Pseudomonas aeruginosaethanol oxidation by AdhA in low oxygen environments
AbstractPseudomonas aeruginosahas a broad metabolic repertoire that facilitates its co-existence with different microbes. Many microbes secrete products thatP. aeruginosacan then catabolize, including ethanol, a common fermentation product. Here, we show that under oxygen limiting conditionsP. aeruginosautilizes AdhA, an NAD-linked alcohol dehydrogenase, as a previously undescribed means for ethanol catabolism. In a rich medium containing ethanol, AdhA, but not the previously described PQQ-linked alcohol dehydrogenase, ExaA, oxidizes ethanol and leads to the accumulation of acetate in culture supernatants. AdhA-dependent acetate accumulation, and the accompanying decrease in pH, promotesP. aeruginosasurvival in LB-grown stationary phase cultures. The transcription ofadhAis elevated by hypoxia and in anoxic conditions, and we show that it is regulated by the Anr transcription factor. We have shown thatlasRmutants have higher levels of Anr-regulated transcripts in low oxygen conditions compared to their wild type counterparts. Here, we show that alasRmutant, when grown with ethanol, has an even larger decrease in pH than WT that is dependent on bothanrandadhA. The large increase in AdhA activity similar to that of a strain expressing a hyperactive Anr-D149A variant. Ethanol catabolism inP. aeruginosaby AdhA supports growth on ethanol as a sole carbon source and electron donor in oxygen-limited settings and in cells growing by denitrification in anoxic conditions. This is the first demonstration of a physiological role for AdhA in ethanol oxidation inP. aeruginosa.ImportanceEthanol is a common product of microbial fermentation, and thePseudomonas aeruginosaresponse to and utilization of ethanol is relevant to our understanding of its role in microbial communities. Here, we report that the putative alcohol dehydrogenase, AdhA, is responsible for ethanol catabolism and acetate accumulation in low oxygen conditions and that it is regulated by Anr.