an iron-efflux protein. MtFPN2 is located in intracellular membranes in the nodule vasculature and in inner nodule tissues, as well as in the symbiosome membranes in the interzone and early-fixation zone of the nodules. Loss-of-function of MtFPN2 alters iron distribution and speciation in nodules, reducing nitrogenase activity and biomass production. Using promoters with different tissular activity to drive MtFPN2 expression in MtFPN2 mutants, we determined that expression in the inner nodule tissues is sufficient to restore the phenotype, while confining MtFPN2 expression to the vasculature did not improve the mutant phenotype. These data indicate that MtFPN2 plays a primary role in iron delivery to nitrogen-fixing bacteroids in M. truncatula nodules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Escudero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 28223, Spain
| | - Isidro Abreu
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 28223, Spain
| | - Manuel Tejada-Jiménez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 28223, Spain
| | - Elena Rosa-Núñez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 28223, Spain
| | - Julia Quintana
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, 01609, USA
| | - Rosa Isabel Prieto
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 28223, Spain
| | - Camille Larue
- EcoLab, CNRS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, 31326, France
| | - Jiangqi Wen
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Julie Villanova
- ID16 Beamline. European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble, 38043, France
| | | | | | | | - Juan Imperial
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, 28006, Spain
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 28223, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, 28040, Spain
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22
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Ortiz M, Bosch J, Coclet C, Johnson J, Lebre P, Salawu-Rotimi A, Vikram S, Makhalanyane T, Cowan D. Microbial Nitrogen Cycling in Antarctic Soils. Microorganisms 2020; 8:E1442. [PMID: 32967081 PMCID: PMC7564152 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8091442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The Antarctic continent is widely considered to be one of the most hostile biological habitats on Earth. Despite extreme environmental conditions, the ice-free areas of the continent, which constitute some 0.44% of the total continental land area, harbour substantial and diverse communities of macro-organisms and especially microorganisms, particularly in the more "hospitable" maritime regions. In the more extreme non-maritime regions, exemplified by the McMurdo Dry Valleys of South Victoria Land, nutrient cycling and ecosystem servicing processes in soils are largely driven by microbial communities. Nitrogen turnover is a cornerstone of ecosystem servicing. In Antarctic continental soils, specifically those lacking macrophytes, cold-active free-living diazotrophic microorganisms, particularly Cyanobacteria, are keystone taxa. The diazotrophs are complemented by heterotrophic bacterial and archaeal taxa which show the genetic capacity to perform elements of the entire N cycle, including nitrification processes such as the anammox reaction. Here, we review the current literature on nitrogen cycling genes, taxa, processes and rates from studies of Antarctic soils. In particular, we highlight the current gaps in our knowledge of the scale and contribution of these processes in south polar soils as critical data to underpin viable predictions of how such processes may alter under the impacts of future climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Don Cowan
- Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa; (M.O.); (J.B.); (C.C.); (J.J.); (P.L.); (A.S.-R.); (S.V.); (T.M.)
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23
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Armas AM, Balparda M, Terenzi A, Busi MV, Pagani MA, Gomez-Casati DF. Iron-Sulfur Cluster Complex Assembly in the Mitochondria of Arabidopsis thaliana. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 9:plants9091171. [PMID: 32917022 PMCID: PMC7570111 DOI: 10.3390/plants9091171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 08/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
In plants, the cysteine desulfurase (AtNFS1) and frataxin (AtFH) are involved in the formation of Fe-S groups in mitochondria, specifically, in Fe and sulfur loading onto scaffold proteins, and the subsequent formation of the mature Fe-S cluster. We found that the small mitochondrial chaperone, AtISD11, and AtFH are positive regulators for AtNFS1 activity in Arabidopsis. Moreover, when the three proteins were incubated together, a stronger attenuation of the Fenton reaction was observed compared to that observed with AtFH alone. Using pull-down assays, we found that these three proteins physically interact, and sequence alignment and docking studies showed that several amino acid residues reported as critical for the interaction of their human homologous are conserved. Our results suggest that AtFH, AtNFS1 and AtISD11 form a multiprotein complex that could be involved in different stages of the iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) pathway in plant mitochondria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro M. Armas
- Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario 2000, Argentina;
| | - Manuel Balparda
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario 2000, Argentina; (M.B.); (A.T.); (M.V.B.); (M.A.P.)
| | - Agustina Terenzi
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario 2000, Argentina; (M.B.); (A.T.); (M.V.B.); (M.A.P.)
| | - Maria V. Busi
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario 2000, Argentina; (M.B.); (A.T.); (M.V.B.); (M.A.P.)
| | - Maria A. Pagani
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario 2000, Argentina; (M.B.); (A.T.); (M.V.B.); (M.A.P.)
| | - Diego F. Gomez-Casati
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Rosario 2000, Argentina; (M.B.); (A.T.); (M.V.B.); (M.A.P.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +54-341-4391955 (ext. 113)
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Abstract
The enzyme molybdenum nitrogenase converts atmospheric nitrogen gas to ammonia and is of critical importance for the cycling of nitrogen in the biosphere and for the sustainability of life. Alternative vanadium and iron-only nitrogenases that are homologous to molybdenum nitrogenases are also found in archaea and bacteria, but they have a different transition metal, either vanadium or iron, at their active sites. So far alternative nitrogenases have only been found in microbes that also have molybdenum nitrogenase. They are less widespread than molybdenum nitrogenase in bacteria and archaea, and they are less efficient. The presumption has been that alternative nitrogenases are fail-safe enzymes that are used in situations where molybdenum is limiting. Recent work indicates that vanadium nitrogenase may play a role in the global biological nitrogen cycle and iron-only nitrogenase may contribute products that shape microbial community interactions in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline S Harwood
- Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA;
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25
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Using synthetic biology to overcome barriers to stable expression of nitrogenase in eukaryotic organelles. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:16537-16545. [PMID: 32601191 PMCID: PMC7368281 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2002307117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Stable expression of each component of the nitrogenase system in an active form is a prerequisite for engineering nitrogen fixation in eukaryotic cells. Mitochondria provide an oxygen-depleted environment for the expression of active nitrogenase in plants, but signal peptides are required to target nuclear encoded Nif proteins to this organelle. We demonstrate that one of the structural subunits of nitrogenase, NifD, is itself susceptible to cleavage by mitochondrial processing peptidases from a variety of plant origins, presenting a major challenge to engineering nitrogen fixation in mitochondria. To overcome this issue, we have engineered NifD variants that are resistant to cleavage and retain high levels of nitrogenase activity, thus providing a potential solution for engineering active MoFe protein in plants. Engineering biological nitrogen fixation in eukaryotic cells by direct introduction of nif genes requires elegant synthetic biology approaches to ensure that components required for the biosynthesis of active nitrogenase are stable and expressed in the appropriate stoichiometry. Previously, the NifD subunits of nitrogenase MoFe protein from Azotobacter vinelandii and Klebsiella oxytoca were found to be unstable in yeast and plant mitochondria, respectively, presenting a bottleneck to the assembly of active MoFe protein in eukaryotic cells. In this study, we have delineated the region and subsequently a key residue, NifD-R98, from K. oxytoca that confers susceptibility to protease-mediated degradation in mitochondria. The effect observed is pervasive, as R98 is conserved among all NifD proteins analyzed. NifD proteins from four representative diazotrophs, but not their R98 variants, were observed to be unstable in yeast mitochondria. Furthermore, by reconstituting mitochondrial-processing peptidases (MPPs) from yeast, Oryza sativa, Nicotiana tabacum, and Arabidopsis thaliana in Escherichia coli, we demonstrated that MPPs are responsible for cleavage of NifD. These results indicate a pervasive effect on the stability of NifD proteins in mitochondria resulting from cleavage by MPPs. NifD-R98 variants that retained high levels of nitrogenase activity were obtained, with the potential to stably target active MoFe protein to mitochondria. This reconstitution approach could help preevaluate the stability of Nif proteins for plant expression and paves the way for engineering active nitrogenase in plant organelles.
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26
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Burén S, Jiménez-Vicente E, Echavarri-Erasun C, Rubio LM. Biosynthesis of Nitrogenase Cofactors. Chem Rev 2020; 120:4921-4968. [PMID: 31975585 PMCID: PMC7318056 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Nitrogenase harbors three distinct metal prosthetic groups that are required for its activity. The simplest one is a [4Fe-4S] cluster located at the Fe protein nitrogenase component. The MoFe protein component carries an [8Fe-7S] group called P-cluster and a [7Fe-9S-C-Mo-R-homocitrate] group called FeMo-co. Formation of nitrogenase metalloclusters requires the participation of the structural nitrogenase components and many accessory proteins, and occurs both in situ, for the P-cluster, and in external assembly sites for FeMo-co. The biosynthesis of FeMo-co is performed stepwise and involves molecular scaffolds, metallochaperones, radical chemistry, and novel and unique biosynthetic intermediates. This review provides a critical overview of discoveries on nitrogenase cofactor structure, function, and activity over the last four decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Burén
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto
Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria
y Alimentaria (INIA), Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Emilio Jiménez-Vicente
- Department
of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Carlos Echavarri-Erasun
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto
Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria
y Alimentaria (INIA), Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223 Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis M. Rubio
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto
Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria
y Alimentaria (INIA), Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223 Madrid, Spain
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27
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Pan-Genome-Based Analysis as a Framework for Demarcating Two Closely Related Methanotroph Genera Methylocystis and Methylosinus. Microorganisms 2020; 8:microorganisms8050768. [PMID: 32443820 PMCID: PMC7285482 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms8050768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The Methylocystis and Methylosinus are two of the five genera that were included in the first taxonomic framework of methanotrophic bacteria created half a century ago. Members of both genera are widely distributed in various environments and play a key role in reducing methane fluxes from soils and wetlands. The original separation of these methanotrophs in two distinct genera was based mainly on their differences in cell morphology. Further comparative studies that explored various single-gene-based phylogenies suggested the monophyletic nature of each of these genera. Current availability of genome sequences from members of the Methylocystis/Methylosinus clade opens the possibility for in-depth comparison of the genomic potentials of these methanotrophs. Here, we report the finished genome sequence of Methylocystis heyeri H2T and compare it to 23 currently available genomes of Methylocystis and Methylosinus species. The phylogenomic analysis confirmed that members of these genera form two separate clades. The Methylocystis/Methylosinus pan-genome core comprised 1173 genes, with the accessory genome containing 4941 and 11,192 genes in the shell and the cloud, respectively. Major differences between the genome-encoded environmental traits of these methanotrophs include a variety of enzymes for methane oxidation and dinitrogen fixation as well as genomic determinants for cell motility and photosynthesis.
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28
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Lu HM, Li JD, Zhang YD, Lu XL, Xu C, Huang Y, Gribskov M. The Evolution History of Fe-S Cluster A-Type Assembly Protein Reveals Multiple Gene Duplication Events and Essential Protein Motifs. Genome Biol Evol 2020; 12:160-173. [PMID: 32108236 PMCID: PMC7144353 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Iron-sulfur (Fe-S) clusters play important roles in electron transfer, metabolic and biosynthetic reactions, and the regulation of gene expression. Understanding the biogenesis of Fe-S clusters is therefore relevant to many fields. In the complex process of Fe-S protein formation, the A-type assembly protein (ATAP) family, which consists of several subfamilies, plays an essential role in Fe-S cluster formation and transfer and is highly conserved across the tree of life. However, the taxonomic distribution, motif compositions, and the evolutionary history of the ATAP subfamilies are not well understood. To address these problems, our study investigated the taxonomic distribution of 321 species from a broad cross-section of taxa. Then, we identified common and specific motifs in multiple ATAP subfamilies to explain the functional conservation and nonredundancy of the ATAPs, and a novel, essential motif was found in Eumetazoa IscA1, which has a newly found magnetic function. Finally, we used phylogenetic analytical methods to reconstruct the evolution history of this family. Our results show that two types of ErpA proteins (nonproteobacteria-type ErpA1 and proteobacteria-type ErpA2) exist in bacteria. The ATAP family, consisting of seven subfamilies, can be further classified into two types of ATAPs. Type-I ATAPs include IscA, SufA, HesB, ErpA1, and IscA1, with an ErpA1-like gene as their last common ancestor, whereas type-II ATAPs consist of ErpA2 and IscA2, duplicated from an ErpA2-like gene. During the mitochondrial endosymbiosis, IscA became IscA1 in eukaryotes and ErpA2 became IscA2 in eukaryotes, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Meng Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Jing-Di Li
- School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Yu-Dan Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Xiao-Li Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory for Space Bioscience and Biotechnology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Chang Xu
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Yuan Huang
- College of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, PR China
| | - Michael Gribskov
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University
- Department of Computer Science, Purdue University
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29
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Escudero V, Abreu I, del Sastre E, Tejada-Jiménez M, Larue C, Novoa-Aponte L, Castillo-González J, Wen J, Mysore KS, Abadía J, Argüello JM, Castillo-Michel H, Álvarez-Fernández A, Imperial J, González-Guerrero M. Nicotianamine Synthase 2 Is Required for Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Medicago truncatula Nodules. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 10:1780. [PMID: 32082345 PMCID: PMC7003136 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.01780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation carried out by the interaction between legumes and diazotrophic bacteria known as rhizobia requires relatively large levels of transition metals. These elements are cofactors of many key enzymes involved in this process. Metallic micronutrients are obtained from soil by the roots and directed to sink organs by the vasculature, in a process mediated by a number of metal transporters and small organic molecules that facilitate metal delivery in the plant fluids. Among the later, nicotianamine is one of the most important. Synthesized by nicotianamine synthases (NAS), this molecule forms metal complexes participating in intracellular metal homeostasis and long-distance metal trafficking. Here we characterized the NAS2 gene from model legume Medicago truncatula. MtNAS2 is located in the root vasculature and in all nodule tissues in the infection and fixation zones. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation requires of MtNAS2 function, as indicated by the loss of nitrogenase activity in the insertional mutant nas2-1, phenotype reverted by reintroduction of a wild-type copy of MtNAS2. This would result from the altered iron distribution in nas2-1 nodules shown with X-ray fluorescence. Moreover, iron speciation is also affected in these nodules. These data suggest a role of nicotianamine in iron delivery for symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Escudero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isidro Abreu
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eric del Sastre
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Tejada-Jiménez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Camille Larue
- EcoLab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France
| | - Lorena Novoa-Aponte
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Jorge Castillo-González
- Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Jiangqi Wen
- Noble Research Institute, Ardmore, OK, United States
| | | | - Javier Abadía
- Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - José M. Argüello
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States
| | | | - Ana Álvarez-Fernández
- Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Juan Imperial
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaria y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
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30
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Nag P, Shriti S, Das S. Microbiological strategies for enhancing biological nitrogen fixation in nonlegumes. J Appl Microbiol 2020; 129:186-198. [PMID: 31858682 DOI: 10.1111/jam.14557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 12/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
In an agro-ecosystem, industrially produced nitrogenous fertilizers are the principal sources of nitrogen for plant growth; unfortunately these also serve as the leading sources of pollution. Hence, it becomes imperative to find pollution-free methods of providing nitrogen to crop plants. A diverse group of free-living, plant associative and symbiotic prokaryotes are able to perform biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). BNF is a two component process involving the nitrogen fixing diazotrophs and the host plant. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is most efficient as it can fix nitrogen inside the nodule formed on the roots of the plant; delivering nitrogen directly to the host. However, most of the important crop plants are nonleguminous and are unable to form symbiotic associations. In this context, the plant associative and endophytic diazotrophs assume importance. BNF in nonlegumes can be encouraged either through the transfer of BNF traits from legumes or by elevating the nitrogen fixing capacity of the associative and endophytic diazotrophs. In this review we discuss mainly the microbiological strategies which may be used in nonleguminous crops for enhancement of BNF.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Nag
- Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - S Shriti
- Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| | - S Das
- Division of Plant Biology, Bose Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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Vyas N, Kumar A, Ojha AK, Grover A. Electronic structure of iron dinitrogen complex [(TPB)FeN 2] 2−/1−/0: correlation to Mössbauer parameters. RSC Adv 2020; 10:7948-7955. [PMID: 35492201 PMCID: PMC9049905 DOI: 10.1039/c9ra10481j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Low-valent species of iron are key intermediates in many important biological processes such as the nitrogenase enzymatic catalytic reaction. These species play a major role in activating highly stable N2 molecules. Thus, there is a clear need to establish the factors which are responsible for the reactivity of the metal–dinitrogen moiety. In this regard, we have investigated the electronic structure of low-valent iron (2−/1−/0) in a [(TPB)FeN2]2−/1−/0 complex using density functional theory (DFT). The variation in the oxidation states of iron in the nitrogenase enzyme cycle is associated with the flexibility of Fe→B bonding. Therefore, the flexibility of Fe→B bonding acts as an electron source that sustains the formation of various oxidation states, which is necessary for the key species in dinitrogen activation. AIM calculations are also performed to understand the strength of Fe→B and Fe–N2 bonds. A detailed interpretation of the contributions to the isomer shift (IS) and quadrupole splitting (ΔEQ) are discussed. The major contribution to IS comes mainly from the 3s-contribution, which differs depending on the d orbital population due to different shielding. The valence shell contribution also comes from the 4s-orbital. The Fe–N2 bond distance has a great influence on the Mössbauer parameters, which are associated with the radial distribution, i.e. the shape of the 4s-orbital and the charge density at the nucleus. A linear relationship between IS with Fe–N2 and ΔEQ with Fe–N2 is observed. We use density functional theory studies to explore the electronic structure, bonding and spectroscopic analysis of a low-valent iron (2−/1−/0) complex [(TPB)FeN2]2−/1−/0 and reveled the factor which affects the reactivity of the metal–dinitrogen moiety.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Nidhi Vyas
- School of Biotechnology
- Jawaharlal Nehru University
- New Delhi-110067
- India
| | - Aditya Kumar
- Department of Physics
- Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology
- Allahabad-211004
- India
| | - Animesh K. Ojha
- Department of Physics
- Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology
- Allahabad-211004
- India
| | - Abhinav Grover
- School of Biotechnology
- Jawaharlal Nehru University
- New Delhi-110067
- India
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32
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Hatanaka T, Kusunose H, Kawaguchi H, Funahashi Y. Dinitrogen Activation by a Heterometallic VFe Complex Derived from 1,1'‐Bis(arylamido)vanadocene. Eur J Inorg Chem 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ejic.201901120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tsubasa Hatanaka
- Department of Chemistry Graduate School of Science Osaka University 1–1 Machikaneyama 560–0043 Toyonaka Osaka Japan
| | - Hinano Kusunose
- Department of Chemistry Graduate School of Science Osaka University 1–1 Machikaneyama 560–0043 Toyonaka Osaka Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kawaguchi
- Department of Chemistry Graduate School of Science Tokyo Institute of Technology 2–12–1 Ookayama, Meguro‐ku 152–8551 Tokyo Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Funahashi
- Department of Chemistry Graduate School of Science Osaka University 1–1 Machikaneyama 560–0043 Toyonaka Osaka Japan
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Pankievicz VCS, Irving TB, Maia LGS, Ané JM. Are we there yet? The long walk towards the development of efficient symbiotic associations between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and non-leguminous crops. BMC Biol 2019; 17:99. [PMID: 31796086 PMCID: PMC6889567 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-019-0710-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen is an essential element of life, and nitrogen availability often limits crop yields. Since the Green Revolution, massive amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers have been produced from atmospheric nitrogen and natural gas, threatening the sustainability of global food production and degrading the environment. There is a need for alternative means of bringing nitrogen to crops, and taking greater advantage of biological nitrogen fixation seems a logical option. Legumes are used in most cropping systems around the world because of the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with rhizobia. However, the world's three major cereal crops-rice, wheat, and maize-do not associate with rhizobia. In this review, we will survey how genetic approaches in rhizobia and their legume hosts allowed tremendous progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling root nodule symbioses, and how this knowledge paves the way for engineering such associations in non-legume crops. We will also discuss challenges in bringing these systems into the field and how they can be surmounted by interdisciplinary collaborations between synthetic biologists, microbiologists, plant biologists, breeders, agronomists, and policymakers.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thomas B Irving
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Lucas G S Maia
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jean-Michel Ané
- Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.
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Abstract
Rhizobia are α- and β-proteobacteria that form a symbiotic partnership with legumes, fixing atmospheric dinitrogen to ammonia and providing it to the plant. Oxygen regulation is key in this symbiosis. Fixation is performed by an oxygen-intolerant nitrogenase enzyme but requires respiration to meet its high energy demands. To satisfy these opposing constraints the symbiotic partners cooperate intimately, employing a variety of mechanisms to regulate and respond to oxygen concentration. During symbiosis rhizobia undergo significant changes in gene expression to differentiate into nitrogen-fixing bacteroids. Legumes host these bacteroids in specialized root organs called nodules. These generate a near-anoxic environment using an oxygen diffusion barrier, oxygen-binding leghemoglobin and control of mitochondria localization. Rhizobia sense oxygen using multiple interconnected systems which enable a finely-tuned response to the wide range of oxygen concentrations they experience when transitioning from soil to nodules. The oxygen-sensing FixL-FixJ and hybrid FixL-FxkR two-component systems activate at relatively high oxygen concentration and regulate fixK transcription. FixK activates the fixNOQP and fixGHIS operons producing a high-affinity terminal oxidase required for bacterial respiration in the microaerobic nodule. Additionally or alternatively, some rhizobia regulate expression of these operons by FnrN, an FNR-like oxygen-sensing protein. The final stage of symbiotic establishment is activated by the NifA protein, regulated by oxygen at both the transcriptional and protein level. A cross-species comparison of these systems highlights differences in their roles and interconnections but reveals common regulatory patterns and themes. Future work is needed to establish the complete regulon of these systems and identify other regulatory signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Rutten
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Philip S Poole
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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35
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Armas AM, Balparda M, Turowski VR, Busi MV, Pagani MA, Gomez-Casati DF. Altered levels of mitochondrial NFS1 affect cellular Fe and S contents in plants. PLANT CELL REPORTS 2019; 38:981-990. [PMID: 31065779 DOI: 10.1007/s00299-019-02419-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/29/2019] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The ISC Fe-S cluster biosynthetic pathway would play a key role in the regulation of iron and sulfur homeostasis in plants. The Arabidopsis thaliana mitochondrial cysteine desulfurase AtNFS1 has an essential role in cellular ISC Fe-S cluster assembly, and this pathway is one of the main sinks for iron (Fe) and sulfur (S) in the plant. In different plant species it has been reported a close relationship between Fe and S metabolisms; however, the regulation of both nutrient homeostasis is not fully understood. In this study, we have characterized AtNFS1 overexpressing and knockdown mutant Arabidopsis plants. Plants showed alterations in the ISC Fe-S biosynthetic pathway genes and in the activity of Fe-S enzymes. Genes involved in Fe and S uptakes, assimilation, and regulation were up-regulated in overexpressing plants and down-regulated in knockdown plants. Furthermore, the plant nutritional status in different tissues was in accordance with those gene activities: overexpressing lines accumulated increased amounts of Fe and S and mutant plant had lower contents of S. In summary, our results suggest that the ISC Fe-S cluster biosynthetic pathway plays a crucial role in the homeostasis of Fe and S in plants, and that it may be important in their regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro M Armas
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, 2000, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Manuel Balparda
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, 2000, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Valeria R Turowski
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, IIB-INTECH, CONICET-UNSAM, Chascomús, Argentina
| | - Maria V Busi
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, 2000, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Maria A Pagani
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, 2000, Rosario, Argentina
| | - Diego F Gomez-Casati
- Centro de Estudios Fotosintéticos y Bioquímicos (CEFOBI-CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Rosario, 2000, Rosario, Argentina.
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36
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Burén S, Rubio LM. State of the art in eukaryotic nitrogenase engineering. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2019; 365:4733273. [PMID: 29240940 PMCID: PMC5812491 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnx274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Improving the ability of plants and plant-associated organisms to fix and assimilate atmospheric nitrogen has inspired plant biotechnologists for decades, not only to alleviate negative effects on nature from increased use and availability of reactive nitrogen, but also because of apparent economic benefits and opportunities. The combination of recent advances in synthetic biology and increased knowledge about the biochemistry and biosynthesis of the nitrogenase enzyme has made the seemingly remote and for long unreachable dream more possible. In this review, we will discuss strategies how this could be accomplished using biotechnology, with a special focus on recent progress on engineering plants to express its own nitrogenase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Burén
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (CBGP), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Campus Montegancedo UPM, 28223-Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis M Rubio
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (CBGP), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Campus Montegancedo UPM, 28223-Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
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Saad MM, Michalet S, Fossou R, Putnik-Delić M, Crèvecoeur M, Meyer J, de Malézieux C, Hopfgartner G, Maksimović I, Perret X. Loss of NifQ Leads to Accumulation of Porphyrins and Altered Metal-Homeostasis in Nitrogen-Fixing Symbioses. MOLECULAR PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS : MPMI 2019; 32:208-216. [PMID: 30070615 DOI: 10.1094/mpmi-07-18-0188-r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation between legumes and rhizobia involves a coordinated expression of many plant and bacterial genes as well as finely tuned metabolic activities of micro- and macrosymbionts. In spite of such complex interactions, symbiotic proficiency remains a resilient process, with host plants apparently capable of compensating for some deficiencies in rhizobia. What controls nodule homeostasis is still poorly understood and probably varies between plant species. In this respect, the promiscuous Sinorhizobium (Ensifer) fredii strain NGR234 has become a model to assess the relative contribution of single gene products to many symbioses. Here, we describe how a deletion in nifQ of NGR234 (strain NGRΔnifQ) makes nodules of Vigna unguiculata, V. radiata, and Macroptilium atropurpureum but not of the mimisoid tree Leucaena leucocephala, purple-red. This peculiar dark-nodule phenotype did not necessarily correlate with a decreased proficiency of NGRΔnifQ but coincided with a 20-fold or more accumulation of coproporphyrin III and uroporphyrin III in V. unguiculata nodules. Porphyrin accumulation was not restricted to plant cells infected with bacteroids but also extended to the nodule cortex. Nodule metal-homeostasis was altered but not sufficiently to prevent assembly and functioning of nitrogenase. Although the role of NifQ in donating molybdenum during assembly of nitrogenase cofactor FeMo-co makes it essential in free-living diazotrophs, our results highlight the dispensability of NifQ in many legume species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maged M Saad
- 1 University of Geneva, Sciences III, Department of Botany and Plant Biology, Microbiology Unit, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
- 2 King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), Thuwal 6900-2355, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Sophie Michalet
- 3 University of Geneva, Mass Spectrometry Core Facility (MZ 2.0), Faculty of Sciences, Bd d'Yvoy 11, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Romain Fossou
- 1 University of Geneva, Sciences III, Department of Botany and Plant Biology, Microbiology Unit, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | | | - Michèle Crèvecoeur
- 1 University of Geneva, Sciences III, Department of Botany and Plant Biology, Microbiology Unit, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Julien Meyer
- 3 University of Geneva, Mass Spectrometry Core Facility (MZ 2.0), Faculty of Sciences, Bd d'Yvoy 11, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Chloé de Malézieux
- 1 University of Geneva, Sciences III, Department of Botany and Plant Biology, Microbiology Unit, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Gérard Hopfgartner
- 5 University of Geneva, Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, 26 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Ivana Maksimović
- 4 University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Agriculture, Novi Sad, Serbia; and
| | - Xavier Perret
- 1 University of Geneva, Sciences III, Department of Botany and Plant Biology, Microbiology Unit, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
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38
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Gil-Díez P, Tejada-Jiménez M, León-Mediavilla J, Wen J, Mysore KS, Imperial J, González-Guerrero M. MtMOT1.2 is responsible for molybdate supply to Medicago truncatula nodules. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2019; 42:310-320. [PMID: 29940074 DOI: 10.1111/pce.13388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/17/2018] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legume root nodules requires a steady supply of molybdenum for synthesis of the iron-molybdenum cofactor of nitrogenase. This nutrient has to be provided by the host plant from the soil, crossing several symplastically disconnected compartments through molybdate transporters, including members of the MOT1 family. Medicago truncatula Molybdate Transporter (MtMOT) 1.2 is a Medicago truncatula MOT1 family member located in the endodermal cells in roots and nodules. Immunolocalization of a tagged MtMOT1.2 indicates that it is associated to the plasma membrane and to intracellular membrane systems, where it would be transporting molybdate towards the cytosol, as indicated in yeast transport assays. Loss-of-function mot1.2-1 mutant showed reduced growth compared with wild-type plants when nitrogen fixation was required but not when nitrogen was provided as nitrate. While no effect on molybdenum-dependent nitrate reductase activity was observed, nitrogenase activity was severely affected, explaining the observed difference of growth depending on nitrogen source. This phenotype was the result of molybdate not reaching the nitrogen-fixing nodules, since genetic complementation with a wild-type MtMOT1.2 gene or molybdate-fortification of the nutrient solution, both restored wild-type levels of growth and nitrogenase activity. These results support a model in which MtMOT1.2 would mediate molybdate delivery by the vasculature into the nodules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Gil-Díez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA). Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel Tejada-Jiménez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA). Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Rabanales, Córdoba, Spain
| | - Javier León-Mediavilla
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA). Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jiangqi Wen
- Noble Research Institute, LCC, Ardmore, Oklahoma, 73401, USA
| | | | - Juan Imperial
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA). Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA). Campus de Montegancedo, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaría y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
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39
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Polyprotein strategy for stoichiometric assembly of nitrogen fixation components for synthetic biology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E8509-E8517. [PMID: 30061389 PMCID: PMC6130400 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1804992115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The requirement of maintaining balanced expression of a large number of gene products represents a major challenge to the engineering of nitrogen fixation in cereal crops, necessitating reiterative combinatorial assembly cycles to optimize monocistronic gene expression. In this study, we have explored a “fuse-and-cleave” virus-derived polyprotein strategy to reduce gene numbers and achieve balanced expression of protein components required for nitrogenase biosynthesis and activity. After testing and regrouping assemblies on the basis of expression profiles, cleavage patterns, and activity, 14 essential genes were selectively assembled into 5 giant genes that enable growth on dinitrogen. This strategy has potential advantages, not only for transferring nitrogen fixation to plants, but also for the engineering of other complex systems of profound agronomic and ecological importance. Re-engineering of complex biological systems (CBS) is an important goal for applications in synthetic biology. Efforts have been made to simplify CBS by refactoring a large number of genes with rearranged polycistrons and synthetic regulatory circuits. Here, a posttranslational protein-splicing strategy derived from RNA viruses was exploited to minimize gene numbers of the classic nitrogenase system, where the expression stoichiometry is particularly important. Operon-based nif genes from Klebsiella oxytoca were regrouped into giant genes either by fusing genes together or by expressing polyproteins that are subsequently cleaved with Tobacco Etch Virus protease. After several rounds of selection based on protein expression levels and tolerance toward a remnant C-terminal ENLYFQ-tail, a system with only five giant genes showed optimal nitrogenase activity and supported diazotrophic growth of Escherichia coli. This study provides an approach for efficient translation from an operon-based system into a polyprotein-based assembly that has the potential for portable and stoichiometric expression of the complex nitrogenase system in eukaryotic organisms.
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León-Mediavilla J, Senovilla M, Montiel J, Gil-Díez P, Saez Á, Kryvoruchko IS, Reguera M, Udvardi MK, Imperial J, González-Guerrero M. MtMTP2-Facilitated Zinc Transport Into Intracellular Compartments Is Essential for Nodule Development in Medicago truncatula. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2018; 9:990. [PMID: 30042781 PMCID: PMC6048390 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Zinc (Zn) is an essential nutrient for plants that is involved in almost every biological process. This includes symbiotic nitrogen fixation, a process carried out by endosymbiotic bacteria (rhizobia) living within differentiated plant cells of legume root nodules. Zn transport in nodules involves delivery from the root, via the vasculature, release into the apoplast and uptake into nodule cells. Once in the cytosol, Zn can be used directly by cytosolic proteins or delivered into organelles, including symbiosomes of infected cells, by Zn efflux transporters. Medicago truncatula MtMTP2 (Medtr4g064893) is a nodule-induced Zn-efflux protein that was localized to an intracellular compartment in root epidermal and endodermal cells, as well as in nodule cells. Although the MtMTP2 gene is expressed in roots, shoots, and nodules, mtp2 mutants exhibited growth defects only under symbiotic, nitrogen-fixing conditions. Loss of MtMTP2 function resulted in altered nodule development, defects in bacteroid differentiation, and severe reduction of nitrogenase activity. The results presented here support a role of MtMTP2 in intracellular compartmentation of Zn, which is required for effective symbiotic nitrogen fixation in M. truncatula.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier León-Mediavilla
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Senovilla
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Jesús Montiel
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Gil-Díez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángela Saez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - María Reguera
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Juan Imperial
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, Spain
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Agronómica, Alimentaría y de Biosistemas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), Madrid, Spain
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41
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Senovilla M, Castro-Rodríguez R, Abreu I, Escudero V, Kryvoruchko I, Udvardi MK, Imperial J, González-Guerrero M. Medicago truncatula copper transporter 1 (MtCOPT1) delivers copper for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2018; 218:696-709. [PMID: 29349810 DOI: 10.1111/nph.14992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/11/2017] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Copper is an essential nutrient for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. This element is delivered by the host plant to the nodule, where membrane copper (Cu) transporter would introduce it into the cell to synthesize cupro-proteins. COPT family members in the model legume Medicago truncatula were identified and their expression determined. Yeast complementation assays, confocal microscopy and phenotypical characterization of a Tnt1 insertional mutant line were carried out in the nodule-specific M. truncatula COPT family member. Medicago truncatula genome encodes eight COPT transporters. MtCOPT1 (Medtr4g019870) is the only nodule-specific COPT gene. It is located in the plasma membrane of the differentiation, interzone and early fixation zones. Loss of MtCOPT1 function results in a Cu-mitigated reduction of biomass production when the plant obtains its nitrogen exclusively from symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Mutation of MtCOPT1 results in diminished nitrogenase activity in nodules, likely an indirect effect from the loss of a Cu-dependent function, such as cytochrome oxidase activity in copt1-1 bacteroids. These data are consistent with a model in which MtCOPT1 transports Cu from the apoplast into nodule cells to provide Cu for essential metabolic processes associated with symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Senovilla
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta, M-40 km 38, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Rosario Castro-Rodríguez
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta, M-40 km 38, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Isidro Abreu
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta, M-40 km 38, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Viviana Escudero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta, M-40 km 38, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain
| | - Igor Kryvoruchko
- Plant Biology Division, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Michael K Udvardi
- Plant Biology Division, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK, 73401, USA
| | - Juan Imperial
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta, M-40 km 38, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain
- Instituto de Ciencias Agrarias, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Serrano, 115 bis, Madrid, 28006, Spain
| | - Manuel González-Guerrero
- Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas (UPM-INIA), Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Campus de Montegancedo, Crta, M-40 km 38, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, 28223, Spain
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42
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Maturation of the [Ni-4Fe-4S] active site of carbon monoxide dehydrogenases. J Biol Inorg Chem 2018; 23:613-620. [PMID: 29445873 PMCID: PMC6006190 DOI: 10.1007/s00775-018-1541-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Nickel-containing enzymes are diverse in terms of function and active site structure. In many cases, the biosynthesis of the active site depends on accessory proteins which transport and insert the Ni ion. We review and discuss the literature related to the maturation of carbon monoxide dehydrogenases (CODH) which bear a nickel-containing active site consisting of a [Ni–4Fe–4S] center called the C-cluster. The maturation of this center has been much less studied than that of other nickel-containing enzymes such as urease and NiFe hydrogenase. Several proteins present in certain CODH operons, including the nickel-binding proteins CooT and CooJ, still have unclear functions. We question the conception that the maturation of all CODH depends on the accessory protein CooC described as essential for nickel insertion into the active site. The available literature reveals biological variations in CODH active site biosynthesis.
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Mus F, Alleman AB, Pence N, Seefeldt LC, Peters JW. Exploring the alternatives of biological nitrogen fixation. Metallomics 2018; 10:523-538. [DOI: 10.1039/c8mt00038g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Most biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) results from the activity of the molybdenum nitrogenase (Mo-nitrogenase, Nif), an oxygen-sensitive metalloenzyme complex found in all known diazotrophs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Mus
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University
- Pullman
- USA
| | | | - Natasha Pence
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Montana State University
- Bozeman
- USA
| | - Lance C. Seefeldt
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Utah State University
- Logan
- USA
| | - John W. Peters
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University
- Pullman
- USA
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44
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Ekandjo LK, Ruppel S, Remus R, Witzel K, Patz S, Becker Y. Site-directed mutagenesis to deactivate two nitrogenase isozymes of Kosakonia radicincitans DSM16656 T. Can J Microbiol 2017; 64:97-106. [PMID: 29059532 DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2017-0532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is considered one of the key plant-growth-promoting (PGP) factors for diazotrophic organisms. Whether the iron and iron-molybdenum nitrogenases of Kosakonia radicincitans contribute to its PGP effect is yet to be proven. Hence, for the first time, we conducted site-directed mutagenesis in K. radicincitans to knock out anfH and (or) nifH as a mean to deactivate BNF in this strain. We used 15N2-labeled air to trace BNF activities in ΔanfH, ΔnifH, and ΔanfHΔnifH mutants. Assessing bacterial growth, nitrogen content, and 15N incorporation revealed that BNF is impaired in K. radicincitans DSM16656T ΔnifH and ΔanfHΔnifH. However, we detected no significant contribution of the Fe nitrogenase to biological dinitrogen assimilation under our pure bacterial culture experimental conditions. Such nondiazotrophic K. radicincitans DSM16656T mutants represent excellent tools for investigating nitrogen nutrition in K. radicincitans-inoculated plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lempie K Ekandjo
- a Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Theodor-Echtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Groβbeeren, Germany
| | - Silke Ruppel
- a Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Theodor-Echtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Groβbeeren, Germany
| | - Rainer Remus
- b Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Eberswalder Straβe 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Katja Witzel
- a Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Theodor-Echtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Groβbeeren, Germany
| | - Sascha Patz
- a Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Theodor-Echtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Groβbeeren, Germany
| | - Yvonne Becker
- a Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Theodor-Echtermeyer-Weg 1, 14979 Groβbeeren, Germany
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45
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Burén S, Young EM, Sweeny EA, Lopez-Torrejón G, Veldhuizen M, Voigt CA, Rubio LM. Formation of Nitrogenase NifDK Tetramers in the Mitochondria of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:1043-1055. [PMID: 28221768 PMCID: PMC5477005 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Transferring the prokaryotic enzyme nitrogenase into a eukaryotic host with the final aim of developing N2 fixing cereal crops would revolutionize agricultural systems worldwide. Targeting it to mitochondria has potential advantages because of the organelle's high O2 consumption and the presence of bacterial-type iron-sulfur cluster biosynthetic machinery. In this study, we constructed 96 strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in which transcriptional units comprising nine Azotobacter vinelandii nif genes (nifHDKUSMBEN) were integrated into the genome. Two combinatorial libraries of nif gene clusters were constructed: a library of mitochondrial leading sequences consisting of 24 clusters within four subsets of nif gene expression strength, and an expression library of 72 clusters with fixed mitochondrial leading sequences and nif expression levels assigned according to factorial design. In total, 29 promoters and 18 terminators were combined to adjust nif gene expression levels. Expression and mitochondrial targeting was confirmed at the protein level as immunoblot analysis showed that Nif proteins could be efficiently accumulated in mitochondria. NifDK tetramer formation, an essential step of nitrogenase assembly, was experimentally proven both in cell-free extracts and in purified NifDK preparations. This work represents a first step toward obtaining functional nitrogenase in the mitochondria of a eukaryotic cell.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Burén
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Campus Montegancedo
UPM, 28223, Pozuelo
de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eric M. Young
- Synthetic
Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Elizabeth A. Sweeny
- Synthetic
Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Gema Lopez-Torrejón
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Campus Montegancedo
UPM, 28223, Pozuelo
de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcel Veldhuizen
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Campus Montegancedo
UPM, 28223, Pozuelo
de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christopher A. Voigt
- Synthetic
Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Luis M. Rubio
- Centro
de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) - Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA), Campus Montegancedo
UPM, 28223, Pozuelo
de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain
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46
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Woodruff LBA, Gorochowski TE, Roehner N, Mikkelsen TS, Densmore D, Gordon DB, Nicol R, Voigt CA. Registry in a tube: multiplexed pools of retrievable parts for genetic design space exploration. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:1553-1565. [PMID: 28007941 PMCID: PMC5388403 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw1226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic designs can consist of dozens of genes and hundreds of genetic parts. After evaluating a design, it is desirable to implement changes without the cost and burden of starting the construction process from scratch. Here, we report a two-step process where a large design space is divided into deep pools of composite parts, from which individuals are retrieved and assembled to build a final construct. The pools are built via multiplexed assembly and sequenced using next-generation sequencing. Each pool consists of ∼20 Mb of up to 5000 unique and sequence-verified composite parts that are barcoded for retrieval by PCR. This approach is applied to a 16-gene nitrogen fixation pathway, which is broken into pools containing a total of 55 848 composite parts (71.0 Mb). The pools encompass an enormous design space (1043 possible 23 kb constructs), from which an algorithm-guided 192-member 4.5 Mb library is built. Next, all 1030 possible genetic circuits based on 10 repressors (NOR/NOT gates) are encoded in pools where each repressor is fused to all permutations of input promoters. These demonstrate that multiplexing can be applied to encompass entire design spaces from which individuals can be accessed and evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren B A Woodruff
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Thomas E Gorochowski
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Nicholas Roehner
- Biological Design Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tarjei S Mikkelsen
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Douglas Densmore
- Biological Design Center, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - D Benjamin Gordon
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Robert Nicol
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Christopher A Voigt
- Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Synthetic Biology Center, Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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47
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Fernandes GDC, Hauf K, Sant'Anna FH, Forchhammer K, Passaglia LMP. Glutamine synthetase stabilizes the binding of GlnR to nitrogen fixation gene operators. FEBS J 2017; 284:903-918. [DOI: 10.1111/febs.14021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Revised: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela de C. Fernandes
- Departamento de Genética Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre RS Brazil
- Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine University of Tuebingen Germany
| | - Ksenia Hauf
- Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine University of Tuebingen Germany
| | - Fernando H. Sant'Anna
- Departamento de Genética Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre RS Brazil
| | - Karl Forchhammer
- Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine University of Tuebingen Germany
| | - Luciane M. P. Passaglia
- Departamento de Genética Instituto de Biociências Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre RS Brazil
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48
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Ivleva NB, Groat J, Staub JM, Stephens M. Expression of Active Subunit of Nitrogenase via Integration into Plant Organelle Genome. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0160951. [PMID: 27529475 PMCID: PMC4986947 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Nitrogen availability is crucial for crop yield with nitrogen fertilizer accounting for a large percentage of farmers' expenses. However, an untimely or excessive application of fertilizer can increase risks of negative environmental effects. These factors, along with the environmental and energy costs of synthesizing nitrogen fertilizer, led us to seek out novel biotechnology-driven approaches to supply nitrogen to plants. The strategy we focused on involves transgenic expression of nitrogenase, a bacterial multi-subunit enzyme that can capture atmospheric nitrogen. Here we report expression of the active Fe subunit of nitrogenase via integration into the tobacco plastid genome of bacterial gene sequences modified for expression in plastid. Our study suggests that it will be possible to engineer plants that are able to produce their own nitrogen fertilizer by expressing nitrogenase genes in plant plastids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia B. Ivleva
- Monsanto Company, 700 Chesterfield Village Parkway, Chesterfield, MO, United States of America
| | - Jeanna Groat
- Monsanto Company, 700 Chesterfield Village Parkway, Chesterfield, MO, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey M. Staub
- Monsanto Company, 700 Chesterfield Village Parkway, Chesterfield, MO, United States of America
| | - Michael Stephens
- Monsanto Company, 700 Chesterfield Village Parkway, Chesterfield, MO, United States of America
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49
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The novel regulatory ncRNA, NfiS, optimizes nitrogen fixation via base pairing with the nitrogenase gene nifK mRNA in Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E4348-56. [PMID: 27407147 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1604514113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Unlike most Pseudomonas, the root-associated bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501 fixes nitrogen after the horizontal acquisition of a nitrogen-fixing (nif) island. A genome-wide search for small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in P. stutzeri A1501 identified the novel P. stutzeri-specific ncRNA NfiS in the core genome, whose synthesis was significantly induced under nitrogen fixation or sorbitol stress conditions. The expression of NfiS was RNA chaperone Hfq-dependent and activated by the sigma factor RpoN/global nitrogen activator NtrC/nif-specific activator NifA regulatory cascade. The nfiS-deficient mutant displayed reduced nitrogenase activity, as well as increased sensitivity to multiple stresses, such as osmotic and oxidative stresses. Secondary structure prediction and complementation studies confirmed that a stem-loop structure was essential for NfiS to regulate the nitrogenase gene nifK mRNA synthesis and thus nitrogenase activity. Microscale thermophoresis and physiological analysis showed that NfiS directly pairs with nifK mRNA and ultimately enhances nitrogenase activity by increasing the translation efficiency and the half-life of nifK mRNA. Our data also suggest structural and functional divergence of NfiS evolution in diazotrophic and nondiazotrophic backgrounds. It is proposed that NfiS was recruited by nifK mRNA as a novel regulator to integrate the horizontally acquired nif island into host global networks.
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50
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Noumsi CJ, Pourhassan N, Darnajoux R, Deicke M, Wichard T, Burrus V, Bellenger JP. Effect of organic matter on nitrogenase metal cofactors homeostasis in Azotobacter vinelandii under diazotrophic conditions. ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS 2016; 8:76-84. [PMID: 26549632 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.12353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2015] [Revised: 10/30/2015] [Accepted: 10/30/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Biological nitrogen fixation can be catalysed by three isozymes of nitrogenase: molybdenum (Mo)-nitrogenase, vanadium (V)-nitrogenase and iron-only (Fe)-nitrogenase. The activity of these isozymes strongly depends on their metal cofactors, molybdenum, vanadium and iron, and their bioavailability in ecosystems. Here, we show how metal bioavailability can be affected by the presence of tannic acid (organic matter), and the subsequent consequences on diazotrophic growth of the soil bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii. In the presence of tannic acids, A. vinelandii produces a higher amount of metallophores, which coincides with an active, regulated and concomitant acquisition of molybdenum and vanadium under cellular conditions that are usually considered not molybdenum limiting. The associated nitrogenase genes exhibit decreased nifD expression and increased vnfD expression. Thus, in limiting bioavailable metal conditions, A. vinelandii takes advantage of its nitrogenase diversity to ensure optimal diazotrophic growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christelle Jouogo Noumsi
- Département de Chimie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
- Laboratory of Bacterial Molecular Genetics, Département de biologie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Nina Pourhassan
- Département de Chimie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Romain Darnajoux
- Département de Chimie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Michael Deicke
- Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Jena School for Microbial Communication, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Thomas Wichard
- Institute for Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Jena School for Microbial Communication, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - Vincent Burrus
- Laboratory of Bacterial Molecular Genetics, Département de biologie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
| | - Jean-Philippe Bellenger
- Département de Chimie, Faculté des sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, 2500 boul. de l'université, Sherbrooke, Québec, J1K 2R1, Canada
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