A composite biochemical system for bacterial nitrate and nitrite assimilation as exemplified by Paracoccus denitrificans

2011 ◽  
Vol 435 (3) ◽  
pp. 743-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Gates ◽  
Victor M. Luque-Almagro ◽  
Alan D. Goddard ◽  
Stuart J. Ferguson ◽  
M. Dolores Roldán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrogen Source ◽  
Nitrite Reductase ◽  
Paracoccus Denitrificans ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Anion Exchange Chromatography ◽  
Exchange Chromatography ◽  
Nitrite Reduction ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

The denitrifying bacterium Paracoccus denitrificans can grow aerobically or anaerobically using nitrate or nitrite as the sole nitrogen source. The biochemical pathway responsible is expressed from a gene cluster comprising a nitrate/nitrite transporter (NasA), nitrite transporter (NasH), nitrite reductase (NasB), ferredoxin (NasG) and nitrate reductase (NasC). NasB and NasG are essential for growth with nitrate or nitrite as the nitrogen source. NADH serves as the electron donor for nitrate and nitrite reduction, but only NasB has a NADH-oxidizing domain. Nitrate and nitrite reductase activities show the same Km for NADH and can be separated by anion-exchange chromatography, but only fractions containing NasB retain the ability to oxidize NADH. This implies that NasG mediates electron flux from the NADH-oxidizing site in NasB to the sites of nitrate and nitrite reduction in NasC and NasB respectively. Delivery of extracellular nitrate to NasBGC is mediated by NasA, but both NasA and NasH contribute to nitrite uptake. The roles of NasA and NasC can be substituted during anaerobic growth by the biochemically distinct membrane-bound respiratory nitrate reductase (Nar), demonstrating functional overlap. nasG is highly conserved in nitrate/nitrite assimilation gene clusters, which is consistent with a key role for the NasG ferredoxin, as part of a phylogenetically widespread composite nitrate and nitrite reductase system.

scholarly journals Effect of tungsten on nitrate and nitrite reductases in Azospirillum brasilense Sp7

1991 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 744-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Chauret ◽  
Roger Knowles
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrite Reductase ◽  
Azospirillum Brasilense ◽  
Nitrate Reductase Activity ◽  
Paracoccus Denitrificans ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Azospirillum Brasilense Sp7 ◽  
Nitrite Reductase Activity ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

Tungstate, at concentrations that completely suppressed nitrate reductase activity in Paracoccus denitrificans, caused only partial inhibition of nitrate reductase in Azospirillum brasilense Sp7. Nitrate reductase activity in cell-free extracts was much more sensitive than whole cells to tungstate, suggesting that there may be a barrier to its transport. Nitrite reductase activity was partially inhibited by tungstate in both whole cells and cell-free extracts. Azospirillum brasilense apparently scavenged enough contaminating molybdenum from molybdenum-limited medium to allow maximum nitrate reductase activity, which was not stimulated by added molybdate. Cells grown in molybdenum-depleted medium could not reduce nitrate. Nitrate concentrations less than 0.25 mM inhibited activity, but not synthesis, of nitrite reductase and caused significant accumulation of nitrite during reduction of nitrate. Key words: Azospirillum brasilense, Paracoccus denitrificans, nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase, tungsten, molybdenum, denitrification.

scholarly journals Role of narK2X and narGHJI inHypoxic Upregulation of Nitrate Reduction byMycobacteriumtuberculosis

2003 ◽  
Vol 185 (24) ◽  
pp. 7247-7256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D. Sohaskey ◽  
Lawrence G. Wayne
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrate Reductase Activity ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Reporter System ◽  
Whole Cells ◽  
Hypoxic Conditions ◽  
Cell Extracts ◽  
Insertional Inactivation ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

ABSTRACT Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the strongest reducers of nitrate in the genus Mycobacterium. Under microaerobic conditions, whole cells exhibit upregulation of activity, producing approximately eightfold more nitrite than those of aerobic cultures of the same age. Assays of cell extracts from aerobic cultures and hypoxic cultures yielded comparable nitrate reductase activities. Mycobacterium bovis produced only low levels of nitrite, and this activity was not induced by hypoxia. M. tuberculosis has two sets of genes, narGHJI and narX of the narK2X operon, that exhibit some degree of homology to prokaryotic dissimilatory nitrate reductases. Each of these were knocked out by insertional inactivation. The narG mutant showed no nitrate reductase activity in whole culture or in cell-free assays, while the narX mutant showed wild-type levels in both assays. A knockout of the putative nitrite transporter narK2 gene produced a strain that had aerobic levels of nitrate reductase activity but failed to show hypoxic upregulation. Insertion of the M. tuberculosis narGHJI into a nitrate reductase Escherichia coli mutant allowed anaerobic growth in the presence of nitrate. Under aerobic and hypoxic conditions, transcription of narGHJI was constitutive, while the narK2X operon was induced under hypoxia, as measured with a lacZ reporter system and by quantitative real-time reverse PCR. This indicates that nitrate reductase activity in M. tuberculosis is due to the narGHJI locus with no detectable contribution from narX and that the hypoxic upregulation of activity is associated with the induction of the nitrate and nitrite transport gene narK2.

scholarly journals The genes YNI1 and YNR1, encoding nitrite reductase and nitrate reductase respectively in the yeast Hansenula polymorpha, are clustered and co-ordinately regulated

1996 ◽  
Vol 317 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nélida BRITO ◽  
Julio AVILA ◽  
M. Dolores PEREZ ◽  
Celedonio GONZALEZ ◽  
José M. SIVERIO
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrite Reductase ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Hansenula Polymorpha ◽  
Enzymic Activity ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Reading Frame ◽  
Dna Library ◽  
Genomic Dna Library ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

The nitrite reductase-encoding gene (YNI1) from the yeast Hansenula polymorpha was isolated from a lambda EMBL3 H. polymorpha genomic DNA library, using as a probe a 481 bp DNA fragment from the gene of Aspergillus nidulans encoding nitrite reductase (niiA). An open reading frame of 3132 bp, encoding a putative protein of 1044 amino acids with high similarity with nitrite reductases from fungi, was located by DNA sequencing in the phages λNB5 and λJA13. Genes YNI1 and YNR1 (encoding nitrate reductase) are clustered, separated by 1700 bp. Northern blot analysis showed that expression of YNI1 and YNR1 is co-ordinately regulated; induced by nitrate and nitrite and repressed by sources of reduced nitrogen, even in the presence of nitrate. A mutant lacking nitrite reductase activity was obtained by deletion of the chromosomal copy of YNI1. The mutant does not grow in nitrate or in nitrite; it exhibits a similar level of transcription of YNR1 to the wild type, but the nitrate reductase enzymic activity is only about 50% of the wild type. In the presence of nitrate the Δyni1::URA3 mutant extrudes approx. 24 nmol of nitrite/h per mg of yeast (wet weight), about five times more than the wild type.

scholarly journals Disruption of narG, the Gene Encoding the Catalytic Subunit of Respiratory Nitrate Reductase, Also Affects Nitrite Respiration in Pseudomonas fluorescens YT101

1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (16) ◽  
pp. 5099-5102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Ghiglione ◽  
Laurent Philippot ◽  
Philippe Normand ◽  
Robert Lensi ◽  
Patrick Potier
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Pseudomonas Fluorescens ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Α Subunit ◽  
Regulatory Link ◽  
Nitrite Respiration ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite ◽  
Respiratory Nitrate Reductase

ABSTRACT The Pseudomonas fluorescens YT101 genenarG, which encodes the catalytic α subunit of the respiratory nitrate reductase, was disrupted by insertion of a gentamicin resistance cassette. In the Nar− mutants, nitrate reductase activity was not detectable under all the conditions tested, suggesting that P. fluorescens YT101 contains only one membrane-bound nitrate reductase and no periplasmic nitrate reductase. Whereas N2O respiration was not affected, anaerobic growth with NO2 as the sole electron acceptor was delayed for all of the Nar− mutants following a transfer from oxic to anoxic conditions. These results provide the first demonstration of a regulatory link between nitrate and nitrite respiration in the denitrifying pathway.

scholarly journals Fnr, NarP, and NarL Regulation of Escherichia coli K-12 napF (Periplasmic Nitrate Reductase) Operon Transcription In Vitro

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (16) ◽  
pp. 4192-4198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Darwin ◽  
Eva C. Ziegelhoffer ◽  
Patricia J. Kiley ◽  
Valley Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Binding Site ◽  
Anaerobic Growth ◽  
Periplasmic Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Operon Expression ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite ◽  
K 12

ABSTRACT The expression of several Escherichia coli operons is activated by the Fnr protein during anaerobic growth and is further controlled in response to nitrate and nitrite by the homologous response regulators, NarL and NarP. Among these operons, thenapF operon, encoding a periplasmic nitrate reductase, has unique features with respect to its Fnr-, NarL-, and NarP-dependent regulation. First, the Fnr-binding site is unusually located compared to the control regions of most other Fnr-activated operons, suggesting different Fnr-RNA polymerase contacts during transcriptional activation. Second, nitrate and nitrite activation is solely dependent on NarP but is antagonized by the NarL protein. In this study, we used DNase I footprint analysis to confirm our previous assignment of the unusual location of the Fnr-binding site in the napFcontrol region. In addition, the in vivo effects of Fnr-positive control mutations on napF operon expression indicate that the napF promoter is atypical with respect to Fnr-mediated activation. The transcriptional regulation of napF was successfully reproduced in vitro by using a supercoiled plasmid template and purified Fnr, NarL, and NarP proteins. These in vitro transcription experiments demonstrate that, in the presence of Fnr, the NarP protein causes efficient transcription activation whereas the NarL protein does not. This suggests that Fnr and NarP may act synergistically to activate napF operon expression. As observed in vivo, this activation by Fnr and NarP is antagonized by the addition of NarL in vitro.

scholarly journals Nitrogen and Oxygen Regulation of Bacillus subtilis nasDEF Encoding NADH-Dependent Nitrite Reductase by TnrA and ResDE

1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (20) ◽  
pp. 5344-5350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiko M. Nakano ◽  
Tamara Hoffmann ◽  
Yi Zhu ◽  
Dieter Jahn
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrite Reductase ◽  
Nitrogen Limitation ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Anaerobic Respiration ◽  
Regulatory System ◽  
Nitrate Respiration ◽  
Nitrite Reductase Activity ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

ABSTRACT The nitrate and nitrite reductases of Bacillus subtilishave two different physiological functions. Under conditions of nitrogen limitation, these enzymes catalyze the reduction of nitrate via nitrite to ammonia for the anabolic incorporation of nitrogen into biomolecules. They also function catabolically in anaerobic respiration, which involves the use of nitrate and nitrite as terminal electron acceptors. Two distinct nitrate reductases, encoded bynarGHI and nasBC, function in anabolic and catabolic nitrogen metabolism, respectively. However, as reported herein, a single NADH-dependent, soluble nitrite reductase encoded by the nasDE genes is required for both catabolic and anabolic processes. The nasDE genes, together with nasBC(encoding assimilatory nitrate reductase) and nasF(required for nitrite reductase siroheme cofactor formation), constitute the nas operon. Data presented show that transcription of nasDEF is driven not only by the previously characterized nas operon promoter but also from an internal promoter residing between the nasC andnasD genes. Transcription from both promoters is activated by nitrogen limitation during aerobic growth by the nitrogen regulator, TnrA. However, under conditions of oxygen limitation,nasDEF expression and nitrite reductase activity were significantly induced. Anaerobic induction of nasDEFrequired the ResDE two-component regulatory system and the presence of nitrite, indicating partial coregulation of NasDEF with the respiratory nitrate reductase NarGHI during nitrate respiration.

Isotopic Fractionation During Reduction of Nitrate and Nitrite by Extracts of Spinach Leaves

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 631 ◽  
Author(s):  
SF Ledgard ◽  
KC Woo ◽  
FJ Bergersen
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Reductase ◽  
Nitrite Reductase ◽  
Spinacia Oleracea ◽  
Reductase Activity ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Cytosolic Extract ◽  
Nitrite Reductase Activity ◽  
Reconstituted System ◽  
No2 Reduction ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

The isotopic fractionations of nitrogen during the reduction of NO3- and NO2- in a cytosolic fraction and in a chloroplast preparation from spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) leaves were determined. The reduction of NO3- to NH3 was studied using a reconstituted system containing cytosolic extract and intact chloroplasts, while a chloroplast system was used for NO2- reduction. In the reconstituted systems the ratio of nitrate reductase activity to nitrite reductase activity had a large effect on the relative amounts of NO2- and NH3 formed. Ammonia predominated when the nitrate reductase to nitrite reductase activity ratio was 1 : 5 and this ratio was used in the isotopic fractionation studies. Significant isotopic fractionation of N was observed in the reconstituted system but not in the chloroplast system. This indicates that the observed isotopic fractionation was associated with the reduction of NO3- to NO2- by nitrate reductase. The isotopic fractionation (i.e. δ15Nproduct - δ15Nsubstrate) for this reaction was - 15‰.

scholarly journals The effect of dietary nitrate on nitrate and nitrite excretion in man

1990 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. J. Florin ◽  
G. Neale ◽  
J. H. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Anion Exchange Chromatography ◽  
Exchange Chromatography ◽  
Nitroso Compounds ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Sodium Absorption ◽  
Dietary Intakes ◽  
Dietary Nitrate ◽  
Nitrate Losses ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

Dietary nitrate and nitrite may affect colonic pathophysiology. These anions influence fermentation, and nitrite has been shown to augment sodium absorption by the colon and participate in the formation ofN-nitroso compounds. There is, however, no general agreement as to how much dietary nitrate and nitrite reaches the colon. To help resolve this question, balance studies were performed on six healthy ileostomy subjects who were given diets that varied in nitrate content from 0.83 to 5.20 mmol/d. Nitrate and nitrite excretion in ileal effluent and urine were measured by anion-exchange chromatography with conductivity detection. There was no significant nitrite in the diets, urine, or ideal effluent. Dietary nitrate was largely excreted in urine (1.31–4.25 mmol/d). The urinary excretion findings indicated net synthesis of nitrate at low dietary intakes and net catabolism of nitrate at high intakes. Nitrate losses in ileal effluent were very low (0.03–0.05 mmol/d, 0.03–0.06 mmol/kg) and unrelated to intake for all the diets. It is concluded that dietary nitrate and nitrite do not enter the colon from the small intestine in amounts that would affect fermentation and mucosal metabolism in man. The possibility of significant amounts of nitrate reaching the colon via blood in normal subjects has not been excluded.

scholarly journals Taxis Response of Various Denitrifying Bacteria to Nitrate and Nitrite

2002 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 2140-2147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dong Yun Lee ◽  
Adela Ramos ◽  
Lee Macomber ◽  
James P. Shapleigh
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Oxides ◽  
Nitrite Reductase ◽  
Rhodopseudomonas Palustris ◽  
Soft Agar ◽  
Nitrite Reduction ◽  
Nitrite Reductase Gene ◽  
Reductase Gene ◽  
Insertional Inactivation ◽  
Nitrite Respiration ◽  
Nitrate And Nitrite

ABSTRACT The taxis response of Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1 and 2.4.3, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens to nitrate and nitrite was evaluated by observing the macroscopic behavior of cells suspended in soft agar and incubated under various conditions. R. sphaeroides 2.4.3, which is capable of both nitrate and nitrite reduction, showed a taxis response to both nitrate and nitrite. R. sphaeroides 2.4.1, which contains nitrate reductase but not nitrite reductase, did not show a taxis response towards either nitrogen oxide. Insertional inactivation of the nitrite reductase structural gene or its transcriptional regulator, NnrR, in strain 2.4.3 caused a loss of a taxis response towards both nitrate and nitrite. An isolate of 2.4.1 carrying a copy of the nitrite reductase gene from 2.4.3 showed a taxis response to both nitrogen oxides. The taxis response of 2.4.3 was observed under anaerobic conditions, suggesting that the taxis response was due to nitrate and nitrite respiration, not to inhibition of oxygen respiration by respiration of nitrogen oxides. Strain 2.4.3 showed a taxis response to nitrate and nitrite under photosynthetic and aerobic conditions. Changing the carbon source in the culture medium caused an unexpected subtle shift in the taxis response of 2.4.3 to nitrite. A taxis response to nitrogen oxides was also observed in R. palustris and A. tumefaciens. R. palustris exhibited a taxis response to nitrite but not to nitrate, while A. tumefaciens exhibited a response to both compounds.

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