NorA, HmpX, and NorB cooperate to reduce NO toxicity during denitrification and plant pathogenesis in Ralstonia solanacearum

Ralstonia solanacearum, which causes bacterial wilt disease of many crops, needs denitrifying respiration to succeed in hypoxic plant xylem vessels. Inside its host this pathogen confronts toxic oxidative radicals like nitric oxide (NO) generated by both bacterial denitrification and host defenses. R. solanacearum has multiple distinct mechanisms that could mitigate this stress, including Repair of Iron Cluster (RIC) homolog NorA, nitric oxide reductase NorB, and flavohaemoglobin HmpX. R. solanacearum upregulated norA, norB, and hmpX in response to exogenous NO, denitrification, and tomato pathogenesis. Single mutants lacking any of these genes accumulated NO during denitrification and were more susceptible to oxidative stress. Plant defense genes were upregulated in tomatoes infected with the NO-overproducing ΔnorB mutant, suggesting bacterial detoxification of NO reduces pathogen visibility. Expression of many iron and sulfur metabolism genes increased in the ΔnorB, ΔnorA, and ΔhmpX mutants, suggesting that losing even one NO detoxification system demands metabolic compensation. Single mutants suffered only moderate fitness reductions in host plants, possibly because they upregulated their remaining detoxification genes. However, ΔnorA/norB, ΔnorB/hmpX, and ΔnorA/hmpX double mutants grew poorly in denitrifying culture and in planta. Loss of norA, norB, and hmpX may be lethal as the methods used to construct the double mutants did not generate a triple mutant. Aconitase activity assays showed that NorA, HmpX and especially NorB are important for maintaining iron-sulfur cluster proteins. Thus, R. solanacearum's three NO detoxification systems each contribute to and are collectively essential for overcoming oxidative stress during denitrification and growth in a host plant.

Intracellular targeting of Cisd2/Miner1 to the endoplasmic reticulum

Background Cisd1 and Cisd2 proteins share very similar structures with an N-terminal membrane-anchoring domain and a C-terminal cytosolic domain containing an iron-cluster binding domain and ending with a C-terminal KKxx sequence. Despite sharing a similar structure, Cisd1 and Cisd2 are anchored to different compartments: mitochondria for Cisd1 and endoplasmic reticulum for Cisd2. The aim of this study was to identify the protein motifs targeting Cisd2 to the ER and ensuring its retention in this compartment. Results We used new recombinant antibodies to localize Cisd1 and Cisd2 proteins, as well as various protein chimeras. Cisd2 is targeted to the ER by its N-terminal sequence. It is then retained in the ER by the combined action of a C-terminal COPI-binding KKxx ER retrieval motif, and of an ER-targeting transmembrane domain. As previously reported for Cisd1, Cisd2 can alter the morphology of the compartment in which it accumulates. Conclusion Although they share a very similar structure, Cisd1 and Cisd2 use largely different intracellular targeting motifs to reach their target compartment (mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, respectively).

Implication of a Key Region of Six Bacillus cereus Genes Involved in Siroheme Synthesis, Nitrite Reductase Production and Iron Cluster Repair in the Bacterial Response to Nitric Oxide Stress

Bacterial response to nitric oxide (NO) is of major importance for bacterial survival. NO stress is a main actor of the eukaryotic immune response and several pathogenic bacteria have developed means for detoxification and repair of the damages caused by NO. However, bacterial mechanisms of NO resistance by Gram-positive bacteria are poorly described. In the opportunistic foodborne pathogen Bacillus cereus, genome sequence analyses did not identify homologs to known NO reductases and transcriptional regulators, such as NsrR, which orchestrate the response to NO of other pathogenic or non-pathogenic bacteria. Using a transcriptomic approach, we investigated the adaptation of B. cereus to NO stress. A cluster of 6 genes was identified to be strongly up-regulated in the early phase of the response. This cluster contains an iron-sulfur cluster repair enzyme, a nitrite reductase and three enzymes involved in siroheme biosynthesis. The expression pattern and close genetic localization suggest a functional link between these genes, which may play a pivotal role in the resistance of B. cereus to NO stress during infection.

Cationic dye adsorption and separation at discrete molecular level: first example of an iron cluster with rapid and selective adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous system

A novel Fe6 cluster was designed as a rare example of any discrete molecule as a highly efficient, selective and rapid functional material for the adsorption of cationic dyes, i.e. methylene blue (MB), from contaminated water bodies.

Synthesis, structure and magnetism of a new ionic pentanuclear iron cluster

A new ionic pentanuclear FeIII cluster, namely, triethylazanium tetrakis(μ2-5-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrazolido)tetrakis(μ3-4-chloro-2-{[(1H-tetrazol-1-id-5-yl)imino]methyl}phenolato)di-μ3-oxido-pentairon(III) acetonitrile monosolvate monohydrate, (C6H16N)[Fe5(C8H4ClN5O)4(CH2N5)4O2]·CH3CN·H2O, was synthesized using microvial synthesis methods and characterized by elemental analysis, FT–IR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Magnetic studies reveal that the complex displays dominant antiferromagnetic intracluster interactions between the FeIII ions through the μ3-oxide bridges.